Going nuts...not napping, not listening and too much crying (all of us)

OK - so the past four days DS has not napped...I take that back...he naps for 45 minutes on the dot. In the past some days were good, some days were bad. They are doing one nap at 10:30 - 11:00am, and they sleep usually at least an hour, sometimes 2. Well....I just don't know what I'm doing wrong...he has been SCREAMING every time I put him down the past few days, so I kept him up later yesterday thinking maybe he coudl stay up later...well that back fired on me, he slept again for 45 minutes and really cried harder than ever going down. So clearly he couldn't handle staying up later.

I'm just at my wit's end with naps. Some weeks are good weeks, some are not. He's crying right now....and he has the loudest cry EVER!!!!!!!!!

The other thing that drives me nuts is that they don't listen (I know that's expected), but it stil drives me crazy because when I say no and take something off them or correct them they both throw themselves on the ground and cry. DS is worse -- he hits his head on the ground (head butts), and now he has HUGE bruises on his head. I feel like people look at him and me and wonder what the heck is wrong with his head. He is all banged up!

OK, I feel better now that I vented. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....back to putting the groceries away and jumping in the shower while I have a free moment.

 

:hug: Do you do anything for a naptime routine? I found that I had to institute quiet time at least 30 minutes before nap where they have a snack and we read. It kind of gets them in the mood for nap time. I usually put DD in her room while I put DS down and he likes to turn on the light, point to the stuff on his wall, look outside and then turn off the light and he's ready for nap. Then I go to DD, arrange her blankies how she likes them and read her another story (she's obsessed with Hop on Pop right now) and then she's usually ready.
This was the age (15-16 mths) where tantrums were at their worst. I thought it would never end but it does. I found that ignorning the tantrum the best I could (and it was hard) and making sure they were safe while they did their thing, was my best defense against it. Now at 23 months, tantrums are far and few between. Hang in there, Momma!

 

He might be teething... Hopefully it's just a phase. Try to put him down earlier at night maybe?

 

Cooper did this for a couple weeks, turned out another molar was coming in. Hopefully it won't last long for you.

 

I'm sorry! I can relate to your pain. We had several weeks of napping only 3-4 days per week and even then it was only 45-60 minutes. Mine were never huge nappers but at least now they are back to 1-1.5 hours pretty consistently. My daughter at that same time was throwing fits that truly scared me, as far as what I might be in for as she gets older. 10 tantrums a day was the norm, over everything from getting a diaper to sitting in her high chair. I would say distract them whenever possible, rather than just saying 'no' or taking things away from them, that works sometimes. They are at a young age where coping skills are minimal. We ended up getting her a booster seat to avoid the high chair tantrum, and give her choices of clothes which helps. Also she picks which diaper she wants, since they have different characters. I do think part of the problem could have been that she was getting her canines, not sure about my why my DS wasn't sleeping though. It is probably a painful phase that will feel like a long time but will hopefully end soon!! Hang in there, it is so tough emotionally to cope with non-napping demanding toddlers.

 

i don't have any advice but just wanted to give some big :hug: s - hang in there! you're doing a great job.