22 Month Old Suddenly Not Napping??

Hi H.. According to Dr. Sears from 6 months to age 2 they need 12-14 hours total sleep but from 2 years to age 5 they need 10-12. She's almost 2 so it could be time to cut the afternoon nap. You will have a grumpy toddler on your hands for a few days while she gets used to it but maybe once its cut out she'll sleep an extra hour at night. If you still want to give her a nap I suggest you put her down for one much earlier then what you are since its taking her hours to fall asleep and if by 2 or 3 she hasn't taken one I'd keep her up.

Try moving lunch up and putting her in bed at noon instead. That way she may fall asleep earlier. She may be missing her "I'm tired" window. I do that with my son. If I miss his window he is in bed for sometimes over an hour playing and singing and calling me etc. before he falls asleep. Today I just let him color in bed for over an hour and then finally pulled him out of bed. He is 2 and half and at two he did skip naps often because it was summer and we were at the beach but he would at least get a nap every couple of days or so. But since the fall he has been back to a regular schedule, but every now and then won't fall asleep. I just put him in bed a little earlier that night. This might just be a phaze, I would stick with the naps, and perhaps move them up a little. Some kids don't take naps after two, but I think a break in the middle of the day is important for everyone's sanity! Good luck. If you have any questions let me know. My son sounds just like your daughter!

I would recommend putting her down for her nap earlier, at noon or perhaps even 11am. Give her lunch before or after nap, depending on your meal schedule for the rest of the day. She may be having trouble falling asleep because she is actually OVER-tired. I know it makes no sense, but thats how kids work.
My son is 22 months old, too. Our schedule is 6am wake up, 6:30am breakfast, mini nap at 8am, lunch around 10:45am and big nap from noon to 2pm. This schedule works very well and I have a happy and well-rested boy. By the way, he sleeps 8pm to 6am at night so he gets a total of 12-13 hours sleep, which is what kids his and your daughters age need to be at their best.

My daughter is 25 months and she too pretty much gave up naps around 22 months. I'm pregnant and sorely miss her naps! We still do quiet time in her crib but she does not fall asleep.

If moving up her naps (like others suggested) doesn't work, then instituting quiet time might be a good way to go.

On the bright side, my non-napper now sleeps in an extra hour most mornings and if she's had a really full day, even longer.

Best,

D.

My son is 3 and he still takes a nap daily...usually for 2 hours.

What's worked for us since birth, is that I lay with him until he falls asleep. Some kids do well falling asleep on their own (like your daughter) and some don't (like my son).

I would simply wait till he's out like a light, then transfer him to his crib or leave him on my bed to nap/sleep. Perhaps your daughter is growing out of mid-day naps, or maybe if you help coax her to sleep by lying with her, she'll fall asleep.

Hope this helps. And good luck. :)

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My daughter stopped napping pretty early (it kills me when I hear of her friends who still nap!). We did the same as the other responder: moved it earlier. Then we simply started calling it "quiet time" so she didn't get all control-issued about sleeping. So when it was QT, she had to go play quietly, etc--no calling, no chatting, etc. Most days she'd fall asleep. But we definitely moved it earlier first. Good luck!

I'm hoping the earlier naptime that others suggested works for you, BUT unfortunately if she's spending hours each day before you can get a nap, then it sounds like she may be ready to drop it. My daughter (now 4.5) dropped her nap around this age. Or at least it was getting much harder to put her down so most days she would skip it, and occassionally she would take it. Good luck!