crying after afternoon nap

[soniaweir]

hi all,

for the past 3 days my 17 month old has woken up in a really bad mood. He cries and cries and nothing we can do can calm him down. Although when we leave the room he does stop for a bit or if we don't give him the attention.

if he calms down and start paying him attention he starts going off on one again.

I've tried distracting him, trying to give him milk and even sat with him while watching his beloved cbeebies! but nothing helps.

any ideas what it could be?

he is in the middle of one at the moment and just won't calm down. Usually he is so well behaved and calm so its completely out of character for him. is it the start of tantrums?

any help or ideas would be gratefully appreciated.

thanks

Sonia

all of mine are foul/have been foul after their naps - apparently due to a dip in blood sugar levels? could you try him with a banana/biscuit etc when he wakens up at all?

we tried to give him some food but he refused it, it made him worse and more upset. he has calmed down now but only after my oh took him for a walk!

DD3 got up with her usual whinging this afternoon but the moment she saw her sisters outside the wellies were demanded and off she popped - maybe the freshair IS the key!!

Had similar thing with dd who is littleolder(hadn't thought of blood sugar thing that makes sense though)-she does seem a bit better now (is 21 months) but is prone to becoming hysterical If still tired (has done it when wakes at night too) so have been mre careful about making sure she doesn't get overtired.

I think it's hard to come out of a deep sleep to ordinary life again. It's the transition. My dgs 2 is often like this after a nap. Lots of cuddling, a drink and a dvd can help, but a wonderful distraction like a visiting dog (or sisters outside like dizzydixies dd) has a miraculous effect!

DS1 was always like this after his nap - I used to wake him at 2.30 so it wouldn't impact on his bedtime and he would be really grumpy and whingy.

Tbh, I used to bring him downstairs and let him sit on the sofa watching telly with a drink and a biscuit and not really interact with him until he cheered up a bit (usually 15 to 20 minutes) as anything I tried was just meant with more whingy and crying - I just think he needed some quiet time.

Mylittle guy used to do this.
Nothing I did helped so I would leave a drink and cookies with his and jsut wait it out.
He grew out of it quickly.
Just grupmy from waking up. mayeb still a bit tired?

Yep ds2 is like this sometimes.

He's fine if allowed to sit quietly with me on the sofa, having a cuddle and watching Playhouse Disney.

He really doesn't like it if ds1 or DH are at home and they try to talk to him/tickle him/acknowledge in any way that he's there.

I just assume he takes after his dear mama and needs a bit of time to adjust to the waking world again.

DS used to do this all the time at around the same age... I used to hate it! Couldn't figure it out. Until I realised that I am utter foul after waking due to low blood sugar levels, and turns out he's the same...

The trick would be to get him to eat a bit of banana/a biscuit/OJ asap after waking to avoid the meltdown.

thanks for all of your advise...i think it might be that he need to wake up properly. i think what i might do is leave him in his cot after he wakes up for a while and then just give him some down time in front of tv with milk. hopefully that will work. he is getting plenty of sleep but is waking up earlier due to light mornings, typically this morning he slept in just when i have to get up to go to work!!!

wish me luck!

Perhaps a blackout blind/thicker curtains are needed?