Help!!! 21 mo very resistant to naps

[KnockedUpMell]

I don't know what to do!!

20mo DS is extremely resistant to naps and he's still at a stage when he needs one- he gets really tired an cranky if he doesn't nap.

He sleeps from about 7-7 and by 11am he starts looking tired so I put him down with some milk. He'll drink the milk but then start messing about and will refuse to sleep. I usually give up after about half an hour of him generally shouting and jumping around. And I usually try again at about 2, after lunch if he hasn't slept.

For the past week it's been impossible to get him to sleep, and he's been getting difficult to put down at night too....... I can't cope with a cranky overtired toddler and a 2mo dd!

Although theres no 'official' regression at 20months, it seems a common age for things to go wonky & IMO is related to 1. Increased awareness of independence & ability to make choices for himself ie i dont want to nap (even if he needs to) & 2. They seem to have a jump in the amount of time they can stay awake before their nap

Id say hes trying 2 tell you loud & clear that 11am is too early for his nap now. However i'd hazard a guess 2pm is likely too late & he may already be overtired by that point. I'd probably try for more like 12 or 12.30& you may find he goes down better. Nap may even need to be at 1pm. I seem to recall my ds napped at 1pm at that age, but he did have a slightly later bedtime of 7.30-8pm.

If he still wont go down, i'd say its due to development & he'll likely go back to napping in a couple of weeks if you persevere (but likely at a later time than before). Of course some do drop the nap altogether by this age, but that is only the minority, most will need to nap until nearer age 3.hth