Another one nap question

Ok - so when we did two and three naps, I did the HSHHC thing of letting them go for an hour and if they weren't asleep, get them out and wait for the next nap. But, now, we are moving to one nap (I've tried to go back to two and it didn't work, so I'm pretty sure we're at the one nap stage) and I'm not sure what to do. The girls rarely cry in their cribs, instead they "talk" back and forth and laugh. I had them separated until about two months ago for naps and when they wouldn't sleep, they would cry. Well, no crying now, but a lot of partying before they go to sleep. (especially now that we've moved to one nap - it seems to take longer for them to fall asleep).

Anyway, I'm wondering how long you would let them stay in their cribs? I don't necessarily want to take them out at an hour because then we'd have no nap and it would be horrible! But, how long would you feel comfortable leaving them?? I've done up to 90 minutes and they finally fell asleep. It just, for some reason, doesn't seem right to just leave them in there playing. Maybe I just need to lighten up and enjoy them being confined and happy!

Thoughts?

 

When did you go to one nap? It might take a couple of weeks for them to get the hang of it.

Also, can you separate them again? Mine have (nearly) always been separated for naps. We tried putting them together -- the first weekend went great (they're in daycare M-F), the next weekend was eh, and the third weekend they didn't nap at all! After that, we separated them again.

Amy still goes through phases of chatting and playing rather than sleeping. At the worst (which I think was around 20-24 months), I could leave her in there for up to 2 hours and she just wouldn't sleep. I usually didn't wait any longer than that, because if I put her down at 1:30 and she fell asleep at 3:30, I'd have to wake her up at 4:30 (to preserve dinner/bedtime), and it was a lot uglier than if she just never napped at all.

I guess what I'm saying is that they may be independent issues. You might not be able to do much about playing instead of napping, except wait it out. (I had mixed success with popping in and "reminding" her to sleep -- sometimes it worked, sometimes it backfired.) But playing together -- I would address that if you can.

 

There were times when mine would take 30 min or so to fall asleep. I left them, to me that is their way of winding down before their nap.

I agree with Alden, can you separate them?

 

I have always had mine seperated for naps, but once we went to one nap I slowly increased the length of the nap, start at 1hr and then after about a month I made it 90mins, and by 2 months it was 2hrs. So now we put them down at 1pm and will not go in before 3pm, if they sleep past that fine, but we never go in before 3pm (unless they are sick or something).

 

Sometimes mine can be chatty, but generally if they are tired, they'll go to sleep even if one is still messing around.

We didn't go to one nap until 15-18 months, but when we did, I made sure to have some good winding down time before naps. I don't let them play outside until right before in case they are really over-stimulated.

Now, I also don't go in before 3pm unless I can tell there is a real issue. They can stay in there and just have quiet time.

 

Mine have been separated for naps since 14 months old (they are now 22 months). DS sleeps a TON; DD only naps about 2x a week. But I leave her in her pack n play for 2-2.5 hours no matter what - - with toys so she can play if she needs. Sometimes she screams for the entire 2 hours; sometimes she plays very nicely. Therre is no rhyme or reason with her.
But I need the break, and to cook & clean.

 

Can you put themdown later for their nap? Maybe they aren't tired yet. Or do a routine to get them quiet and ready to nap first. Mine are getting close to only one nap and are up almost 4 hours before they want a nap. If I put them down sooner they just play

 

I used to put my girls in there for an hour. If they didn't sleep, I got them up and tried again in a couple of hours. It did take us a long time to adjust to one nap.

 

Thanks for all the opinions.

I can separate them again if needed. And we are still in transition, so maybe it is just a transition thing since they were fine taking two naps together for about two months. We just started going to one nap last week.

I'll give it a bit and see what happens - maybe play a bit more with the time and the routine.

You guys (gals, I guess) rock!