How long would you leave in crib for naptime?

lindseybell3 · January 2013

T. is starting to be weird about naps. Some days he will take a 2 hr nap and other days, like today, he won't settle down. He's not unhappy; I hear him in there playing and laughing but he's been in there for an hour and a half now. How long would you leave him? I'm still hoping he'll settle down. I work from home and have another baby due in a month so it's not a great time for him to decide he doesn't want to nap anymore! If he doesn't nap, he's very sleepy by about 5 and falls asleep in the car.

EVM1216 · January 2013

Ugh, we've been having this same problem. Except most of the time when I finally break down and go in there she's stripped herself naked and thrown everything out of the crib. We tried moving her nap back until she was more tired, but that just led to more arguments/fussiness.

The thing that has worked for us lately is to let her nap in our bed. She is more willing to lay down in there and go to sleep than in her crib. I don't know why, only she does.

I doubt this helps, but you're not alone. GL!

TMNTgirl · January 2013

Luckily - we haven't really had too many nap issues recently :::knocks on wood:::

On the rare times he won't settle down for a nap we usually give it at least 30 mins and then I go in there and check his diaper. If he won't nap it usually because he's pooped. So I'll change him and but him right back to bed.

He gets left in his room for 2 hours even if he won't nap since that's usually how long his naps are.

chickaboo1974 · January 2013

I think my boys are in the process of giving up naps entirely- they always use to take a 3 hour nap- but lately unless I have them outside in the AM (not possible with the weather now) or at a jumpy house ALL morning- they don't nap. I still put them down at 1:30- and since I have a video monitor- I amcomfortable leaving them in their room (looking at books, playing with stuffed animals, etc) until 4- as long as there are no fighting and things are peaceful- they are safe and I can get some down time. Oh and then they are going to bed at 7-7:30 earlier than their normal 8, but they sleep until 8am regardless.

lrn327 · January 2013

Last week C did this and we left him in there for about an hour. He was pretty happy but clearly not settling down so we figured it was a loss.

ChicagoBroad26 · January 2013

Ava went on a two month nap strike in November and December. I just kept putting her down every single day. My rule is two hours of downtime. Now she's napping again (knock on wood she continues).

tiffanyp · January 2013

chickaboo1974:
I think my boys are in the process of giving up naps entirely- they always use to take a 3 hour nap- but lately unless I have them outside in the AM (not possible with the weather now) or at a jumpy house ALL morning- they don't nap. I still put them down at 1:30- and since I have a video monitor- I amcomfortable leaving them in their room (looking at books, playing with stuffed animals, etc) until 4- as long as there are no fighting and things are peaceful- they are safe and I can get some down time. Oh and then they are going to bed at 7-7:30 earlier than their normal 8, but they sleep until 8am regardless.

Avery seems to be giving up her nap too, but she's so cranky by bedtime that I don't think she's ready yet. I just looked in Ferber's book to see if he had any advice for this age, and according to him the sleep needs of a 2-year-old are about 11.5 hours total, so if they fulfill all their sleep needs at night, then they won't be able to sleep during the day. I've been pushing A's bedtime later and later to see if she'll start napping again. Yesterday she finally took a nice 2.5 hour nap, so here's hoping the trend will continue.

Are you boys in good spirits at 5 p.m. or so? If they can make it all day without a nap and without becoming monsters, then I'd say you have a pretty sweet routine going on. There is no way Avery would play nicely by herself in her room for 2.5 hours. I'm jealous!

kj07 · January 2013

B's only had a few days so far where he's had trouble settling down for a nap (but he's at daycare during the week). Every time so far he's finally quiet after 1.5 hours of chattering on and off to himself. So I guess my guideline would be similar to ChicagoBroad's and other PPs - about 2 hours of downtime.

mommyfied · January 2013

Only 11.5 hours sleeping?

I put Jacob in bed around 7.15pm, and he falls asleep between 7.30 and 8pm. I then wake him up around 8.am (or he wakes up around 8.30 by himself.

Then he sleeps between 1-3 hours during the day at daycare or at home..

For me that adds up to minimum 13 hours.. At most (but not uncommonly), he sleeps 15.5 hours during one day.. (He gets food approx 1 hour before bedtime (leaving time for poop to come and still have a full stomach) and 30 mins before naptime. I dont know if this leaves him more capable of going longer without feeling hunger, thus sleep long, or if he is just abnormal)

chickaboo1974 · January 2013

tiffanyp:
chickaboo1974:
I think my boys are in the process of giving up naps entirely- they always use to take a 3 hour nap- but lately unless I have them outside in the AM (not possible with the weather now) or at a jumpy house ALL morning- they don't nap. I still put them down at 1:30- and since I have a video monitor- I amcomfortable leaving them in their room (looking at books, playing with stuffed animals, etc) until 4- as long as there are no fighting and things are peaceful- they are safe and I can get some down time. Oh and then they are going to bed at 7-7:30 earlier than their normal 8, but they sleep until 8am regardless.
Avery seems to be giving up her nap too, but she's so cranky by bedtime that I don't think she's ready yet. I just looked in Ferber's book to see if he had any advice for this age, and according to him the sleep needs of a 2-year-old are about 11.5 hours total, so if they fulfill all their sleep needs at night, then they won't be able to sleep during the day. I've been pushing A's bedtime later and later to see if she'll start napping again. Yesterday she finally took a nice 2.5 hour nap, so here's hoping the trend will continue.
Are you boys in good spirits at 5 p.m. or so? If they can make it all day without a nap and without becoming monsters, then I'd say you have a pretty sweet routine going on. There is no way Avery would play nicely by herself in her room for 2.5 hours. I'm jealous!

