Do you count rest as sleep?

[alittleconfused1]

My daughter is 2.5yo, we have dropped naps as she fights them and it’s miserable, and then she’s miserable when she wakes for hours.

i get confused on days like today. She was asleep by 6.30 last night and was awake at 5.10am rolling around and chatting in her cot. I left her for a while as she was quite content, only terrible mother that I am I fell back to sleep and woke at 6.25!! She was still merrily rolling around and chatting and singing.

where I get confused is, do I look at that as a 5.10am wake up and force a nap? She looks so tired all the time!! Or would you say this is a 630 wake up as she was resting?

just to be clear I have to force her to nap by driving around, even if she is dog tired. But would only normally do this if she wakes at 5 something

I know I’m totally over complicating things but she never wants to nap!

thanks so much

If she’s been awake since 5:10 then she’s been awake since 5:10, rest isn’t really the same as sleep although it still has its own uses! I’d play it by ear, at 2.5 she’s probably ready to not be napping but is still adjusting to a full day awake and that is just something that comes with time x

The thing is you'll never know if she fell back asleep for half hour or so in that time 😅 mine is 3.2 now and though he dropped his nap I've had to bring it back because he was waking at 5 and turned into a demon in the afternoon. I just have to get him when he's been up for 8 hours and he'll conk out in a dark room. Sympathies, mine fought naps right from the start, it's bloody hard when you know they'd just feel better for a nap but they just fight every inch of the way

No, I wouldn’t see it as resting if she’s singing and moving around, but I also wouldn’t be too bothered by it, if she’s in bed by 6.30 and wakes up at 5.30 that’s 11 hours, so plenty of actual proper sleep. I expect you will find as the months go on that she will go a bit later to bed and then hopefully wake a bit later.

Many 2.5 don’t nap and she is in bed quite early so

I wouldn’t drive her round to sleep as she needs to learn to sleep naturally so if it’s. Not essential try not to worry

cuddle on the sofa with a book if she is very tired

She might have fallen asleep too!

What time does she normally go to sleep? I'd plan for that being maybe 30 mins earlier than normal, if needed.

Super helpful responses thank you everyone!

I think she has FOMO because she can be falling asleep on the sofa but will stop herself. If I ask if she wants to nap she says no she wants to be awake. She has never fallen asleep during the day without a pram, a cot or a boob in all her years!

she’s got a busy day today which is why I was considering forcing a nap, but it is so unpleasant for both of us I guess we will limp
through and maybe do an even earlier bedtime.

I have tried quiet time before but unless I am reading to her she just starts playing, even if telly is on. I have lain in bed with her listening to audiobooks but it’s ended up me half asleep and her up and about within minutes 🤦🏼‍♀️

When you say it's unpleasant for both of you, what do you mean? Is she upset by drive around or is it that you feel it should happen more organically?

Mine didn't nap without assistance (sling, pram, boob) beyond a few weeks old, so going for a drive, walking up and down the road etc was my norm.