Napping and Sleep Schedule Ideas

My little guy was the same way. Napping is just something he does not do. At all. By the time he was two, we scrapped the whole idea of napping. Now he goes to bed around nine, and sleeps till nine in the morning. I think you might be trying to put him down for nap #1 too early. Why don't you try putting him down after lunch, and try to phase out nap #2 altogether. Any changes in a little one's schedule take a few days to settle in, so don't give up, and good luck!

All 4 of my kids were down to one nap a day before their first birthday. If your son is taking too short of a nap with just one, you might try laying down with him when he wakes up--you could probably use a rest too.

Oh, and definitely make sure he eats before going down for the nap to make sure it isn't hunger that is waking him. When my kids went to one nap per day, it was right after lunch.

Hugs!

Hi A.. I don't live too far from West Chester. I am in N. Wilm. Anyway, I can relate to trying to get on a sleep schedule. My son is now 28 months, and it took until he was about 18 months to get him to sleep through the night from birth. I think with anything just to stay consistant. With my son, he could almost tell me what comes next in his daily schedule. I believe that babies/toddlers are at there best when things in their world are consistent. You are going to feel worn out with creating the schedule, but stick with it. It will make your life easier once he adjusts. Also, find what schedule works for him. My son cannot function past 7pm, which may sound early, but that is what he can handle. Otherwise he has a hard time winding down to go to sleep. But I hope this helps, and hang in there. Let me know how it works out.

D.

hi A.,
i am a mother of a 19month old who has very similar issues. he has never slept through the night though so by now i am used to it. my guy is not a good eater so i am always concerned that he is hungry in the middle of the night so that may be the reason he still gets up too. my rule is ..if his diaper has recently been changed, and he has a full belly, i let him cry it out...even if i have to turn the monitor off so i don't go in, (now i still don't go to sleep, i wait until he is asleep and then check on him and then go to bed) . however, if i think he may be hungry i go in and 1st try to just see if he has gas or if his teeth are bothering him and if he asks for a bottle i give it to him. he doesn't alwyas ask! Anyway, my rule with the night is if i go in it is for a set time, if he still refueses to fall asleep then i leave and let him cry, b/c now i know that he has a clean diaper, is fed, given tylenol/mylecon, or whatever the issue was that night. I do this for a set time 30 minutes because then i can somewhat keep him on a schedule during the day. He usually gets up about 7:30 am and goes for a nap at 12:30-1:00, and he sleeps for about 1 hour. This schedule literally just happened within the past two months. i let him tell me when he was tired rather than making him take a nap (b/c that never worked for me). anyway, i can relate..but my advice is to give a set time limit on how long you are with him at night and then let him tell you what time during the day he wants to nap and eventually this will turn into a schedule that works for him and you can plan around. good luck! L.