To nap or not to nap. Now that is the question!

Nicole - posted on 06/27/2011

I would say move her naps to a earlier time and dont let her nap for too long... my daughter (28m) cannot go w.o a nap or else she will b cranky i norm put her down for a nap at 1:00 - 2:00/2:30 and I will put her to bed at 9:30 and she norm sleeps in till 8:30

Brandy - posted on 06/20/2011

just saw your update nevermind

Brandy - posted on 06/20/2011

hey laura, the national sleep foundation recommends 1-3yr olds should have 12 to 14 hours of sleep depending on the individuals needs here is an article
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/h...
from what youre describing your little one is sleeping 12 or 13hrs at bed time without naps, maybe sleeping that long of a stretch is difficult and thats why she is waking up at night? you could try splitting it up with nap time and letting her stay up a little longer at night to see what happens but it also seems pretty common for toddlers to wake up in the middle of the night from what ive been hearing from other moms, good luck i hope this helps

Laura - posted on 06/16/2011

Forgot to reply and keep you guys updated: it must have just been a phase or something she was going through, because for the past month or so she has been going to bed at 7.30, and sleeping through until 7.15. im so pleased i can finally get a full night beaty sleep!! :-)

Laura - posted on 06/16/2011

Forgot to reply and keep you guys updated: it must have just been a phase or something she was going through, because for the past month or so she has been going to bed at 7.30, and sleeping through until 7.15. im so pleased i can finally get a full night beaty sleep!! :-)

Chasity - posted on 06/15/2011

I think your nap should be earlier like 12:30- 2:30 then she will be better ready for bed at 7 to 7:30 also stay constant dont change the times to often perhaps bed at 8 is even better :)

Kristine - posted on 06/15/2011

I would try to move her nap earlier by about 15 minutes each day until she is napping from maybe 1 - 3, then hopefully by bedtime she is tired again. Or maybe just try a quiet time between 1 -3 where she can just read, do puzzles watch a short video and aim for normal bedtime. Maybe she up at 3am because she's still adjusting to the changes in her schedule. I would definetely aim for the earlier bedtime so I could have my own relaxing time. I know its tough. My daughter started waking around 3/4am when she was 24 months and I had to keep putting her in bed over and over, many tiems each night for about a week and then that settled down. Best of luck!

Karina - posted on 02/13/2011

My son takes naps at daycare and sometimes at home but is he takes it a little too late then he has a little hard time at night. We also starting implementing quiet time so he goes to his bedroom around nap time and if he doesnt want to sleep he stays there and looks at his books or sometimes just play with his legos or cars but at least he is alone and we think this helps him to regroup and rest a little bit.

Gabrielle - posted on 01/26/2011

You have been given some great advice on here! My son goes down for his afternoon nap anytime between 1230 and 2pm. His bedtime is between 830 and 930 each night. I let him guide his sleep times and watch his body cues. He doesn't always nap when we put him down, and that's okay. His body is still getting down time. at night, we will sometimes hear him in his room playing. We DON'T go in, we just let him be. He'll fall asleep when he's ready. Again, his body knows what it needs. He does wake, sometimes, during the night, but it's usually just because he's worked his way into the corner of his bed or become uncovered. If it doesn't sound like a serious cry, I let him be. If it's a more serious cry, I send Daddy in to investigate; if I go in and Aiden is even slightly awake, in his mind it's time to play, since I'm the one that gets him up every morning. Just keep at it, it will get easier!

Autumn - posted on 01/24/2011

My daughter has been going to bed at 10 pm...then waking up at 2 or 2:30 am...and then fighting me to go back to sleep til about 5 or 5:30 am...it sucks so much!! and she takes about an hour nap. I'm currently pregnant, and would REALLY love my sleep back! can anybody that has gone through this situation help me?

