I have tried: putting her down when she very first gets tired
letting her stay up longer to try to wear her out
letting her cry (checking on her every 10 or 15 minutes) for up to an hour
None of this works. And before you tell me to try to move the morning nap later, I've tried. Turns out keeping her up longer in the morning just makes the nap shorter. It's like her internal clock won't let a nap go past 11:15, no matter what time it started. It doesn't seem to matter what we're doing either. Spending a busy morning running errands is no more likely to produce an afternoon nap than hanging out at the house. (Also, if you let her cry without checking on her she just gets more and more worked up, so that wouldn't work either.)
I wouldn't even care so much except that she is so obviously tired in the afternoons. And by tired I mean whiney. If she napped in the morning and got up at 11 and spent the rest of the day being smiley happy Kalena? That would be GREAT. Instead she gets up at 11, is in meltdown mode by 2 pm and I get to spend the rest of the day doing one of two things: 1) sitting on the couch watching her play, or 2) sitting on the floor watching her play. Those are the only things that don't result in more whining, crying, or tantrums. Makes for really productive afternoons, I'll tell you what.
So what's the deal? Is there some secret to getting a child to nap that I just don't know? Help me!
I have no idea what to do! You poor thing.
ReplyDeleteI find sticking to the same exact schedule really helps but it doesn't sound like it works for you.....I don't know.
Sorry!
You picked the perfect day to blog about this because it's NAP HELL in our household, too. Going from one to NONE. I will complain in detail on the phone to you later. Anyhow, my only advice is to just keep trying! I agree with sticking to the same schedule, even if it seems to not be working at all. FORCE YOUR WILL, sister! You're the mom! She's the kid! A) She'll forgive you as soon as she wakes up, they always do, and B) She won't even remember this! Too young still! Hooray for repressed memories! (that's tongue-in-cheek... mostly) Maybe go for 2 hours of crying? That's how long it took when we started making Patrick cry it out at night, though I haven't had the guts to stick it out during nap time.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter did the EXACT same thing...and unfortunately it just took time for it work itself out. I did everything that you did and pretty much nothing worked. The only thing was that I was able to move her nap to 1 by keeping us busy with play dates and the park in the morning.
ReplyDeleteFor our two we moved their nap slowly to the time we thought was best. They used to go down at 9, but then 11-7 was too long to be up. So we moved it by 15 min every couple of days so they go down between 10:30 and 11, and wake up at 1.
ReplyDeleteWe also found it was important to follow a routine for nap just like we follow a routine for bedtime. The routine lasts about 30 min, and includes going upstairs, playing for 15 min, stories, milk, songs, and then bedtime.
We also found it was important to use black out shades otherwise they would sleep. If they wake after 45 min or less, we spend time putting them back to sleep. We found that sometimes they would wake up after their first sleep cycle, but would still be sleepy.
We don't do CIO (we don't agree with the method and it's near impossible to do with two babies anyhow), so we will go back in and rock/pat/sing them back to sleep. We've only had to do this for a few days in row, for them to stop waking after 45 min (or less).
We've found that it took 2-3 weeks of consistency for them to start following the routine and napping better.
Also, I forget how old Kalena is now, but there is a wakeful period at 18 months that can mess up sleep. Is she teething?
I still check back! Sounds like Kalena and Colbie are on the same schedule. The only thing that saves me is that Colbie wants to get in bed around two, with her bottle and chill for 30 min. She does it every day. She never sleeps but she does want to hang out alone. I am all for it!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I have to speak my mind. I saw that someone posted that they don't believe in CIO and they rock and pat their babies to sleep.
ReplyDeleteI totally disagree. I rocked Zach every night for three years. It becomes quite a strain when they don't want you to stop and you have other children and lots of other responsibilities to take care of.
Babies need to be able to figure out how to go to sleep on their own. I like what Kirsta 'n co said, "You are the mom and she is the child." Don't forget that. If you let Kalena become so high matinence that it takes 30 min to put her to bed you are setting yourself up for some major work in the future. I have four kids and do not consider myself a dummy when it comes to getting them to sleep. Our kids can sleep anywhere and they even sleep when their routines are interrupted. They always go through phases where it is difficult to sleep but that doesn't have to be the norm. Anyway, hang in there, take whatever advice you feel suits you (there is a lot there!) and know that someday you will get it figured out then Kalena will change. ;)
You do have a lot of advice here. You've got to see what rings true for you. Maybe some of this is due to her molars coming in and her current ear infection that didn't have any symptoms.
ReplyDeleteWe've definitely had phases with Espen where he had to cry for 2+ hours before he would finally zonk out. Now he's a pro at self-soothing. Stick to a routine as much as you can and see if she'll cooperate.
I'd also agree with the 15 minute steps to pushing it later in the day. If she's only going to have one nap, it needs to last her longer! Good luck. -A
Wow lots of advice. If she won't take a nap in the afternoon will she settle for a little bit of quiet time?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Steph. If you want a big family then 30 to 60 minutes to put each kid to bed will kill you.