Sleep Problems

[iWitch]

So I have a bit of a catch 22 situation.

My lb is 22 months old & he's reached a point where if he naps during the day, he won't go to sleep at night meaning he's grumpy when I wake him for my mums/nursery because he's not getting enough sleep & this is making it difficult to keep a routine. Now he will go all day without a nap but only because he's quite persistent himself! Around 5ish he's obviously shattered.

Has anyone experienced this? How did you deal with it?

 

[kumber]

He sounds like he's at a point where he's in between needing the nap and being ready to be awake all day.

Can you forego the nap and bring bedtime forward by a wee bit to compensate and then gradually push it back as he gets used to it?

 

[Nicnax]

I'm here too, so will follow this with interest. My little girl is older, nearly 3 but will stillnap for hours, some days! X

 

[iWitch]

Klumber I should have add the additional problem I face of keeping him awake on the drive home from my mums & nursery but yes that does work!

 

[Lilmisshopeful]

Will be following this. My lb is 16 months and wants to drop the nap. He isn't ready and gets very grumpy. He wants to stay awake all day but around 5 is ready for sleep so becomes a battle to keep him awake till bedtime at 7.

 

[Ella1979]

I'm not sure there's any way around the stage where they sort of need a nap, but also are requiring it less and are also more stubborn and independent! My son (just over 2 years old now) won't nap (except at nursery, where I suppose he sees other children doing it and thinks it's a good idea). He ends up falling asleep in his highchair at teatime!!! And then if he has 20 mins or so then, he takes ages to settle down at night. Nursery days were the worst as they were letting him sleep for 1hr 30 and he wouldn't go to bed until almost 8pm. We've asked the nursery to not let him have more than an hour now.

I've just decided to go with the flow. I don't actively put him down for a nap, but accept he might fall asleep in random places and then find it difficult to go to sleep at night. At bedtime, he's allowed to take some toys into his bed (not soft toys, but his fire engine or train etc.) and he will sit and play with these until he's ready to go to sleep. At that point he usually shouts down to us to help clear a space and pull his duvet over him!

Oh and I would say he gets VERY grumpy when I wake him in his highchair, screaming and crying, but we found he loves watching trains and buses, so a quick watch of a youtube video of them soon calms him down.

 

[JD.Deedee]

I'm at this same point and it has been for a while.. DS went bed at 8.50 last night which should make him sleep until 7-8 but it was my turn to get up so he thought 6ish was more appropriate and he did not go sleep.. He woke about half 3 too for a bottle and a nappy which makes it all the more exhausting.. Now I guarantee you he'll nap about 5-6ish which is a disaster! He used to nap about 12-3 ish somewhere between that time but now it's all past 3 and it's disastrous! I think with it being darker going to bed and lighter getting up even though it's both dark seems to confuse my little one!

 

[Rooster30]

I'd suggest trying to persist with the nap. I hear sleep breeds sleep.

I was listening to Jeremy Vine before Christmas and the Three Day Nanny was a guest on. Anyway a dad phoned in with pretty much the same issue, his 2 year old having no nap but being desperately tired by 5pm or whatever. I can't remember most of the conversation but she did say nap was still required to get the sleep at night. She mentioned something about sleep phases etc. Darn, wish I remember more now because it was exactly the same problem.

 

[iWitch]

I'd suggest trying to persist with the nap. I hear sleep breeds sleep.

I was listening to Jeremy Vine before Christmas and the Three Day Nanny was a guest on. Anyway a dad phoned in with pretty much the same issue, his 2 year old having no nap but being desperately tired by 5pm or whatever. I can't remember most of the conversation but she did say nap was still required to get the sleep at night. She mentioned something about sleep phases etc. Darn, wish I remember more now because it was exactly the same problem.

He's definitely getting more sleep with no nap. Regardless of the time he goes to bed he still wakes around the same time at the weekend and during the week I'm having to wake him up. For example Friday he napped for an hour at lunch at my mums, went to sleep around 9pm & he woke at 6, I managed to get him back to sleep for a bit longer. Yesterday he had no nap, went to sleep at 7.15 & woke at 6.30

 

[Rooster30]

Children are so difficult to figure out. I'm sorry you are having a hard time with it. I'm out of suggestions but I hope you find something that works for you both