Nap Routine

"Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," by Dr. Marc Weissbluth saved the sanity of this mom of 7. Covers just about every sleep issue you'll ever run across.

Hi K.,
Been there with my 20 month old! I usually have to do a mini-bedtime routine at naptime in order for things to go smoothly (music, books, rock & sing). Other days I just keep her up longer and she falls asleep nicely around 1 or 2 without the "routine," and sleeps until 3 or 4. On those days she will typically stay up until 8pm (usually goes to bed at 7/7:30). it is definitely a gamble though, because sometimes when I keep her up she will refuse her nap altogether. This doesn't happen very often but it's very frustrating when it does happen.

My kids are 2 and 4 and they still take naps. I insist on it because I work 3 nights a week (12 hour shifts) if they didn't take naps on the days before I worked or after a shift I would be exhausted and crabby. My daughter doesn't always sleep but she knows that she needs to stay in her room and be quiet. She takes a nap maybe 2-3 times a week the rest of the time she just plays in her room. My son always sleeps (for now). I put them to bed at 12pm every afternoon and they get up between 2-3pm. It may help to put him down earlier. When Jack was younger I was putting him down at 11am and then moved to 1130 and now to 12pm. It may be that your son is overtired by the time you put him down for a nap. You said he sleeps through the night but what time does he get up. If he is up at 5am or even 6am it could be that he is tired again earlier. When Jack was getting up at 5 every day we were doing nap time at 11am. The later he got up in the morning the later we did nap time. You could try a shorter version of your routine and then let him cry. I know it's tough but think how nice it will be when he finally takes a nap. Good luck!!!

Hi K.,
I recommend trying to put him down for nap a little later. Maybe he isn't as tired as you think he is? I also have an 18 month old and she goes down for her nap around 1:15pm. I hope this helps! Good luck.

Some kids do give up a nap around 18 months. With my boys, I think there was a time around 18 months where they were fighting naps but I persisted & we got back on track of a 2-3 hour nap most days. Around 2, it happened again w/ my first son but he definitely needed a nap & soon went back to napping. He is going to be 4 in Feb & I still insist on Quiet Time in his room for about an hour when he isn't in preschool & some days he will still take a nap if he is tired. You say he does fine at night, it could be that he's ready to stop napping or that he's just learned that it's more fun to be awake & he doesn't want to take the break in his day. Maybe you could try a day where you didn't make him nap & see how he made it through the day. It's possible he isn't tired until later than 12:30. I hope you figure out what works for you & your son. To me, 18 months is early to give up a nap b/c I know I would go crazy w/o that break for me.

Have you tried putting him down earlier?

Hi there. I think 18 mos is young to give up naps. You'll just have a cranky kid on your hands by the end of the day and then nighttime will be a mess!

Sleep is a learned habit, and your son has learned to go to sleep by himself at night, but not for naps.
You have to teach him to go to sleep by himself.
It will take time, persistence and consistency. I would start by rocking him and nursing him a little less each day. I would also expect some crying so start the nap time earlier because getting him to fall asleep will take longer.

So start at noon- nurse him, rock him, then put him down AWAKE. When he cries, stay with him for a bit, talk to him, tell him it is time to sleep, but no more rocking, no more nursing. You might have to walk in and out of the room several dozen times. It might take an hour before he falls asleep. He may do this for several days. Then it will take 45 min, then 30 min, then he will learn to sleep on his own.

If you get frustrated and give in to your old methods then it won't work. Stick to it and it will work over a couple of weeks.

GOOD LUCK.

my daughter quit naps on the day she turned 18 months...I thought it was just for that day...no such luck. She is 3 1/2 now still no naps wich can be a long day for me, but oh well. I never could force her or trick her into a nap...we have noticed at times when we see a growth spirt she will sleep longer at night. Good luck.

My son is three years old, so this might not help! He stopped taking naps at around 3 years old. His bd is in May. My friends son who is the same age only a month younger has never takin a nap! Phee=wee I personally couldn't do it!

My kids stopped napping early. It was awful. they were champion nappers and then one day, nothing, and it was a struggle after that. so in yuor palce, I'd do whatever it took to keep that napping time going LOL!

My advice to you is to just go ahead and nurse and rock him for the nap, as long as it is not affecting his nighttime sleep patterns. Then gradually taper off, like maybe nurse him for less and less time over a period of a week and then just go to rockign and then nothing. I'll be honest--this is just instinct advice, I don't have a book with this info or anything. We put so much pressure on ourselves in this process, really. Just continue what seems to be working well now and work out the new routine gradually.

This sounds super similar to our situation. I started weaning my son at around 15 months and was done nursing at 18 months. Naptime was never a favorite especially when I stopped nursing before hand. My son would scream and cry for 2 hours. It is hard but I just had to let him cry it out. Eventually we got back on track and he can fall asleep on his own. Good luck - this is a difficult time but it will get better.

My son had the hardest time with naps also. He still has to be put in the stroller if I want him to take a nap during the day and he's almost 3. I actually did force the naps like you because he would get overtired and not sleep through the night if he didn't take one.

You can try maybe putting him down later for the nap or earlier. Sometimes the time change will help them to fall asleep faster on their own. My advice would be not to give up the naps though, since they need a certain amount of sleep at this age. Good luck!