STM's- Toddler Sleep...or lack of.

cafecreme

Ugh! Ladies! I'm about to pull my hair out. My toddler was a pretty good sleeper (took 2 hour naps, and would sleep 12 hours at night, and would occasionally wake for a few minutes), up until the last 3 nights. She hates napping now, and will just lay there. Nighttime is worse. She'll scream to the top of her lungs for 15 minutes, and then we cave and let her stay up longer. The other night she didn't go to sleep until 11:30. And, to make it worse, she's been waking in the middle of the night, SCREAMING to be let out. 

She's not sick, and I'm pretty sure she's not teething (I've been giving her Ibprofen before bed). It's not a comfort thing either, because she screams even louder when we put her in our bed, or try to comfort her. The only thing that calms her is if she starts playing with her toys. 

Is this like a phase or something? How should I handle it??? I can't be dealing with a screaming toddler in the middle of the night on top of a newborn. Thanks ladies! 

bmstee03

How old is she?

Bluebell0315

My DD stopped napping at all around 2 1/2. She was so ready for bed at night, though Maybe it's a phase or maybe she's ready for no nap. Have you tried no nap to see how she does?

cafecreme

Thanks ladies. I'm hopeful that this is a phase. Last night was really bad...I mean like almost an hour of her just screaming as loud as she could in her crib. My neighbors must love us (we live in an apartment!). 

Is 19 months too young to stop naps?? I always try to stay consistent with her schedule, nap is around the same time every day, and sleep is at 8-8:30. We'll have quiet time the last hour, and I'll read her a book, and some nights she gets baths. Should I keep her up today for her nap and see how she does?

I feel like maybe the holiday has somehow messed her up. We stayed at MIL's for a few nights, where some nights she didn't go down until much later. She was fine for a day or two after, when we got home, but the whole "I hate sleep" thing has come back full force. 

mamajack86

I understand! My son was such a good nap/sleeper but this past week that I've been home more (I think with all the change to his schedule due to holiday travels), he's been bad about bedtime. He cries & throws tantrums till he's passed out, he wants to run around and play at 2am!, and he still is up around 7. We hate for him to go to bed angry but wow it's been tough. He's only 17mos, I hope it's a small phase. Good luck to you, hopefully your LO will adjust back to her normal schedule soon.

Bostonchelle

My 2 1/2 year old is hit or miss on naps particularly on weekends. When she doesn't nap I still have her rest in her crib with books quietly (this is mostly for my sanity!). I have found that telling her she needs to at least rest goes over better with her than "nap".

I also notice a big difference when we stick to a schedule where I wake her in the morning at 7 so she is ready for a nap and I don't let her sleep past 4:00.

They are really smart and know when we will give in. If you let her yell a little and don't give in to playing in the middle of the night you may have more luck. If this something over the last week or so can also be chocked up to holiday craziness.

CrystalTrues

I agree with pp DS always had a hard time when his normal day was different like vacation, parties, or sleeping in a hotel. It would usually take us about a week or 2 once we were back to"normal" to get him back to his "normal".

flowerchildsmama

We just went through this with my 20 month old, following the holidays and a really bad cold that caused major sleep disruptions. She would start screaming bloody murder as our bedtime routine wound down and she could sense it was almost time to get in her crib. I think we made it worse at first by sleeping with her (there is a spare double bed in her room) or rocking her in the glider for part of the night. Once we realized that we really just needed to get back to the sleep routine she was accustomed to, it only took a couple of nights to get back on track. For us, that meant refusing to take her out of her crib. When she was really upset we would rub her back or sit next to her crib on the floor, but she soon realized that screaming wasn't going to get her a new sleeping arrangement. We're now back to normal, thankfully! And I'm refusing to mess with a good thing... we have guests coming this weekend who would typically sleep in the double bed in my daughter's room (and she'd move to a pack n play in ours), but they will now be on an inflatable mattress in the family room. I'm not ready to test a new sleep disturbance, yet!

19 months would be too soon for me to down naps all together... I'd probably wait it out a little longer.

Good luck! 

cafecreme

Yea...I can't get rid of naps. Lets be honest: I need them, and so does she. She went down no problem for nap this afternoon. I extended it to 2.5 hours after she woke up, and she slept a little over 2 hours, which I'm happy about. I'll put her down at her normal 8-8:30, and hopefully she'll go down quietly. She probably realizes from last night that crying isn't going to really get her anywhere. 

Thank you ladies! Mama got a quick nap in too! 

neko621

Sounds like a stage. My usually good sleepers went through plenty of them. My DD had some very bad separation anxiety nap & bedtime drama around that age. It was brutal. They are 3 1/2 now and are still taking naps on most days. We just stuck with it and tried to be consistent. They are complete grouches without them!

Like the others said, try to make an effort to wear her out. I know that can hard when you're pregnant, but that's always helped when my two got into a nap funk. Good luck. And you're right, you need the naps as much as she does!

mattandlynda

My 2 year old went through this same phase for about two weeks. Naps were a struggle and if she slept it was for 30 minutes instead of her usual two hours.

Night time was rough too. She cried before going to sleep and woke a couple times during the night.

She was always a good sleeper so it was so frustrating!!

We just stuck to her same schedule/routine and eventually she fell back into her normalcy.

Hang in there!!

mommyofkaylin

We follow the same routine @ToasterCat‌ does. It works well for us, although she wakes usually at least once a night for comforting. We also have her closet light on with the door slightly closed and a night light and that helped a ton.

KD32412

Hoping it's a phase! Have no advice but wish you luck!!!

cafecreme

Last night was a battle, but not as bad as the night before. She finally settled down at 10, after 1.5 hours of her crying, and STTN. We would go in every 15-20 minutes, explain to her that it's sleep time, read her some books, held her, and put her back. We left music playing, and her little christmas tree on. I think that helped a lot. 

jpavenski

Sounds like a phase & that she prob needs a nap even more than ever. There was a three week period where my son would only nap in the car but then he eventually went back to the crib then big boy bed. Maybe you can try that, I think getting her to nap & a little earlier bedtime might get her back to her old routine. Of course at 3.5 we recently got rid of the pacifier & now we are back to car only naps, but he still really needs them or is a total grouch!