Our 1 year old started walking & now won't take her naps. It wouldn't be that bad if she wasn't so tired & fussy all the time. For the first few weeks we tried putting her down for her naps & would end up getting her up after an hour of crying. She was just too excited to sleep. So then we decided that maybe she didn't need a nap...or we would wait until she was SO exhausted. But she was so fussy after about 3 hours of being awake. She wouldn't obey & cried often. So we started more accidental parenting to get her to sleep. My husband starting walking her until she was almost asleep & then put her down. This worked often. However, it doesn't work for me. I'm pregnant with our 2nd child & can't walk her for very long. When i put her down, she pops right back up. It doesn't matter if she's been up for 5 hours!! So now we need to break the walking habit. Today I put her down for her nap (after 3 hours of awake time...when she was obviously sleepy). She cried off & on (occassionally screaming) for 30 min. I went in a patted her back for a few minutes & left the room. & it made her really angry. She cried & screamed for another 12 minutes. I went in & picked her up for only about a minute. When i put her down, she screamed...but after another 5 minutes, she was out. I really want to be consistent. Should i not pick her up? Or should i gradually increase the minutes before i go in & pick her up? i want to add more structure to her day...but every day is so different. Often she wakes during the night as well. & so she is very tired during the day. She is cutting teeth right now & i'm putting her on regular milk. She is very touchy...so every little change affects her sleeping. Should i just try to be consistent & put her down after 3 hours of awake time no matter what & if she sleeps, she sleeps. She is just fighting sleep so much right now. She used to go to sleep so easily & take great naps. What should i expect or work towards?
Thanks for any suggestions.
Misty