Brandy - posted on 01/20/2011

jenna usually wakes up around 9am and takes her nap from 2:30 to 4:30 everyday if she doesnt want to go to sleep she doesnt have to but that is her quiet time in her room usually she will play for a bit and then she lays down and naps. then she goes to bed at 8 unless we stay up late for a movie night or something then its no later than 9 but as a rule its no later than 8, consistancy really helps us alot because jenna always knows what to expect and we always let her know what we are going to be doing 5 mins ahead of time and before bed time i continue to remind her when its time for bed we do our routine lay her down and shut and lock the door (we have an open stairway so i cant risk her getting out of her room and being unaware) if for some reason she cries we return to her room one time and thats all and we let her know that its time for night night and that we will play in the morning. of course i would come running back in if she screamed like she was hurt or something but otherwise no. and that is the same thing we do with naps, i think its all about the consistancy.

Brittney - posted on 01/20/2011

I'm do daycare in my home and my daughter naps from 12 to about 2 or 3 and goes to bed at 8 with no problems! We also try to plan our weekend plans around my daughters nap schedule, there are times it gets messed up, but she doesn't seem to have a problem with it. She will stay up a little later on the weekend, pending what we're doing, but I try to have her bed no later than 9pm everyday of the week! Good luck!

Caitlyn - posted on 01/19/2011

Hi Laura
Check your daughter's iron levels. Low iron in children can trigger night wakings if their nutrition isn't adequate. Make sure she's getting enough good quality red meat, and green leafy veg. Wakings between 2.30-3.30am can be caused by nutritional issues, as well as inadequate hydration. It can also be caused by teething or an illness that your child may be getting over. If you have ruled out those things, check the temperature of the room and feel the back of your baby's neck to make sure they are not too hot or too cold. If she has been waking more than 3 days in a row then reduce her daytime nap to a minimum of 1 hr and 20 mins and a max 1hr 30mins. Put her down for her nap at 12pm and put her to bed at 7pm. You might find this will help. Also a big run in the park in the morning or afternoon will help to burn off some toddler energy.

GISELLI - posted on 01/19/2011

if he no want nap, why i go force him.... why found more stress in simple thing, they are humans and need be respect like, if he no want nap its ok... but his bedtime is always same time, same routinr sence he had 6 months old, dinner bath with lavender, history time, sing song, kiss and good night.

Mary - posted on 01/18/2011

Try napping from 1-3pm. My younger son is on a similar schedule (nap at 1-3 and bedtime at 730p both at daycare and home) and it seems to work for the most part. Recently he has been more difficult to put down in general whether at naptime or bedtime.

Remember our toddlers are getting to be more kid and less baby and want more involvement with the world around them so bedtime complications are kind of part of that deal.

She'll get settled if you enforce a schedule. I went through the same thing with my older son. He's no longer napping (in kindergarten so those days are done) but did until he started school- or at least had quiet time in his room for a couple hours even if he wouldn't sleep. I think our little ones need that rest and space daily.

Tracy - posted on 01/17/2011

hello my daughter is 23 months old an she needs her nap or she gets very grumpy my daughter goes down for her nap about 1pm an is asleep for only an hour.. so wakes up at 2pm then she has lots of play time an is very tired by 7 or 8 an sleeps right through the night so maybe put your daughter down earlier in the day an dont let her sleep to long an you could suggest activitys she could do to tire her out.. hope thats helpful :)

Blu - posted on 01/17/2011

She most like needs a shorter nap. We just changed our daighter's bedtime to 7-7:30am. She usually lays down fro a nap anywhere between 11-12:30pm. If She lays down early then she can sleep for 2-3 hrs. If she naps late then I let her nap for an hr. Since we changed her bedtime from 8-8:30pm she is waking up earlier (5:30am)

