How long do you persevere with your nap-resusing tot?

[MiaSparrow]

DD is 27 months and is starting to get really bad at going down for her lunchtime nap. We have black-out curtains, but TBH, there's still a bit of sunlight pouring in her window at the bottom so I WILL sort this out...

Please don't tell me she's ready to drop her nap. She can be deliriously tired to the point where she struggles to keep her eyes open and still, she fights it, fights it, fights it. I do try to catch her before she's overtired. But sometimes it can take up to an hour to settle her and even then she still won't go down, even though she can look like she's juuuuuust about to for that whole hour, IYSWIM.

On the days she naps, she's the loveliest, happiest, chattiest, sprightly little thing you've ever seen.

On the days she doesn't nap it's then a huge battle to keep her awake until 7 and frankly I feel like it ruins our day and we can't bloody do anything because she'd be a complete horror.

It really is that black and white.

It's the most infuriating thing. She's beside herself with tiredness sometimes but she just. won't. sleep.

Aaargh! Help!

Have you noticed any difference between the mornings of the days when she naps and those when she doesn't - eg more physical activity?

If she won't sleep, can you just leave her in her room with a story CD or something so that she gets some quiet time - might help with the crabby afternoon?

Take her for a walk - will she sleep in the pushchair? I used to sit with ds to get him to sleep. Then creep out!

I know where you're coming from. DD 25.5 months. Not quite as bad as yours but a few months back we had worked hard to get her falling asleep without us pinning her down, holding her hand etc. She was doing really well then it all went to pot after Xmas and now she will pickle about for ages given half a chance. If we can stop her wriggling/jiggling/rocking/fiddling/chewing her fingers/ throwing her rabbit around/ twitching her toes she will drop off in 5 mins. Easier said than done. Sometimes we sit there for 45. Last time DH had her while I was at work she took 1.5 hours. He left her in the cot to have a rest and after 40 mins went to do the washing up. Kept checking up on her and she was happy and after 1.5 she randomly dropped off, just as he was going in to get her up!

My DS is the same age and we are caught in a hell of 'no nap, nightmare child but easy bedtime' OR 'nap, nice child, nightmare bedtime'..... I'm not sure what to do either!

Although I try to have bedtime nearer 6 than 7 on bad days

Same as Badger here - if DS naps he won't settle for bed easily but if he doesn't nap he's a monster! I've found the best balance (at the moment, who knows how long it will last!) to be dropping one nap per week - sometimes 2 per week. He naps far easier on the nap days if he's had occasions with no nap offered, but isn't so overtired on nap-free days!

Oh, and definitely an earlier bedtime if he hasn't napped!

My DD dropped hers when she was at home at 28 months which coincided with moving to a bed. We tried for several weeks (she would nap at nursery in the week, just not at home) but then gave up as we were wasting hours and hours at the weekend trying to get her to sleep (had a newborn to deal with too so couldn't spare the time) and on days when it was clear she really needed a nap, we would just take her for a drive in the car. It was far from ideal, but after a few months she was much less likely to need the sleep and could cope anyway. I think I would have missed the nap more if the new baby wasn't on the scene, but it wasn't like her nap meant downtime for us anymore so I was like meh!

Good luck - hope you can sort something out that suits your family.xx

DS is napping right now. I'm already dreading tonight....

Thanks for replies all. Glad to know we're not the only ones. It took her about 50 mins of thrashing about in her bed rubbing her eyes and doing the tired cry today before finally, finally, she gave in. And this was after swimming! So there doesn't seem to be any correlation between active mornings and easier nap times.

I'm trying to avoid giving her 'quiet time' instead because the only time she ever, ever sits still is when she's watching Dora on the laptop and I don't want that to become a reward for NOT napping, IYSWIM. Sometimes she even asks to be put on the naughty step rather than go down, as if that's a easy opt-out for her.

I honestly wouldn't persevere if I didn't think she was genuinely tired, but for every minute of the hour that she struggles to go down it's as if she's just about to go. It's not like it takes her that time to wind down, it's thrash, thrash, thrash for 59 minutes and then drop. And there's absolutely no in-between.

I think I might be coming to the conclusion that she's a bit high needs, TBH...

xx

what time are you trying to put her down? Maybe its just a case of naptime needs to be later rather than dropped altogether?

We had to do this with ds at similar age, as he wasn't ready to go without the nap. It meant he also had to have a slightly later bedtime, but we felt it was a better option for us & him until he was better able to cope with no nap.

Since then, he's gradually cut back on the number of days he naps, now at 2.9 he has around 2/week. On those days he has approx 2hrs from 2-4pm & is in bed at 8pm, the rest of the week with no nap he's in bed & asleep by 6.30-7pm.

We had the same problem with my DD at around 2 yrs - she suddenly started refusing naps in her cot. I have to walk her round the block in her buggy- or time errands/outings with her nap so she can sleep in her buggy. It's not ideal but she definitely still needs her nap - she also goes deliriously manic if she misses too many. Although now at 2 yrs 4 months, she skips the odd afternoon nap which is fine as long as its not a few days in a row. We adjust bedtimes accordingly. She is also a very big personality and a stubborn little thing!