Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

18 month old refusing naps

26 replies

NRhodesDoughty17 · 27/05/2019 11:48

Hi mums- this is my first time posting on here and I am in a desperate need of some advice.
My 18month old little boy is refusing to nap. I’ve never had problems before but recently he screams the house down.
Before the problem started he was having a nap 12-2. I’ve always kept a strict same routine- quiet time and then bed but now as soon as I walk into his room the screaming begins. I’ve tried leaving him to cry it out but he sits up and screams (for the longest time 2 hours). He naps fine in the car, pushchair and at nursery.
No problems going to bed at bedtime but he has begun waking at 4:30am also.
I’m expecting my second in 2 months and I am exhausted.

OP posts:
ZoeWashburne · 27/05/2019 11:52

Have you tried adjusting the schedule? Maybe try pushing back nap time 1-2:30, and pushing back bedtime an hour so he sleeps in more. You can do it gradually.

Or go the other way and move it earlier. Is he overtired to the point where he can't wind down?

How does he sleep at night?

Kittykatmacbill · 27/05/2019 11:55

My youngest never napped in her cot once, once literally once she fell asleep on the kitchen floor and other than that just in her buggy. She totally gave up on that at 13 months.

Put in buggy walk to park until they sleep, sit on quiet bench shuggle buggy to keep asleep and read a book. No good if you actually need to achieve anything.

Sorry no help but some children of them are like that!

Throughabushbackwards · 27/05/2019 11:59

Mine both dropped naps altogether at that age. We switched to an hour or so of quiet playtime in the bedroom with the lights low and soft music on.

SofiaAmes · 27/05/2019 12:03

My DD gave up her midday nap before she was 2. One nursery that she went to loved to tell me about how they got her to nap. Turned out they were rubbing her back for the entire hour of nap time.
My dd's biggest complaint about nursery was that they tried to make her nap. DS's biggest complaint about starting school was that they wouldn't let him nap. At 18 he still takes a nap every day. Some kids just don't need that amount of sleep.
It just may be a phase your DS is going through.

Figgygal · 27/05/2019 12:04

My ds stopped napping at that age sorry he might just not need any naps now

lentilslentilseverywhere · 27/05/2019 12:09

Have you tried sitting in the room with him until he is asleep?

KellyW88 · 27/05/2019 12:11

My twins went through this at 17 months, they used to nap from 11-2pm like clockwork thanks to a very structured schedule, then, like your DS started screaming the house down once they hit 17 months.

I adjusted their schedule to start their nap at noon and included more time just before for them to crawl/travel around their bedroom and play with a few toys (non electronic as the noise would likely hype them up haha) to tire them out. Hope this helps in some way!

Oh, also I found out about a week after this started that their pre-molars were growing in which added to their crankiness - they don’t show much indication of teething since their first few sets grew in so I was oblivious Blush

Readytogogogo · 27/05/2019 13:15

I would agree with pp - push nap back to 12.30 and see if it helps. You need to be consistent and put him down each day, with luck he'll start napping again.

Original poster
NRhodesDoughty17 · 27/05/2019 13:16

Thanks for all your help. Yes I tried sitting in with him, that made him worse and he just screamed even more.
He is great at night- Bath and he’s asleep in bed by 6:30-7. No trouble. He was normally a 7-7 sleeper but because he has been waking up so early he is exhausted by 10am. He wakes again screaming- only around that time. I don’t hear a peep all night.
Could definitely be a phase. Maybe I just need to ride this one out 😭

OP posts:
pinkrockinghorse · 27/05/2019 13:18

Mine stopped napping around that age and honestly, it was actually easier - they then went to bed at bedtime with less fuss and fewer wake-ups and then in the morning they got up for the day at a much more reasonable time.

Lazypuppy · 27/05/2019 13:19

My dd started the same, so we dropped her morning nap to 20mins, and her afternoon nap to 1 hr and she's back to sleeping well.

Singlenotsingle · 27/05/2019 13:20

He doesn't need it any more, and there's no point you trying to make him nap just because you want a break.

Lahlahfizzyfizzydoda · 27/05/2019 13:33

Does he have a morning nap? If he does, maybe this is part of the issue as he isn’t tired enough after lunch.

