sudden screaming at sleep time

Both my kids have been really good nappers for the last 6 months or so (they are 14 months now). They still take two naps a day. Dalia gets up at around 6 am, I wake Jonah by 7, and they go to bed by 7pm if not earlier. I had them in a great routine where they would go down awake but drowsy and put themselves to sleep at naps and bedtime. They nap separately but sleep at night in the same room. Sometimes Jonah (who seems to be a little "ahead" in milestones and transitions for the most part) will skip his second nap, but usually he will still lie quietly in his crib and play for a while before crying to let me know he isn't going to nap. Dalia always went down very quickly and very easily and I always had to wake her after an hour and a half to two hours.

HOWEVER, starting two days ago at their second naptime, she has begun to scream and scream when we put her down. As we are getting her ready for the nap or bedtime she is same as usual, drowsy and cuddly and almost falling asleep...but as soon as we put her in the playpen or crib, she begins to SCREAM, not like her usual "I don't want to go to bed now" fussy cry, but a full on screaming fit that lasts for up to an hour. At first we went back in because it seemed like something was really wrong. I am still not convinced that she is okay...but, take today for instance: she was totally fine all morning, but screamed and screamed and ended up sleeping with daddy in our bed for her first nap (something we've never done) and right now I am hiding in our minivan from her screams at her second nap (thank goodness for modern technology). My DH went in there once and she didn't even stop screaming when he picked her up and walked with her. But no fever, no complaints when it is not nap or bedtime...she has 8 teeth and has never acted like this for any of the previous ones that came in...so we are letting her cry it out. Is this normal transitional toddler behavior? Could something be hurting her when she is lying down? It is the fact that she is so difficult to comfort that bothers me - when we were sleep training before, she would stop crying as soon as we picked her up. Is she just "smarter" now, and knows we aren't going to let her skip the nap? Is she just mad? Am I wrong to let her cry? She does eventually go to sleep, and wakes up happy.

 

Is this just at the second nap, or does she do this at the first nap and also before bedtime? I don't think there is anything wrong with letting her CIO, as long as nothing else is bothering her. If the screaming is happening each time you lay her down, I kind of wonder if she might have an earache. But if it's just for nap, that might be her way of protesting her nap and I would let her CIO (as crazy as it is going to drive you and your DH). Sometimes toddlers get into some weird phases. Around 15 months we went through a phase with our DD where she screamed her lungs out at bedtime, we had no idea why (she wasn't sick, teething, working on a new milestone)...we switched out her nightlight, thinking the room was too dark and let her CIO and she went back to her normal routine.

 

Thanks that helps. She is doing it at both naps and bedtime. I thought of the earache but she doesn't have a fever and isn't tugging on her ears or in any other way indicating that her ears hurt (and she lies down fine for diaper changes and such). But I agree, it is strange...

 

I agree if she's doing it at naps and bedtime, I would get her ears checked. The only indication I have of ear infections here is extreme fussiness, especially at nighttime. Generally means Liam has an ear infection if it hasn't subsided in a couple of days. :hug: