Help needed! 15 month old Nap Time Trauma

[LovetoAdopt]

Hi,

We have recently adopted a little boy who is 14 months and has never napped in the cot, always cat naps whatever time of day in pushchair or car and no set nap time. (He sleeps in cot at night).

Consequently, as we have tried to adapt his routine so that he has a set nap after lunch, he screams blue murder in the cot until we eventually give in cause he is in such a state and have to take him out for a walk/drive in car to get him to sleep for half hour. I know some of you might say we shouldn't give in, and you're probably right, I guess I'm just over sensitive to him being upset due to all the change that has gone on in his life recently.

So, because he is not having a decent nap in the afternoon he is ready for bed at 5.30pm but then only sleeping to 5am so I need to get this nap thing going on so that he can go to bed a little later etc.

Any advice on introducing him to the cot for his afternoon nap or should we just stick out the screaming?

Thank you!

could you try to put him for his set time nap in the buggy if he finds that easier? i know its not ideal but as he is used to it it may work. i have a 2.5 yrs old thats still a buggy sleeper cos he got in the habit young and stuck to it, he's never slept in his bed for naps, but is currently sleeping in the buggy in the house. atleast he's getting the sleep so may be better than nothing?
i mean just put him in the buggy @ home without the half hour walk etc and see if it works? if he's not in a state from being in cot before hand he may be able to just settle down in buggy?

I think it depends how important it is for you. Can you plan in a walk at an appropriate time for the moment, just to make sure he's getting his sleep (if the sleep is more important to you than the routine) and then once you've had a few days with less screaming, try transferring him from buggy/car into cot to see if that works? Have you tried Elizabeth Pantley's No Cry Sleep Solution for ideas on how to extend nap times too? It's not at all presciptive and allows for different parenting styles. I'm definitely in the no-screaming camp, but I understand that different families have different priorities for very good reasons.

Is his cot a welcoming place at the moment? Perhaps, if you were willing, he'd play in it with favourite toys/you next to him a few days in a row so he, perhaps, wasn't afraid of being left?