Done with naps... how to survive the WHOLE day?

Looking for advice. I think my ladies are almost done with naps. How did you all adjust when this happens. I am struggling in so many ways! What to do, how did the schedule change? Did your kids then go to bed earlier or?? Any advice appreciated... almost ready to go back to work it is that HARD.

-Kristi
Mom to Ella and Nora

 

I still put them in their rooms for about an hour for "quiet time". (Mommy time, really) They lay in bed and read books. Once or twice a week, they'll nap. Sometimes they goof off, get out of bed, make a mess, etc., but for the most part they'll stay there. Once I made it clear to them that they didn't HAVE to nap, just read books, they understood. It DOES make for long days sometimes, but my nights are so much easier. We start the bedtime routine around 6-6:15 and lights out by 7. In fact, we had a busy day today with lots of outdoor time and they fell asleep about ten minutes ago. (at 6:20!)

 

I am in the same boat with naps ending We are struggling as well. No naps mean meltdowns starting at around 4-4:30 just in time to make dinner a nightmare!!!! I've tried earlier bedtime, later bedtime. Still working things out. I wanted to reply to give you a bump. I'm interested in seeing more replies. Hopefully for some advice!!!

 

At the age your children are at my daughters went through a phase where they wherent wanting to nap as often, sometimes not at all. We got cinderella alarm clocks and put them in their room. When it was time for a nap we had them help us set the clock and asked that they stayed in bed until the alarm went off. We told them they didnt have to go to sleep but mommy needed quiet time and they needed to stay in their bed. They usually fell asleep but the days that they didnt they played pretty quietly in their bed until the alarm went off. The days they did fall asleep I quietly snuck in their room and moved the alarm time ahead a few hours so it went off later then we set it together. So when it did go off they would still get excited that they had stayed in bed the whole time. This worked for awhile and pretty soon they got back into a routine of napping again
Now they are almost 4 and I am lucky if I get 1 nap out of them a week. To make up for it we moved bedtime up and hour and it helped ALOT. Hope you find something that works for you.

 

My girls are almost 4 now and they gave up naps around that time. We still do quiet time with pillows and blankets on the couch a little bit after lunch. I put on a video for them and they just basically lay down for an hour or so--they almost never fall asleep any more, but I get to still get things done during that time or just snuggle with them for a break.

 

I think I cried when mine gave up their naps. What an adjustment it was, for me, as my "break" during the day was gone. I ended up putting them to bed TWO hours early in the evening, and they immediately went to sleep, so that's what worked for us.

 

My DD gave up naps a little after she turned 1. I thought thats impossible! Didnt they have "nap time" when we were in Kindergarten?? HA! She is a busy little bee though and wakes up at 730-8 and goes strong until 8 at night. We never have to fight her for bedtime though and she even puts herself down at that time.

 

K and K gave up naps on the weekends about 3 months ago... but we still have them go to their rooms and at least lie down for an hour or so.

 

OMG I feel for all of you! Non of mine gave up naps till just before they turned 4. It wasn't optional. They still had to go to there room and stay for 2hrs. They had many phases where they stopped for a bit but went back to it.
.When they did give up naps though I thought it was easier to go places in the afternoon. Course that didn't last long cause I always had another one napping. I'm looking forward to that day again lol!

 

Mine still nap for the babysitter on the 2 days that I work. They almost never nap on weekends. On days when I think they need the sleep I strap them in individual strollers and put the seats in the lie back position. Then I make a "tent" over the stroller with a blanket. They will usually nap for about and hour and a half this way.

On other days when they seem too wound up and I think I am going to have a battle on my hands I will pull out the couch bed and let them watch a movie so that I can either lie down with them or get some things done.

I tried quiet time in their rooms but that seems to only get them more wound up and they always create a huge mess so it was never really worth it.

I feel for you! Mine stopped napping regularly when they moved to toddler beds and gave up pacifiers. I sure do miss them....

 

Mine just finished naps this past month at 37 months. Now they have quiet time for an hour. They mostly stay in their rooms but lately they sneak into eachother's room to goof off. As long as I get a break is all I care about. Once they are together, they go out to the loft and play quietly.
I did move bedtime earlier. I want to make them go down 12.5 hours before they wake. So if they usually wake around 8am I put them down at 7:30pm. It changes everyday. So, we are flexible. They usually sleep 12 hours or more at night which is all they need.
It is a long day but we do bath earlier so we spend a lot more time winding down to bed than previously.

