Nap Strike OR

My one DS's schedule is all out of whack. He's really lengthening his morning nap, now usually over 2 hrs. He's been completely fighting his afternoon nap, though. He'll sit in his crib & play upwards of 2 hrs before he actually falls asleep! We "THINK" he's asleep because he's quiet, but then realize he's not! He doesn't fuss & if he does, it's nothing major. Today he 'played' an hour & then fell asleep. I woke him at 3:30pm (so after 1 hr 15 mins of sleeping) to keep bedtime consistent (2 days ago, I woke him after an hour of sleep). And today I had to wake him from his morning nap to eat lunch (2 hrs 20 mins of sleep). Bedtime is even becoming wonky! The other night he sat in there & played until 8:15pm! We always lay them down by 7:30 & they're usually out within 5-10 mins. Going to bed later is causing him to sleep later in the morning (which would be heaven sent if we didn't need an earlier wake up for daycare days), meaning we had to wake him up the past 2 mornings at 6:30am. To top it all off, last night he was up 'playing' in his crib at 2am this morning! I think he was up for at least 30 mins, but I'm not sure. It's been MONTHS since we've had issues in the middle of the night....all of which were usually precipitated by days he didn't sleep well. He completely didn't take an afternoon nap at daycare yesterday b/c they gave up after an hour, so he had been awake from 10:40am til bedtime! He's been in fairly good moods, except for the first 30 mins or so after being woken up.

Obviously what we're doing isn't working. Unfortunately, my other DS is doing just fine with it! He's still taking 1-2 hr naps at each nap time, going to bed well, & waking at the usual time.

Is this a phase or is DS1 trying to tell us he's ready for one nap? I just don't know how it's going to work because I cannot have 2 different nap schedules! (I work night shift & sleep when they sleep before work)!

Here's our current schedule:

6am wake (they get a sippy of milk at this time)
8am breakfast
8:30-9am down for morning nap (earlier on crabby, early rise days....later on later sleeping days, but never past 9)
10-10:30am snack (if awake)
11:30am lunch
12:45-1pm down for afternoon nap
3pm snack (if awake)
4:30pm dinner (looking to push this closer to 5pm)
7:30pm bedtime (they get a sippy of milk before bed)

My problem is, at daycare the meal times are constant. If we transition to ONE nap, it'll have to be at noon (when the other kids do). Being that my kids usually take at LEAST 2 hrs by noon, I just can't see how it's going to work.

Any BTDT moms with good advice? I'm really hoping it's just a phase that he needs to work through, since I've read on there that parents will think their kids want 1 nap & then realize it was just a phase. They are just getting over being sick, but they stuck to their schedule even during that time.

I'm not totally opposed of a 1 nap day, just nervous that DS2 clearly isn't ready & how we'll do it at daycare (they go 2-3 days per week). I guess I could make daycare lay them down earlier & then just feed them lunch when they wake...but then does it effect their bedtime? I'm just too confused. I was in denial that we could stay on 2 naps for MUCH longer.

HELP!

Edited for spelling errors (I'm frazzled!)

 

QUOTE(nurseandrea02 @ Aug 12 2008, 04:54 PM) [snapback]926854[/snapback]
Is this a phase or is DS1 trying to tell us he's ready for one nap? I just don't know how it's going to work because I cannot have 2 different nap schedules! (I work night shift & sleep when they sleep before work)!

I'm a little confused. You said they nap at daycare, but then you mention you nap when they nap before you go to work. So are they doing both naps at home right now, or only one?

It sounds like he is ready for one nap. I hope someone can weigh in as to how this is done with children in daycare. When I did the switch it was gradual, and I did have to deal with lots of crankiness for a while until they adjusted to the new routine.

 

Have you tried an earlier bedtime? Even a half an hour could make a difference. Just a thought from what I have read in HSHHC. Good luck! I can't wait to see what others have to say.

 

Sorry, they go to daycare 2-3 days per week, the days AFTER I work. I only nap with them BEFORE I work at night.

They take 2 naps at home & are SUPPOSED to take 2 naps at daycare. We just started a new one & then were off for a week with Hand, Foot, & Mouth, so they are trying to adjust still. But he's fighting at both home AND daycare now.

My DH keeps thinking we should be keeping them up later & I keep insisting they go to bed earlier. They don't always seem tired when they go to bed, but still used to fall asleep within 5-10 mins of laying down. 7:30pm was working PERFECT for us (we had started with a 6pm bedtime that resulted in LOTS of early wake ups) until these past few days. The days he hasn't napped well have usually resulted in earlier bedtimes...sometimes as early as 6:45pm again! We kinda go by their sleepy cues. Unfortunately, the past few days, DS1 has sat in there playing & not going to sleep like he usually does.

