2 year olds nap routine??

[Flowers133]

Help! My 2 year old naps during the day around half 10-11 for anything up til an hour and a half.. But, she sleeps in a rocker.
Bed time is perfect, she has a bottle of milk just sitting in her rocker, then gets into bed with her juice, lays down and settles herself off happily, but nap time she has a bottle and still gets rocked to sleep, she's WAY too big for it of course and I really want to get her off the bottle and into self settling with her juice, but I can see it being hell!
She doesn't talk much more than a few words, she just points at what she wants, so I can't sit her down and try to explain what we're going to do.
Has anyone else had these issues? I know I got into bad habits rocking etc, and I'm going to try get out of that with my new baby before she gets too big, but when bouncing is the only way you'll also get some sleep it's just too tempting!

[FATEdestiny]

She is likely to understand far more than she can verbally say. So I would explain what needs to happen, in simple terms. Develop a mantra you keep on repeating:

"Nap time now. Time to lie down quietly in your cot and go to sleep. Nan night"

[HRarehoundingme]

what do you mean rocker?

[nennyrainbow]

Do you mean fruit juice by juice? That's about the worst thing you can possibly do for her teeth. No juice before bed - the sugar and acid will sit on her teeth overnight.

[HRarehoundingme]

Agreed about the juice (I am a nanny)

Hinton know time to overhaul routine before the baby comes. A maximum of 3 days of issues versus a longterm problem plus a small baby in the mix.

[Flowers133]

She doesn't drink fruit juice, it's diluted juice, like squash but obviously very weak because she's little.
By rocker I mean like a large bouncer if that makes sense, it is designed to go up to when they're bigger, she's just too big now x

[Artandco]

Bottles and juice (squash) are both not great at 2 years. They will rot her teeth if she's drinking either after teeth cleaned

I would change both routines. No bottles anymore at any time. Before bed a glass of warm milk and biscuit at table, then teeth.

Nap and bedtime do with no milk or juice. Take to bed, read two stories then let her soothe herself or lay beside her whilst she settles. That way it's easier to do stories anywhere she needs to nap and Same routine as bedtime

Personally I don't think a 2 year old needs to be drinking squash even in the day. Water or milk in a cup only

[Flowers133]

Bed time isn't an issue for us, I was planning on taking away milk then, I'm just tackling one thing at a time and she goes in to bed with a kiss goodnight, waits for you to hand her her favourite teddy and tuck her in the blanket, then she falls asleep quite happily.

As for the squash, she doesn't like water on it own and she only ever has it weak, there are a lot of babies in my family and I've always known them to have the same, I understand the whole teeth thing but I've drank juice my whole life (it was all I liked) and my teeth are very healthy so I think she'll be okay so long as I look after her

[HRarehoundingme]

What would happen if you did the bedtime routine at napime?

"Bed time is perfect, she has a bottle of milk just sitting in her rocker, then gets into bed with her juice, lays down and settles herself off happily"

I would wonder if her nap is too early if she needs all that support. What would happen if you put her to bed later?

[Artandco]

I would suggest nap at 10.30am is too early also.
At 2 years a 2 hr nap starting around 1pm is more realistic as then they have all morning to get tired

[Flowers133]

Actually I agree there! The past few days she's gone to sleep later on, and at nursery the do afternoon naps so I'd like that to be ready for when she goes! Maybe I'll try the afternoon instead, and get her a children's recliner chair or beanbag to self settle in to give her the choice of that or her bed

[HRarehoundingme]

Have you tried the later naps?

[Flowers133]

Today I'm not going to settle her at all, she has way too much energy! So I'm going to leave her until she decides she's tired this afternoon and then take her up and try putting her into bed, I need her routine to change anyway as I'm going back to work this week and will be taking her to nursery 1 or 2 days a week :)

[Eminybob]

My DS is 2 and he doesn't self settle at nap time either. We read a book together on a chair and he falls asleep in my arms then I transfer him to his bed.

At night time we read the book, then I put him in bed fully awake and he self settles. It's weird.

Anyway, I'm just planning to carry on as I am until he drops the nap completely. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Fwiw you really need to clean teeth after milk and juice or its sitting on her teeth all night.

[Schmoochypoos]

I'd second an earlier poster about perhaps pushing the nap back a bit, at that age DS1 would have an activity in the morning (playgroup/walk/park etc) in the morning. Back home for lunch 1130/12ish and then nap around 1230/1 for an hour or so, although he still did have a dummy then, he would just lie on the sofa with me reading a book or the tv on quietly and just drift off. He was so tired I could carry on as normal around him tidying up etc and still sleep