Dropping his nap?

Sami519

I'm not sure what to do about naps anymore with DS.  He's 2.5 yo and we have a 6 week old too.  Ever since we found out about DS #2, DS#1 has been really fighting naps.  He typically would go a week without napping and then be back on track.  I don't know exactly what sets it off, but it's happened a few times before DS #2.  Now, he wont nap at all.  I would think that he's dropping his nap and wouldn't really mind it (well, I wouldn't be happy, but what can you do), but he can't even make it until 5pm... he has meltdowns all night long.  He typically goes to bed at 7 and is up around 7, but when he doesn't nap, we're lucky if we can make it until 6:30.  He's a wreck.  He has no toys or books in his room anymore, but he still messes with his dresser/sound machine/etc.  I thought about pushing his bedtime back to see if he is just sleeping too much at night, but I didn't want to mess with his schedule with the new baby and then I was in the hospital for about a week and didn't want to make another change for him.  Maybe it's time?

Any suggestions welcome!   TIA!

TiffanyBerry

What if you move his bedtime up if he's dropping his nap?  Can you move it up an hour?  If DD skips her nap, she goes to bed at least an hour earlier.  (Well, we make her go to bed earlier, and she actually falls asleep better.)

Sami519

We do that as well... unfortunately it's only a half hour earlier usually because by the time we eat dinner and get the bath taken care of, it's usually 6:30.  Hopefully we'll get back to normal, otherwise we'll have to adjust something.

acaudill75

My 2 1/2 yo doesn't really nap anymore. We haven't been able to get her to nap at home in over a year, and we stopped trying after all the tears and screaming. At daycare, they complain because she won't take a long nap, maybe 30 minutes, and that is when the teachers rotate their breaks. I'm sympathetic to their plight, sort of, but I'm not willing to do anything about it because she sleeps so well at night (7-7) and there is no fighting about bedtime. Sometimes she will fall asleep in the car around 1 pm if we happen to be there, and we have some good videos of her passing out in a shopping cart, but really, I can't be bothered with the fighting. Other parents tell me their children carry on at bed time and don't go to sleep until sometimes 10 pm (!). At least during the day, you are somewhat rested. If DD1 didn't go to sleep until 10, DCF would be taking her away from me. I didn't nap as a child, and my parents let me fall asleep after dinner, and then transferred me to my bed. I say, let him sleep on his own schedule, make sure he has no sharp objects in his bedroom, and he will be fine. Feed and bathe him earlier, and then enjoy the extra time you and DH have. You can have family meals when the kids are older.