Ok, I'm at my wit's end with the afternoon naps...

jodyplustwinsx2

I am currently listening to Alice scream at me from her crib... where she has been for almost an hour. They were quiet for quite awhile, but never slept, and now she is just irate and wants to come out.

They have been pretty iffy with this nap for a long time, but used to at least sleep 20-30 mins. But, lately, Alice just plain will not sleep no matter what. Even though she is clearly tired.

Their first nap is from about 9 am until whenever they wake up... usually anywhere from 10-11 am. They are VERY tired by then so I don't think that I could really push it much later. So, I'm not sure what to do. They can't go from 10-11 am until 6:30 pm without napping at all. HELP ME!!

jessicasuzann

This is exactly what Maeve was doing for about 2 weeks, till I decided to just push her past that AM sleepy-time and just put her down for one nap after a slightly earlier than usual lunch. So now she takes 1 nap, from 12:15/12:30-2:30/3pm. She is MUCH happier overall now, and there is no more fussing in the crib for 1 hour (or more!) for the PM nap.

 

The hardest thing, obviously, is getting from 6:30am-12pm. I just give her a snack around 9:30 or 10am and then walk to the playground or go to storytime at a library to keep her busy and keep her going. Then I give her lunch, read stories, and into the crib. She's out in no time flat for a couple hours. 

 

Maybe try this...they seem to be at an age where 1 nap a day would be a reasonable adjustment. Good luck!

Tess12

Actually they can go that long without napping, for a few days anyway.  They will be grumpy and tired and then their clocks will change and they will shift it themselves.  They'll probably starting waking later in the morning then napping later.  It's difficult at first, but they straighten themselves out.

jodyplustwinsx2

They haven't been sleeping for that nap for about a week and now they are getting up way earlier!! Which makes it even harder to push out the morning nap. They used to wake between 6:30-7 and now it's 5-5:30. OY.

Josie22

We just keep DS entertained & he stays up longer without any problem.

Tess12

Give them time.  I shouldn't have said days.  It actually took M two weeks or so. 

jessicasuzann

jodyplustwinsx2:

They haven't been sleeping for that nap for about a week and now they are getting up way earlier!! Which makes it even harder to push out the morning nap. They used to wake between 6:30-7 and now it's 5-5:30. OY.

 

Yes, DD did that too! It drove me nuts. I remember saying to DH, "How will she ever stay up later for only 1 nap if she's waking up even EARLIER than before?" And he suggested that I just wait till one day that she wakes up later in the AM and trying to keep her up later for just one nap. About 3 days later, she woke up at 7am (had been waking at 5:15) so I did it, and it worked! The next 2 days we did that, even though she was up at 6:30 or so--not 7am, and all was well.

But then she had 3 days in a row that she napped in the AM, like around 9:30, and needed it.  She'd be up around 11am, so I tried to get her to nap again around 3:30...well, she'd be up for 1 or more hours, fussing. She'd eventually fall asleep but it would be late...she'd sleep from maybe 4:45-6pm! (And bedtime was always 7:30!)

But like Tess said, they eventually "reset" their clocks. It took Maeve about 2 weeks now. Really, what you are describing is play-by-play exactly what my dd has done this past 3 weeks or so, and now that we have a 1 nap routine, we are all much happier!  So hang in there. :-)