I think his schedule has been messed up so much the past few days that the kiddo just doesn't know what he wants !

Thanks for the responses thus far. I figured I'd see more, since I know lots of moms on here are either transitioning or recently transitioned. Hopefully I'll hear from them soon! And HOPEFULLY he'll nap well at daycare tomorrow (I'm at work now)!!!!!

 

He might just need a tweak in the schedule, but more likely it's that thing that happens around 13 mos. to EVERYONE! I swear most people ask this question at 13 mos.!!! I wouldn't give up. He's testing his boundaries a little. I would let him play and control his wake up time. His ability to play quietly will pay off in SPADES LATER!!!! So this isn't all bad!!!

 

Hi there. My first suggestion would be to let them sleep only one hour in the morning to preserve the afternoon nap. See if that helps. If that alone doesn't help, lengthen the awake time between these two naps by 30-60 minutes (but continue to let them have just one hour in the morning). If after a few weeks you're still not getting two naps out of your son, he's probably ready for one nap. My boys switched to one mid-day nap (noonish) around 14 months and although I was nervous, I must admit that I love the one-nap day now!

 

QUOTE(nurseandrea02 @ Aug 12 2008, 08:40 PM) [snapback]927123[/snapback]
Sorry, they go to daycare 2-3 days per week, the days AFTER I work. I only nap with them BEFORE I work at night.

Gotcha! That makes sense now.


QUOTE(~* dfaut *~ @ Aug 12 2008, 08:51 PM) [snapback]927139[/snapback]
He might just need a tweak in the schedule, but more likely it's that thing that happens around 13 mos. to EVERYONE! I swear most people ask this question at 13 mos.!!!

Absolutely right! When I first read this, I calculated 17 months for some reason :huh: . I totally agree with Diane. My girls were all nap confused just over 12 months too. I stuck with putting them down twice a day and they went back to old nap habits within 2 weeks at the most. We transitioned at 15 months.


Sorry for being all over the place in here. :hug99: I hope this helps some.

 

QUOTE(CHJH @ Aug 13 2008, 01:06 AM) [snapback]927160[/snapback]
Hi there. My first suggestion would be to let them sleep only one hour in the morning to preserve the afternoon nap. See if that helps. If that alone doesn't help, lengthen the awake time between these two naps by 30-60 minutes (but continue to let them have just one hour in the morning).


We had to do this. It worked well until we transitioned them at 14 months to one nap. I say stick with 2 naps for a bit longer if you can.

 

Thanks Ladies! I guessed we were amidst the 12-13 mo nap conundrum (sp?) so that's why I wanted to verify it here. DH put him to bed a little earlier last night, so we'll see if it helps. He never naps much longer than an hour in the morning at daycare, so that should also help. I just HOPE he takes 2 naps there today...when he doesn't, it messes with everything all over again! ACK!

 

I could've written this, I swear!! Only it's DD doing this. Our schedule is this:
7-7:30- wake and get sippy of milk/dry cereal
8:30- bkfst
10ish- nap1 (usually lasting 2 hrs)
12- lunch
2-snack
3-nap 2(lasting anywhere from 45 min to 2 hrs) sometimes DD will lay in crib and play the whole time!!
530-dinner
7- bath/ in bed by 730, no later than 8.

I found 730 to be perfect bedtime with this schedule. I know when I cut one nap, because they act like they can do it- it never works more than 1 day at a time...hysterics, exhausted..etc. So I've decided it's not worth 2 different schedules if she is going to cooperate while he naps. I figure it gives her "rest" time or "downtime" to just chill and entertain herself. I can't believe we still do 2 naps here at over 15 months...but oh well!

Just a suggestion, but what if you pushed the start time for nap #2 until like 2 pm...or whatever time it would be at 3 hrs past when they wake up from nap #1...? We usually do nap #1 3 hours from wakeup time, nap #2 3 hours from wakeup from nap #1, and then bedtime at 3 to 4 hours past wakeup time from nap #2....
Used to do the 2-3-4 rule...but recently they started stretching out a bit, I think in transition to getting to that infamous 1 nap!!!! I think this is a very slow and gradual process for my kids too..it's not like one day they both wake up and decide...hey let's kick that morning nap and make things simple!! LOL
We wish!

HTH :unknw:

 

My first thought is that the 2 naps are too close together. I would move the second nap back later and then you can probably keep the same bedtime. I have been having nap confusion as well and when they both started being inconsistent with the first nap I moved it back to starting an hour later. This then pushed their second nap back an hour. It works perfect for Jack but Lily does not need both naps. I put her down for the second nap anyway and take 20minutes for myself (shower, etc..). If she is not asleep after that (which she usually is not) I go and get her and spend some one on one time playing with her.