Any ideas why my 23 month old won't nap? Is this normal? I miss the one to two hour break in the middle of my day! And when the baby comes in three weeks, what will I do? Sometimes she'll nap in the car, but I'd rather not have her dependent on being in the car to fall asleep.
My kids go through no-nap phases like this (they are right now, matter of fact, so I sympathize!) Hopefully she'll go back to her usual napping schedule soon...
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine having Sweet Pea not nap in the day. How awful! I think most 23 month olds are still napping.
ReplyDeleteDid you have a routine for putting her down for a nap and she just started refusing? Is she still in a crib? Can you require her to stay there and play quietly for an hour even if she doesn't nap?
I'm on the same page as Shannon. Mary Catherine gave up naps waaaay before momma was ready for her to, BUT that didn't mean that she didn't have to have "quiet time". Sometimes she would just look at books and do puzzles or barbies, other times I would find her asleep with books spread all around her. Either way, she had to stay in her room/bed for a required amount of time.
ReplyDeleteSame here, my LO is a little older but about that age there were occasional days where she did not actually sleep, but she was still in her bed reading and playing quietly so that I could have a break and we could stick to our schedule.
ReplyDeleteYeah my daughter is a little bit older than yours but she doesn't take as many naps as she used to and only naps in the car or if we go for a walk in her stroller! When she's at home she's more interested in playing than taking a nap.. I guess it's boring in the car and stroller so she ends up falling asleep.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for your comments. We have tried quiet time, but she just climbs out of bed. We put her back in, and she climbs out again. (She's in a big bed.) Our routine has always been to have lunch, read books, and then nap, but now she wants to play. "No nap, play!" she tells us. Today, even though she'd had swimming class and a long walk, she fought the nap/quiet time, had a meltdown and then finally, with me rubbing her back, she crashed - and is still asleep. It has felt so good to have this time to myself today.
ReplyDeleteThat's about when my daughter stopped napping... It was intermittent for a while (which I really hated, because it made her bedtime chaotically unpredictable), and I tried to make her nap with stroller rides and car rides, but then we just gave up on naptime. Most of her friends are still napping at 3 though.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is quite a bit older, and she is actively trying to drop her naps. We still tell her that she is expected to "rest" for 2 hours or play quietly in her room. At least we get some break regardless of whether she actually sleeps or not. Hopefully it's a phase - it's a bit early for a crowd under 2 to be dropping naps :)
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that "quiet time" isn't working for you! My daughter is 2.5 now, and for the past 6 months or so she's been going through phases of not napping. She'll skip naps for a few days or even a week at a time, then start napping again, and repeat the process. It seems that whenever I really need her to nap so I can get some work done, those are the days she skips! LOL
ReplyDeleteOn days that your daughter doesn't nap, would she be occupied by listening to quiet music in her room or books on CD? Maybe having quiet but fun activities to play with by herself in her room would at least give her a bit of down time, and you a break! I like the idea of having new activities that only get pulled out at quiet time, so they're special for those times.
My daughter was never a good napper and was not taking naps by that age. She did go to bed early and slept all night, thank goodness!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, this is such a hard time--and you're probably soooo tired and need a rest just as much as she does! I found that as my kiddos got older, even if they didn't want to nap, I still had to enforce a 'rest time' and put books, puzzles, whatever--in the crib with them. I'd close the door, put on the music, and leave for 45 min-hour.
ReplyDeleteI'd never go far on those bad days when they would fight the idea--but just separating myself for a short time to give me a break to get through the rest of the day. . . I remember reading a magazine outside my oldest's door, just to finish one article in peace made me feel like a human again. Good luck--these tough times are not forever!
Maybe tell Bear that if she gets out of bed you will have to close the door to her room. That might be enough of a deterrent.
ReplyDeleteChristie
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