Dd2 is 20 months, she dropped her morning nap at 13 months. I basically bought lunchtime forward (to 11ish as she’s always woken at 6am) and then put her to bed after this.

mamaofboyzz · 27/05/2019 14:01

Sounds like he's started to grow out of it. My first child stopped napping after her first birthday where as my second is still napping in the day at two and a half

dustarr73 · 27/05/2019 15:00

Time to drop the nap,i think.All mine by that age had dropped that nap.Maybe bring his bedtime forward by 20 mins or cut the morning nap shorter.

HennyPennyHorror · 27/05/2019 15:03

Naps don't last forever you know. Mine both dropped them at this age...I remember being so tired in the day without that break but you can't make a child nap if its over that stage.

Sounds like he needs no nap and a good night's sleep. He'll stop waking so early too.

Amanduh · 27/05/2019 15:05

My 2.5 year old still naps for 1.5-2 hours but he did this for a while at that age and also with the early rising. We pushed his nap forward to 12.45 and that worked.

Amanduh · 27/05/2019 15:07

Also; we tried dropping the nap, but it didn't work. He was hideously overtired by 3pm and STILL woke early! Honestly if it seems like he still needs it, I’d push it a bit later or ride the phase out

cabingirl · 27/05/2019 15:11

My daughter dropped all her naps at 18 months - very annoying but some kids do. My friend's kid napped until she was 4 - was so jealous.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 27/05/2019 15:14

Did the early waking start before the trouble napping? If he’s exhausted by 10am, then he’s probably overtired.

Putting him down for a nap earlier and then trying to sort the early waking might be worth a shot.

MRex · 27/05/2019 15:27

Molars?

Queenofthestress · 27/05/2019 15:36

My dd dropped her nap before that age, but I would try pulling it forward first, I did 11am dinner then nap straight after for a month but then it wasnt worth it

chipsandgin · 28/05/2019 19:46

Both mine stopped napping at 18 months, not sure what the ‘normal’ is but trying was a pointless exercise!

Sha19 · 29/05/2019 01:42

For the past 6 months I have completely cut my mums side of the family off. I have two children, my first I wasn’t with the dad when I was pregnant so my mum was there a lot for me, at the birth etc. Four years later I met my now partner and daughters dad. From the minute I got pregnant my mum resented everything, from not being able to attend scans, him being involved with my son, him moving in. Just generally doesn’t like him. We was living in her house which she was never in, as she has a long term partner and stayed there and only came back to do errands for his mum and dad. One day she’s came back and told me that he had to leave.. of course I left with him and our kids. She was still having contact with my son, not my daughter as if I’m honest she’s has never shown any interest in her. I don’t know if that’s because she couldn’t control things like she could with my son? Anyway, my daughters dad said he didn’t want my mum around our daughter. Understandable as she had just made us homeless and said to me she didn’t care about not seeing her. My mum has gone to extremes of calling women’s aid saying he beats me (he’s never laid a hand on me) retained his I.d for a year, told social services he’s a drug user (he’s not), blames him for me taking an overdose, let me son down at Christmas, abused me at my sons nursery and in the street calling me a ‘c*nt’. She has plastered everything on social media as if she’s a saint. She messages me asking to speak to the kids but I can’t have that kind of toxic person around me or my kids. As soon as she’s in the picture I’m upset and angry and me and my partner row sometimes. My son sees how upset I get and that’s no good for him. I’ve now lost contact with my nan as her and my mum are close and I can’t trust her with thing I may tell her. Don’t really know what replies I’m expecting to get o just needed to vent as I’m sure my partners sick of hearing about it as so am I talking about it!😩

Sipperskipper · 29/05/2019 06:44

Sounds like he is starting to need less sleep. My daughter has just turned 2, but needs less hours of sleep than say, 6 months ago. Over the last 6 months her nap has reduced from 2 hours to about 45 mins-1 hour, and a later bedtime.

She naps about 2-3pm, and goes to bed at 8pm, sleeping through until the morning.

It sounds like a bit of a vicious circle or undertiredness leading to overtiredness! If I was you I would push the nap later by 30 mins (so say 12.30, and maybe cap it at 1 hour (I have to wake my daughter up from her nap, despite her taking at least 30 mins to fall asleep, as she would never sleep properly overnight otherwise). Hopefully this will ease off the early waking, as he will be just tired enough to sleep until a more normal time.

Give it at least a week of this before you tweak his routine again, it takes a while to get into the rhythm.

Swipe left for the next trending thread