Yep they are fine at 5- they start to get cranky at 7- somedays it has been way over the top so they go to bed at 7- other days they are good until almost 8- their normal bedtime.

Oh and we love playing in our room- since I don't let them play in there any other time- it is more of a treat.

TMNTgirl · January 2013

mommyfied:
Only 11.5 hours sleeping?
I put Jacob in bed around 7.15pm, and he falls asleep between 7.30 and 8pm. I then wake him up around 8.am (or he wakes up around 8.30 by himself.
Then he sleeps between 1-3 hours during the day at daycare or at home..
For me that adds up to minimum 13 hours.. At most (but not uncommonly), he sleeps 15.5 hours during one day.. (He gets food approx 1 hour before bedtime (leaving time for poop to come and still have a full stomach) and 30 mins before naptime. I dont know if this leaves him more capable of going longer without feeling hunger, thus sleep long, or if he is just abnormal)

I always thought that Ferber's sleep chart was really low as far as how many hours of sleep kids needed at various ages.

Jonny sleeps 11-12 hours at night and regularly takes a 2-3 hour nap during the afternoon. We are at about 13-15 hours of sleep a day also.

janneann1127 · January 2013

Griffin's doing this exact same thing and has been for a month or so. He will take upwards of an hour to settle down before he finally falls asleep. This is getting highly annoying because like today, he didn't fall asleep until 3pm! (We were out this morning so he didn't get in his crib til 1:45). He does not fall asleep in the car or our bed either, so neither of those are options.

I just think he doesn't settle quickly. Neither do I. It takes me at least 20-30 min to fall asleep at night - I can't sleep in cars or planes. Griffin is the same way, I think. So, I think it may depend on your kid, as far as how long you leave them before you give up.

tiffanyp · January 2013

TMNTgirl:
mommyfied:
Only 11.5 hours sleeping?
I put Jacob in bed around 7.15pm, and he falls asleep between 7.30 and 8pm. I then wake him up around 8.am (or he wakes up around 8.30 by himself.
Then he sleeps between 1-3 hours during the day at daycare or at home..
For me that adds up to minimum 13 hours.. At most (but not uncommonly), he sleeps 15.5 hours during one day.. (He gets food approx 1 hour before bedtime (leaving time for poop to come and still have a full stomach) and 30 mins before naptime. I dont know if this leaves him more capable of going longer without feeling hunger, thus sleep long, or if he is just abnormal)
I always thought that Ferber's sleep chart was really low as far as how many hours of sleep kids needed at various ages.
Jonny sleeps 11-12 hours at night and regularly takes a 2-3 hour nap during the afternoon. We are at about 13-15 hours of sleep a day also.

I always wanted to believe that too. I read HSHHC and I kept hoping A would fall in line with his schedule, but unfortunately she has always followed Ferber's chart pretty closely. I think Ferber's chart probably represents the minimum sleep requirements (or the low end of "normal"). I got lucky and that's where my kid falls on the spectrum. I should stop posting about sleep habits because every time I do I get depressed and jealous.

My next baby will be a great sleeper though, right?

Strunella · January 2013

We've had issues with this too. There are days when he just refuses to nap and will hang out in his crib for up to 2 hours. By then, we usually give up and go get him. We've moved his nap back to later in the afternoon and that seemed to help.

watermellens · January 2013

I'm with ya....everything I've read says to just be consistent - keep putting them down at the same time and leave them there. My guy isn't unhappy either, just some days won't settle. I think it's that he's working on a milestone or that he doesn't want to "miss anything" by sleeping.

If he's not crying, we'll leave him in there for 2 hours or so (the full length of a typical nap). I know day care does the same pretty much. Mama needs a break too!

watermellens · January 2013

tiffanyp:
TMNTgirl:
mommyfied:
Only 11.5 hours sleeping?
I put Jacob in bed around 7.15pm, and he falls asleep between 7.30 and 8pm. I then wake him up around 8.am (or he wakes up around 8.30 by himself.
Then he sleeps between 1-3 hours during the day at daycare or at home..
For me that adds up to minimum 13 hours.. At most (but not uncommonly), he sleeps 15.5 hours during one day.. (He gets food approx 1 hour before bedtime (leaving time for poop to come and still have a full stomach) and 30 mins before naptime. I dont know if this leaves him more capable of going longer without feeling hunger, thus sleep long, or if he is just abnormal)
I always thought that Ferber's sleep chart was really low as far as how many hours of sleep kids needed at various ages.
Jonny sleeps 11-12 hours at night and regularly takes a 2-3 hour nap during the afternoon. We are at about 13-15 hours of sleep a day also.
I always wanted to believe that too. I read HSHHC and I kept hoping A would fall in line with his schedule, but unfortunately she has always followed Ferber's chart pretty closely. I think Ferber's chart probably represents the minimum sleep requirements (or the low end of "normal"). I got lucky and that's where my kid falls on the spectrum. I should stop posting about sleep habits because every time I do I get depressed and jealous.
My next baby will be a great sleeper though, right?

YES!! (and I am screwed b/c B's always been so awesome at sleep).

lindseybell3 · January 2013

Ok, good, this is reassuring. One of my friends gives up after a half hr so I didn't know if it was unfair to leave him in there so long. I go in check periodically for poop or to tell him to lie back down. He did end up going to sleep after about an hour and a half of messing around so Phew!

jnicolen1 · January 2013

I leave him between an hour and an hour and a half. Rarely, i will give him a book in his crib if he just won't settle. Sometimes he'll fall asleep reading it.

I also check for dirty pants every half hour.

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