Need BIG TIME help with 2 year old who REFUSES to nap

Over the course of the past 2-3 weeks my son WILL NOT NAP. I have had to move him to a pack n play in the basement b/c he is waking up his sister and our younger (4 month old) son.

He will cry for about 30 minutes and then be quiet (I assume fall asleep) for 20 minutes at which point I remind him that it is STILL nap time and that he doesn't have to sleep but he does need to be quiet and he proceeds to cry for HOURS until I go get him. I have started telling him that if he doesn't nap than he can't play at the park with us when we go in the afternoon and I am REALLY at my wits end. HE is SO SO SO BEYOND exhausted and the lack of sleep is really starting to catch up with him. He has dark circles under his eyes and BEGS to go to bed early...

Any suggestions, besided crying it out which isn't working I don't know what else to do. I have 3 kids 2 and under and there is NO WAY IN HELL I am letting anyone give up napping at such an early age. Mommmy NEEDS nap time and based on his exhaustion level I think HE NEEDS the nap too.

Anyone been there and had it just been a phase. It's NOT teeth he has all his molars and this is only an issue at naptime. I think part of it is he would rather be in his bed upstairs but 20 minutes is not sufficient and if I let him CIO upstairs in his bed then he wakes everyone else up which is why I started putting him down in the basement.....

Anyone have any thoughts/advice/suggestions?? Im desperate

 

Do your twins share a room? I would put your daughter down in the basement in the PNP, and leave your son in his room, if you think that will help. Then, put some white noise on in the baby's room, so he doesn't wake up if your other son carries on.

Maybe this will shake things up. Also, make sure the bedroom is cool, dark (blackout shades), etc. White noise isn't a bad idea for your 2-year-olds, either -- mine still nap with it turned up loudly.

Good luck! I know I'd lose it if mine decided to give up naps at this point!

 

I agree with Becca. Continue to put him down for nap no matter how much he carries on. We also have white noise in all the bedrooms for just this kind of thing. I also agree with her about moving your dd and leaving him in the room. That way he isn't being rewarded for the naptime chaos. Tell him that it's naptime and what time you'll be back then stick to it. I bet you anything he'll eventually give in and at the very least start being quiet more of the time. Good luck! The earliest I allowed any of mine to stop that nap/quiet time was 3.5.

 

Nope my twins don't share a room and ALL three kids in three seperate rooms already have fans going and he screams SO Fing loud that no amount of white noise can drown him out and the baby is the closest to his room....

My daughter is a great sleeper so I don't really want to put her in the pack n play in the basement b/c she sleeps SO well in her crib plus then if Jake did cry he'd still be waking up the baby....


GAH this is sO TOUGH

 

He has a fan runnign in his room all night maybe I will try putting the fan in the basement for nap time. He already has his blankets/pillow down there so maybe the fan will help....

I have NEVER had to do CIO for more than a few days but this has been going on for TWO WEEKS so Im kind of at my wits end

Thanks for the suggestions and keep them coming---

 

Erica, this happens to Gabe when he has an ear infection. Has he had a cold at all recently?

It will pass. Remember when Gabe did this for 3 months and had to sleep in my bed? It was weird! It took a LONG time, but it went away. Sooooooo sorry!

 

Thanks Mer I DO remember you going thru this (and was going to post this on FT too).... Good to konw it goes away but heaven help me if it lasts 3 months. I highly doubt and ear infection as he is fine at ALL other times including bedtime and he hasn't had a cold.

Did you ever figure out why Gabe started and stopped fighting napping?

Thanks, i hope it's a phase that ends soon...

 

My boys are resisting napping right now, but I think it's just a phase. Thankfully, it's just the two of them (no baby). I don't like when one screams and wakes the other so on the rare chance that only one wakes up and I can get him out before his brother wakes up, I will. My boys have never been awesome nappers but they do at least 45 minutes. They sleep a solid 12+ hours at night, so I don't push the nap too much, other than that they HAVE to go down every single day and at least spend an hour or so in their crib (sleeping or not).

GL - I know sleep issues always drive me nuts!

 

I may be misreading your post, but...

He cries for hours? How long are you leaving him down?

And after he's quiet for a while, have you been going in to tell him to sleep?

I have one napping beautifully and one who naps maybe every third day or so. With my non-napper, I'm just really, really consistent. I put him down and tell him he can go to sleep, and if he doesn't fall asleep he can have quiet time and talk and sing and play with his stuffed animals. Sometimes he still protests, but often if he doesn't sleep he will just hang out pretty peacefully. And it really does work to recharge his batteries - he'll go down cranky and whiny and get up refreshed and ready to go.

It's totally up to him. If he sleeps, great, if not, ok. The compromise, though, is the length of quiet time. I usually leave him down 45 min, or no more than an hour. I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving him longer, especially if he was crying. There are plenty of days I wish I had a longer break, but at least he's usually pretty easy when he gets up - we have a snack, he draws with markers, we google pictures of leaf blowers, etc.

At this age, you're not going to be able to reason or threaten your way through this. If I were you, I'd determine a reasonable amount of time for him to be in his crib, and just let it be what it is, sleep, quiet time, fussing, whatever. You could add some more stuffed animals or books or something to keep him busy if he doesn't sleep.

Good luck! I hope it works out. You need your rest. :hug: