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Toddler Parents Come on in!

Emerald27Emerald27 member
in Attachment Parenting

DS turns 2 this week. When he dropped down to one nap a day, he was tired by 10am. That has gradually moved up to 11am, 11:30am, and to 12:00pm. I would lay with him and nurse him to sleep when he appears tired. Easy peasy.

Well this week he suddenly takes forever to fall asleep. I follow his usual tiredness cues as always. When he slows down and appears sleepy, I take him upstairs, switch to PJs, and lay with him. But then he giggles and plays with my hair, and babbles and kicks the blankets, and sits up and lays down, and it takes an hour for him to settle and fall asleep. It's like in the 2 minutes it takes to get up the stairs he finds a second wind!

So maybe I'm waiting too long to put him down. But I'm honestly wondering if I should move his naptime back to like 1:30pm. Maybe he isn't really tired yet?

So at age 2, what time did your toddler take a nap? When did you know that it was time to move naptime? I want to know what's normal so that I can experiment with reasonable nap times. ;) Thanks!
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Re: Toddler Parents Come on in!

  • ncbellencbelle member
    Early afternoon like 1-2ish so bumping it back might be worth a go.  Or going earlier if you think you are hitting a second wind!


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  • TiffanyBerryTiffanyBerry member
    we got as late as 2:30pm.  (and she wakes at 7am.)  It must have been around 2 years, maybe a touch after.
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  • Emerald27Emerald27 member
    Ok, thanks all! Sounds like it might be worth trying to move his nap a little later. If that doesn't work, I'll try a bit earlier. We'll figure it out. ;) Just glad to know that this is the norm.
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  • nosoup4unosoup4u member
    edited October 2013
    He changes into to PJs for nap?

    DS2 has been napping at 12:30/1 for awhile, right after lunch. He gets up around 6-7 am. Whenever nap or bedtime routines stop working, we tweak them. So maybe change when he nurses, or how many books are read, using reminders that naptime is coming up, etc. It sounds normal, though!
    DS1 - Feb 2008

    DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)

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  • Emerald27Emerald27 member
    nosoup4u said:

    He changes into to PJs for nap?

    He does change into PJs! Isn't it strange? I used to just leave his pants off (I usually change his diaper before nap, and who wants to sleep in jeans or cargo pants/shorts anyway?), but lately he's been asking for his pajamas.

    It's mostly just been since we got him his big boy bed (twin mattress on the floor next to our bed). Now every part of going to sleep is very special, including wearing the right clothes for the occasion. ;) Most of the time he just wants pajama pants, but sometimes he'll ask me to change his shirt too. Silly kid.
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  • nosoup4unosoup4u member
    That's really sweet!
    DS1 - Feb 2008

    DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)

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  • funchickenfunchicken member
    DD2 starts her nap anywhere from 12:30 to 2:30 depending on how tired she is. Maybe it's too stimulating to have you lay down with him? DD2 has been fighting sleep this week because of some new developmental stuff--she always gets a little sleepless when she's learning new things. Then she settles back down.
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  • neverblushedneverblushed member
    I felt like my kids would go through weird stages like this.  It was like their brains had matured to a point where the sleep needed to be arranged slightly differently (a nap dropped, moved, bedtime changed, whatever) but that didn't mean the child didn't still get tired at the normal time... and then have trouble settling down and falling to sleep.

    Maybe try a quiet activity before the pre-nap routine?  Something to stretch the start of nap to a later time, but something that's not too demanding on your DS.  Reading some stories?  Singing some songs, or even watching a video.  Something to start the "wind down" process but to fill up a little time before you move to the bedroom, pjs, nursing, etc.
    High School English teacher and mom of 2 kids:

    DD, born 9/06/00 -- 12th grade
    DS, born 8/25/04 -- 7th grade
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