Obviously a 2 yo needs a nap still - for both her sake and my sake.
Prior to easter this was not an issue. We had lunch at 11:45/12:00 - after lunch it was nap time. She went in her crib - never made a sound, laid down and slept 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
The week following easter she had a meltdown when I put her in her bed and that has continued ever day since. I've resorted to putting her in the car and going for a ride to put her to sleep. However she's also an extreamly light sleeper so the chances of moving her are very slim.
She needs her sleep obvioulsy - she's clumbsy and whiney during the day. She's extreamly clingy and needy. Been to the dr - she checks out fine, no 2 year molars coming in. I also am getting no break from her which is making me a mess.
She's fighting bed time too even though we are following the same routine we've had forever - bath, pj's, snack, brush teeth, book, bedtime. Last night was an hour and a half of putting her back in her bed.
Any suggestions would be very appreciated - the entire house is starting to suffer. Please let me know if you child went through anything like this or how you got them back on track. Help, please!
Hi S.,
My 1st stopped taking naps before age 2! I had to resort to a "Quiet Time" I told her she didn't need to sleep but she had to be in her room "quiet" for a certain amount of time. Thankfully, she loved (& still does) books. She would sit and look at books.
Good luck, I know it's hard because each child is different and it may take some time to figure out what works for the both of you.
V. A
Right around 2 is when all of mine stopped taking naps. Not because I didn't want them to but they just weren't tired. I would say you should enforce quiet time. Say she has to lay on her bed and read or do something quiet for a half hour or however long you decide and maybe you will be lucky and she will fall asleep while laying down. If she thinks it's more up to her and that you aren't forcing her to maybe she won't fight it? I babysit for my 2 year old niece and she's the same way.
Make sure she's gettting outside everyday and running and burning off that energy so she is pooped out by naptime. Sitting in the house all morning or not using her large muscles she won't be ready for a nap.
Sounds like you hit the terrible twos. I don't know what most will say, but in order to get a break, I'd just put her in her room and make her stay there for the time you think she should be resting.
B. H
we let our 2 1/2 yr old sleep on our bed for naps...we let her watch a little bit of video. we use a timer and then when the timer goes off, the tv goes off and we tell her to close her eyes and go to sleep. it works like a charm and she takes naps for 1 1/2 - 3 hours..just an fyi, this is for weekends as we work full time during the week.
