When to nap?

LimaD

Do you guys put your little ones down for naps at certain times throughout the day, or only after they start showing signs of being tired?  I've always waited til I see DD yawn, or rub her eyes, or some other "sign" that she was tired.  But lately she has been FIGHTING her naps and I'm wondering if even by that first sign it's "too late" and takes too long to put her down for a nap. Just curious what everyone else is doing.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

vettymama

I've also tried putting down at the first signs but he would just fuss. So now I wait about 45 minutes and try again. It usually works but he doesn't fight sleep very hard either.

Sblaauwbroek

JandACoffee:

DD will yawn and rub her eyes around the 45 minute mark and the 1.5 hour mark, but if I put her down then she screams bloody murder for a long time... If I wait till about the two hour mark and her first outward "yelp" of tiredness, she goes down with about 30 seconds of rocking just long enough for her eyes to close and no further fussing once I've sat down and put her pacifier in. She actually goes down drowsy but awake, occassionally looks at me for a minute before closing her eyes to actually sleep. It took me a long time to figure that out because I kept trying to put her down at the "first sign" of tiredness as is so often suggested, but DD was apparently just not ready to go down then. You can try earlier, but if that doesn't work, I'd suggest going a little longer and see if that is actually the problem.

"BUMP" I did the exact same thing. Now she naps great because of it too, longer then 45 mins. I will get 1.5-3 hour naps, it's great. Just because they are showing sings that they are tired dose not mean they are ready for naps. I wait till there is a lull in her activity, and then put her down and when I do she closes her eyes as soon as I put her in her crib. if she fusses I know I have put her down just a little to early.

LimaD

Thanks for the advice!  I just put her down for a nap and she went down a lot easier than before.  I resisted the urge to put her down almost an hour ago when she started showing tired signs...I waited until her energy levels obviously dropped.  hopefully this is the key   I was just always afraid of her getting over-tired...because that has happened too and definitely no fun for either of us!