Possible reasons for dd waking from naps so dreadfully grumpy?

[BroccoliSpears]

She's 2.2. She used to wake like a little ray of sunshine, squeaking and beaming and giggling and generally delighted to have woken up. Occasionally she would wake too early and would be grumpy and tearful and clingy.

This last couple of weeks she only wakes up cross. I know she's woken when I hear a wail of anguish (she used to just get up and come and find me) and she is so clingy and tearful and anxious for a good half an hour (or however long it takes me to sucessfully distract her and make her forget to be grumpy). You know how toddlers get when absolutely everything is wrong and mummy getting a drink in the wrong cup is the single most traumatic thing ever to have happened?

I'm wracking my brains trying to work out what's changed. Any ideas or experience?

its blood sugar levels.

I read about it yonks ago when ds1 was little. He'd always wake up in a foul mood so I started giving hima biscuit or something as soon as we woke up and it stopped.

yup, read the title of thread and thought 'hunger'. Make sure you have fed her something before sleeping and have a biscuit ready for waking up. Dd is best chilling out with telly and a biscuit wen waking tbh.

My daughter did exactly the same thing and at a similar age. It would take a good 45 minutes to calm her down and get her back to her normal sunny self. She only does it once in a while now. I'm afraid I have no idea why they do this but it does seem to be quite normal. Two of my friends had the same experience with their children. It will pass!

oh my god you could be describing my dd2 who is just plain foul when she wakens up after her nap
am off out to buy some digestives and cross fingers

I wondered about blood sugar. I try and encourage her to have a snack before sleeping (banana / piece of toast / flapjack / cheese / yogurt -are these good choices?) and I always try to have a cup of milk ready when she wakes up. Would a biscuit be better?

I've also worked out that it's a sign that they are beginning to be ready to start to phase out naps ( eeekkk!!! )

All three of mine have gone from waking from naps little rays of sunshine to waking in foul moods at about this age, and sure enough nap time has gradually ended over the next few months. My youngest DC ( 2.4 ) has just started being like this, and I know the blessed day time nap is going to be over and done with soon.

I always have a biscuit ready for when he wakes up. Not sure if it's a blood sugar thing or whether the biscuit distracts him from his mood. Either way it works.

Tne other thing you might find is that apparently sleep cycles are 45 mins so if she's having, say, an hour she might be in the middle of the "deep" sleep. I find that now ds has an hour and a half at lunch, he's so much better than when he had 2...might be talking rubbish of course !

That's ineresting herb. Will try and notice timings.