Help my 14 month old is resisting nap in crib!

[Lalaturn]

Please help, two weeks after my little one turned 12 months his naps went out the window, he hasn’t napped in his crib for two months absolutely refuses and cries the house down, before this his napping was fantastic for 6 months, he’s now waking between 4.30am and 5am every morning and won’t go back to sleep we are having to drive around everyday to get him to sleep, his daytime schedule is out the window I feel like I can’t read my child anymore or know what to do to help him nap in the crib, he just seems to panic before I put him down and it’s breaking me. My husband works nights so I’m not sure how much more I can take, I’m exhausted, can anybody please advise or has anyone been through this!? I’m at my wits end I have no idea what to do

What nap/s does he usually have?

He used to have 2 a day like clock work 3 hours apart and then one day absolute nap refusal, I’ve played with the timings tried everything and he just won’t go down in his crib it’s awful, so now because of the early waking he’s still having two but in the car

Sounds like he might want to go down to 1 nap. It's horrible but I'd just try to keep him awake until mid- to late- morning and then try him for a sleep, even if you have to take him out for a car ride or in the buggy. Once you get that one nap established you should hopefully be able to get him back into the cot for his sleep.

Thankyou, I have been feeling this too, but with him waking at 4.30am that’s almost impossible because he is becoming over tired and it’s building up cortisol which is continually causing early rising, not sure how to navigate through all of this, this by far is the hardest transition