is she dropping a nap? aaah help

[sliceofsoup]

DD2 is 24 months. Sleeps well at night, goes down at 7pm and wakes between 7am and 8 am.

Her nap routine was usually 10.30 until between 11.30 and 12, and then she usually needed another hour around 3 to 4 pm.

Now she won't sleep at all in the early part of the day and is in an absolutely foul mood because if it. If I persevere I can maybe get her to sleep for maybe 30 minutes around 1pm but this is problematic as I have to pick DD1 up from school at 2 so I don't really want the nap getting later and later.

By the time we get to 5pm she is whiny and crying and messes with her dinner because she is so past herself she isn't hungry.

She won't take a nap when I get back from getting DD1 because she is so excited to see her and just sits in the cot calling DD1s name.

We are now at the point where I am trapped in the house because she is too tired to cope with the shops. She sometimes sleeps in the car but mostly just cries with boredom.

Has anyone got any advice?

I think you've done great to keep two naps until 24 months - by then my DS had just dropped his only nap of the day! Jealous

It does sound like she's dropping a nap - what happens when you put her to bed at 3pm as normal? Even if she slept for 2 hours then, and you could put her to bed a little later.

I know it's difficult with an older child and school runs, my DD goes down later than I'd like because of dropping DS to nursery and I've to waken her a lot to go collect him. It's such a pity she won't go to bed as soon as you're home from collecting DD1, that would have been a perfect time. Maybe get home, put on DVD so everything is nice and chilled, then try to get her into bed at about 2.30pm?

Today she spent 2 hours in her cot, talking quite happily to herself and singing. She didn't sleep at all. Of course, as soon as we went out the door to get DD1 she started wailing and cried for a solid 20 minutes until she gave up. She had food and juice and a dry bum so its not like there was an actual reason to be so upset.

Once we got back in, she was crying again so I just put her straight up to bed, and she is still sleeping now. So thats 2 hours. I will probably wake her at 5 for dinner. I will still be putting her down at 7 as that is DD1s bedtime and they are both in a good routine of going to bed at the same time.

So it looks as though she is dropping the morning nap and wants her nap slap bang in the middle of the school run. I usually have to pick DH up at 4.30 so I think her new nap time will have to be 2.15-4.15.

She has always been a bit whiny but this real solid crying is a new thing which has only started as she stopped sleeping.

DD1 was still having a daily nap until she was 3. I must have very sleepy children.

How did she do today? That's good she slept when you got home from the school run yesterday, it is such a tightrope though with having to collect your DH. Hopefully she'll get into a routine quickly

Can you do stuff to really tire her out in the morning in the hope that she would sleep at 1ish? By 2 my dd would only sleep if driven around or in the buggy. She just wasn't tired enough to sleep in her cot.