Nap time routine?

lbonga1

We had been still giving a bottle before naps and bedtime, but DD1 chewed through all the nipples. I'm not buying any more, so we took the bottles away cold turkey yesterday. We have a routine already for bedtime, but what can we do before nap time to signal that it's time for her to nap? I feel like reading a book isn't enough.

wifeofadam

Here is our routine:

-Walk in the room and pull down the blinds/turn on sound machine

-Change diaper

-Crawl into bed with her (she sleeps on a queen)

-Sing three lullabies of her choice (she has hand signals and names for all of the songs I sing)

-After songs I put her stuffed duck on one side of her pillow and her doll on the other and I kiss them both before kissing her and saying "Night Night"

-I also lay board books on the bed and sometimes she'll read a few before drifting off

We transitioned her to a bed when she crawled out of her crib last month and we had to establish a new routine.  The first few days were pretty bad, but then she got the hang of it. We just did it again last week by moving her older sister into her room at night. We had to create a new routine with the two of them then. Three nights and they had the hang of it.

pebbleann

Milk in a sippy cup?  We stopped doing bottles at about 15 months and just switched to sippies.

kleigh926

-Diaper change in her bedroom

-Put her in PJ's 

-Give her pacifier and lovies

-Turn on fan for white noise 

-Leave room

Sometimes we read a book somewhere in there, but not always. If it's late or I'm having a busy day I'll just lay her down right away. For her, putting on the PJ's has always been her "sleep signal." 

SummerLove21

We close the blinds in his room, read a book, rock a little bit, and then he's in his crib for nap. It works well for us. We spend very little time in his room anyways, so he kind of knows what's up.

lbonga1

Thanks for the ideas. Changing diaper and reading a book will definitely be part of our routine. I tried offering milk in a straw cup and regular cup, but she didn't seem to care for it that way. It's always dark in her room because of how our apartment faces, and we have a fan on and give her a lovie or two. So maybe we'll just leave it at that for a couple days and see how it goes. She cried a little bit less at bedtime tonight, so we'll see.

djm31012

Naptime for us is usually right after lunch. So finish lunch, wash face/hands, grab giraffe and a paci. Close blinds, put on noise machine and in his crib he goes with a kiss and "sweet dreams, mommy loves you."

ally2011

I turn on sound machine and this bear that plays lullabies, turn off lights, put on jammies (she seems to nap better if we do this), maybe read one book, then into crib and told it is time for nap, blah, blah.  Up until recently she was a great napper.  Recently she has been rejecting nap.  Her bedtime and wake time has been a little off so I am going to work on getting that back straightened out this week.  I have had some success a couple of times with giving books and letting her just have quiet time.  Sometimes she falls asleep and sometimes not.  Hoping to get back to our great naps. 

ally2011

Oh yes, and we use a paci at nap, bed and in the car if necessary, so that is part of our routine too.