1 year old fighting sleep every night

[BeckiMJL]

Please anyone with some advice would be amazing, my daughter is coming up to 1 and she's suddenly become a nightmare to get down for a nap or at bedtime. Every day in the last week I've had to take the last resort and put her in the car and drive her round till she goes off.
She started nursery this week as I went back to work, she is happily napping there for 2 hours at a time but won't do it for me. Other days she is at her grandmas and naps there too.
Has anyone else experience this? Any response would be greatly appreciated because I really feel like I'm failing right now 😢

I’m not sure I can help, but I can certainly sympathise! I am currently sat in my living room with a lively, but overtired nearly one year old! Up until a couple of weeks ago, he would fairly consistently fall asleep whilst breast feeding and then I’d carry him up to bed. He does eventually go, but not until so much later! I think it’s just another phase. There have been times over the last year when I’ve felt like I was blagging everything and then times when I felt like I had everything under control! I assume this is how it will always be, being a parent! Anyway, I hope the more they move around the naturally tireder they will get! My little one’s just stood up today. I hope things get easier for you. It’s so much less stressful when they sleep and you get the evenings child free! I find I can cope better with everything.

@BeckiMJL I definitely don't have any advice but what you've said makes me think this is a learned behaviour rather than anything else, because she's able to nap fine in other places. So I'd expect it can definitely be tackled!

When you say 'she's suddenly become a nightmare to get down for a nap or at bedtime', could you elaborate on the details? I'm guessing this is some sort of a reaction to you going back to work (not necessarily because she's upset or anything like that), but I'm wondering if you can think of anything that's changed other than you going back to work? Perhaps the routine has changed slightly?

Could you ask her grandma and the nursery how they do nap / bedtime and see if there are any differences that you could try?

Also... and this is super important... you aren't failing. Children go through phases, they're literally growing and changing all the time. What works one week might not work the next, know that you're doing a great job! I'm sure she's warm, fed and loved... if she wasn't you wouldn't be here asking for advice to help settle her.