To dread DD waking from her nap

[dreadingthewakeup]

Because she’s just so fucking grumpy? Doesn’t matter how long she sleeps for, or where, or if she wakes naturally as opposed to me waking her; the first half hour is always her flinging herself around, wanting to be held but then hurling herself off me then crying, drink? (fury) snack (how fucking dare you?) toys (absolutely not) nursery rhymes on TV (apoplectic!)

I mean, it does calm down eventually and she becomes a sunny, happy toddler again but that first half hour is AWFUL!

Tasty snack do help!

Oooooh yes. DD1 was a real terrible 2, but we never had this problem. DD2 is a total delight, except for the 30mins after her nap when she’s vile.

No idea 🤷‍♀️

When my toddler got to this painful stage I eventually dropped the nap which has the added bonus of child going to sleep easier at night!!

Is she in her cot or a bed ? I used to take one of mine a drink and a snack in her bed and sit with her till she came round, I know it sounds indulgent but she was a bloody nightmare when she woke up.

Posting must have helped as she wasn’t too bad today! She definitely needs the nap, but just is verrrrry grumpy immediately afterwards!

Some people are just extremely grumpy when they wake up. My mum is still like this and she’s almost 81! We all know to steer clear of her/hang up if she’s just got up. My brother is exactly the same and apparently was just as you described your DD, as a baby. He’s now 45 and will still bite your head off if you have the misfortune to speak to him within 30 mins of him waking. I on the other hand, have always woken up the same as I always am.
Is DD’s Dad a grumpy waker??

My 2 year old likes to come around on his own. If I go up and get him as soon as he wakes he's a monster. If he's given time to come around on his own he's my usual happy smiley boy

My nearly 2yo is the same. We watch a few episodes of number blocks with a snack and some juice (I put it within reach but don’t actually offer it to him, to do so would be sheer INSULT to his soul apparently) and he’s usually sane within about 20 mins. Like you there’s no length of nap or type of wakening that makes a difference so just have to ride it out!

I think there's every reason to feel anxious about a grumpy child waking up but there's something about the use of repeated use of 'fucking' in the post that sits awkwardly with me in terms of talking about a child. Maybe your toddler isn't the only angry one!

Me and my daughter are cranky when we first wake up.
My best technique is to ignore her and just put a snack and drink in easy reach and her favourite programme on the tv.
Once she’s fully woken up she’s back to her usual self.
My girl is like a cat the more you ignore her the quicker she wakes up as she wants attention and as soon as she’s being friendly I then start chatting with her positively reinforcing her good behaviour.

It’s tough, of course you dont look forward to this drama every day. I used to put honey under the tongue of my DD just as she was waking up, otherwise she would scream blue murder for 20 minutes. I think it was a blood sugar thing. The honey seemed to help a lot.