Napping: Need Advice

sgutweinWed85485

So I'm a FTM and learning along the way and taking my LO's cues. My LO has been a great napper from about 2 months on. He is 14 months now and doesn't want to take his usually 9 am morning nap and then again by 3. He is always on the go when he is awake, constantly playing. He has always put himself to sleep. He would play in the crib a little and then fall asleep. For the last two days, he has played for about 30 minutes and then cried to get out. I got him figuring he was just starting to give up his morning nap. The thing is I don't think he can make it to 1 or 2 w/o taking a nap because he fell asleep before I could even give him lunch.  I'm wondering what other moms' have done. Im thinking that I might just have to push his morning nap until 10/10:30 as well as the afternoon nap. Any advice would be great. BTW he wakes at 6 and goes to bed at 8.

skio

He's most likely getting ready to drop a nap. Many kids do it in the 14-16m range.

I think you should try keeping him up longer and doing one nap, then earlier bedtime. I know several kids who are on this schedule: Wake at 6/7am, nap at 11am/noon until 1-2pm, then bed at 7/8pm.

My D is different because she sleeps late and never naps long, but she dropped her second nap at 16m. She used to wake at 9am, nap at noon for 45m, nap at 4 for 45m, bed at 9pm. Then we got a video monitor and realized she wasn't falling asleep at night until after 10pm, so we dropped the afternoon nap. She now wakes at 9am, naps at 1pm for about an hour and a half, bedtime at 8pm. And she falls asleep within a few minutes.

BeachM

Mine immediately needed to move to 1 nap at 1pm around 15 months, but it sounds like that won't work for you.

Try pushing the morning nap back 15 minutes every couple of days and doing quiet time in the crib in the afternoon for 30-45 minutes (I'd get him if he starts getting really upset).  Do an early bedtime so he can make up sleep and not get overtired.

It takes awhile for it to all get sorted out, but once it did for us he started sleeping later in the morning which was an added benefit.

SharonB222

Today is the second day in a week my DD skipped her morning nap.  Both times, I kept her up for lunch; she's definitely tired, but does ok.  She wakes up 7:00, normal 2 naps 9:30 and 2:30, but new 1 nap 1:00.  Ideally I would move her lunch forward a bit, to 11:30 but I have yet to work that out with the babysitter.  So today LO fell asleep eating her dessert (strawberries).  I always wondered about YouTube videos of babies falling asleep while eating and now I understand.

tmwishful

Mine has dropped the 2nd nap.  She hasn't taken a 2nd nap much in the past month.  If she doesn't nap in the AM, I keep her up until lunch then try to get a nap right after lunch.