Kristie - posted on 01/16/2011

My daughter is 23 months now and we just moved her into a big girl bed. Since she can get out on her own now we have to put a gate up in her doorway so she doesn't leave her bedroom without my knowing (plus her room is upstairs, don't want her getting up in the night and going downstairs). With that said, nap time became a bit challenging seeing as Brynna wouldn't stay in her bed but I knew she was tired. She usually takes about an hour nap anywhere between noon and 2, depending on how cranky she was. She'd play in her crib a bit before and after her nap so the total time she was in there was about 2 hours. (much needed break for me)
With that said, the first Sunday after her new bed was introduced my husband and I spent 50 minutes putting her back in her bed and finally she stayed and fell asleep. I was thinking, "I can't do this everyday on my own!" I have a 3.5 month old son. After talking with my mom (who was over that day) and then my sister who has a 3.5 year old, I decided to do what my sister does. My niece has a 2 hour quiet time everyday (weekends sometimes interrupted). If she's tired, she goes to sleep. If not, she just plays in her room for the 2 hours (she doesn't need a gate on her door anymore but did at first.)
With that said, Monday I decided to try it. I don't think Brynna slept that day, too new still with having that freedom. BUT she was surprisingly not cranky that night and went to bed at her regular time, about 7:30pm. Second day she played for an hour and then slept for an hour. Yay! One day this week she didn't even get up when I put her down she was so tired, just went to sleep for about an hour then played for an hour.
With all that said maybe try a "quiet" time so she can sleep if tired but if she's sleeping too long, wake her (never had that problem with my daughter, short napper). But also stick with her bedtime. Even if she's in her bed awake for awhile, she still can go to bed at the same time every night and fall asleep when she's tired. About the waking up in the night, could be because her routine has been tweeked and her body is getting used to it. ??
Good luck!

Debbie - posted on 01/16/2011

i cant get Lillie to take naps either lately..she would rather play with her toys in her room then sleep. She also likes to stay up later at night which is getting kinda stressful cuz thats my cleaning time

Lee - posted on 01/15/2011

Congrats! Corban was my last kid bc of my Health. I have 3 kid's by previous marriage. My son is almost 22, first daughter is 19 n my youngest daughter is 17.Then Corban will be 2 yrs.old on 2-19.

Diana - posted on 01/15/2011

Our daughters still take naps at 23 months and 5 years old (She is homeschooled so naptime still works for us!) They don't get a choice, they've never had a choice and bedtime is 7pm firm. For 2 weeks recently our 23 month old was waking 3-4 times a night but we stayed firm with her that it was bedtime and she could not get out of bed. We'd kiss her, pat her head and leave the room. We also tell her that Elmo is trying to sleep and she isn't being very nice by waking him so she will hug him and apologize and lay back down. They understand so much as this age. I stay stick with what works for you and your child will adjust. The important part is that you have a schedule and stick with it. We've had the same schedule since our first daughter was born in 2005, now we are expecting baby #3 in a few weeks and he will use the same schedule that his sisters use. He will adapt. Good luck!

Lee - posted on 01/14/2011

When the time went back an hour my son use to go to bed at sun set n sleep all night. But then he would get up at 7 a.m. But now he rarely takes naps now.

Dawn - posted on 01/14/2011

I have always followed my son's lead with naps, and fortunately he still wants a nap!! I would try putting your daughter down a little earlier each day until you find a time that works.

Bethany - posted on 01/13/2011

oh man, we're similar. Charlotte is only taking a nap every other day now. It's Will she or won't she each day.

Jacquie - posted on 01/13/2011

Hi

I would try as Jenny suggested and put her down for an earlier nap and maybe just cut it by 30mins or so. I found taking the naps down from 2 hours to 1hr30 worked a lot better for me. By cutting the naps out altogether she will be overtired and less likely to sleep well. Or at least thats what i found with my son. Hope that helps you

Jenny - posted on 01/11/2011

I'm a full time working mom and my daughter gets her nap at daycare .... usually from 12:30 to 2:30. She goes to bed between 6:45 and 7:15 depending on how tired she is.
Weekends her nap gets a bit disrupted depending on our plans though we always try to time things around her nap because I know the sleep is important.
All that said, is it possible for you to put your daughter down a little earlier for a nap so she would have more play time before bed? Just a thought. Good luck!