 

I don't have any advice... we haven't reached that stage yet. But I wanted to say I love the alarm clock idea! I'm going to try that!

 

At that age it really could just be a phase. We went through that every few months or so. Try quiet time in their room for a while & see if they don't start napping some for you. My boys just turned 4 & they love to nap still. Some days they don't, like if we are busy on the weekends or something.

 

I make mine stay in bed as well. Most days they still nap. On a few occasions though they won't. Unfortunately I have one that would nap if his brother would leave him alone, and he spends most of the day cranky without a nap. If they are being quiet or playing nicely together, I try to leave them in there for about 2hrs. DD napped until the summer before first grade. They are required to have quiet time if your kindergarten is a full day program, so it is good to keep them in the routine.

 

Because naps were always my sanity saver, I always napped by twins in separate bedrooms once they reached the age of one. They napped pretty consistently til past 3 years of age - then this past year they have begun weaning out of it - but one sooner than the other so I could have a week where one child napped 5/7 days and the other napped 3/7 days but because they were in separate rooms that worked fine (unless the non-napper snuck down to the nappers room - our bedroom - and woke him up )

Even so, then and today - nap time is not optional - now it is just called REST TIME - unless I insist on a nap; setting a clock or a timer is a good idea so they know you haven't forgotten about them. They have to stay in their beds (whether in separate rooms or in the same room - which I do more now - esp when I am not expecting them to sleep) and I let them choose several books and usually a couple of cars - or something else if they request it - but playing is not an option.

I agree wholeheartedly with posters who have suggested that if you keep up the habit of always to bed - they may just start napping again on a regular basis - be firm that there isn't an option of getting up. My kids all had little waves like that. With certain kids at certain times, when I KNEW they needed that nap and they were simply fighting it, I would really put my foot down and tell them that they would NOT get up until they had napped - you know, when you want them to know you mean what you say, to make a point, etc - and they might be in that room for 4 hours - it was rare but it can really get the point across - at that point, though - you don't want them to sleep too long or they'll never get to bed

 

quote:
Originally posted by Janet36:

 

Kristi, have you tried quiet time yet? Has it worked for you? How did you do it?

How do you all keep them in their beds for "quiet time". So many of you do that... HOW? How do you keep them in their beds, or even just their rooms for that matter? Is it just something you have to work with them on for a week or two until they get the idea? Do they need to be older to "get it"?

I posted in this thread a few days ago that we haven't reached that point yet where they are giving up their naps. Now for the last few days DS won't nap, but he really does need one still. (I've got another threadgoing about my problem so I won't elaborate here...)

I'm just wondering about the logistics of quiet time...

 

I've found out that if I really wear them out in the morning, that they're 'actually' still tired enough for a nap. BUT, we don't do the normal nap stuff - you know, like going to bed, more formal nap type thing.

I have, by accident, found that if I put in a video about 1/2-45 minutes after they eat, that they'll fall asleep to it. And still get that little snooze in.

They're soooo much nicer with that nap! LOL

It took us about 4-6 months before I figured this out though. It was by pure accident. I'm not a big (lots of) TV fan, but I remember just wanting them quiet - they both were just BEARS! And within minutes of dumbo starting, they were out cold! LOL

 

Mine sleep a little later in the morning (9am) and then go to bed at a decent time (9pm) at night. I am happy with this. I enjoy my kids through the day so it was never a problem for me.

 

Ok, this may be a dumb question but how do you know they're officially done with naps and it's just not a phase? My DD tends to only fall asleep 4 out of the 7 days of naps. Does this mean she's growing out of them? I'm in a panic now!

 

One of mine is so active he has to nap, LOL He goes down between noon and 2 everyday. The other, only naps some days, not every day.

I will be ready when they quit napping (or atleast I think so) because they pretty much entertain one another and play with their toys all day. We color after breakfast, and they watch George at noon. I try and keep them busy if they get bored playing.

 

quote:
Originally posted by toddlertwins:
Ok, this may be a dumb question but how do you know they're officially done with naps and it's just not a phase? My DD tends to only fall asleep 4 out of the 7 days of naps. Does this mean she's growing out of them? I'm in a panic now!


I'm with you on the panic! I would think if they are really ready to not nap then their little bodies would be able to handle it. That's why I really think my DS is NOT ready and he's hopefully just going through some phase.