We have a 22 month old and a 3 month old. Both have been excellent sleepers so far. However, our 22 month old daughter sleeps GREAT at night...once she's asleep. But the big thing is trying to get her to sleep for her nap when we put her in her crib. We take her to her room, pull the shades so it's fairly dark, have the fan going for a little bit of white noise, sit with her and read a story or just try to get her to relax by rocking her in the glider. When we leave, she doesn't fuss, but will spend at least an hour just jabbering and playing with her Ocean Wonders aquarium in the crib. I'm thinking maybe that needs to come out. Usually there isn't tears, just no sleeping for quite a stretch! Any tips to help her wind down quicker so she's not waking from a nap at 5 or 5:30 in the afternoon would be so helpful! Thank YOU!!
I would put her fown for her nap earlier if she likes that little bit of playtime in the crib. I would also wake her if you can't put her down earlier -
This could be a phase. Since there is no fussing, she could be trying out quietly playing on her own. Perhaps instead of putting her in the crib you could set up a small area for her to continue this playing and then put her down after an hour. Definitely keep the aquarium in her crib as it seems to provide her comfort.
I know how hard it is to entertain a toddler with an infant nearby, but it sounds like your daughter needs to burn off some energy beforehand. Let her run around outside, dance with her, or play a physical game that lets her do the necessary wiggling so she will sleep instead of playing that first hour. Good luck!
Sounds to me like your daughter has her own way of winding down and self-soothing. Honestly, if she's sleeping good at night despite waking from her nap at 5/5:30, let her jibber-jabber during her nap. That's GREAT that she knows how to be alone in her crib and entertain herself. I'm sure many would envy your situation! ;)
T. :)
Ok- I have to say that I disagree with children under the age of 3 not napping. I think these little ones are absorbing so much from their play and interactions with others that their little brains and bodies need time to decompress and recharge.As a pre-school teacher I've seen kids that are just so exhausted (leading to behavior problems...but that's another topic) and parents just think because they put up a fuss they don't need to sleep. Kids are not the energizer bunny! That said, in my opinion, I think it sounds like your daughter isn't tired enough yet to go down- maybe you could put her down a 1/2 hour later and see how that works? I would also take out the aquarium so that naptime isn't associated with playtime.
Good luck!
Hi B.,
My son is 26 months old and was going through a similar phase a few weeks ago. What seemed to work for him was to put him down 15-30 minutes later than usual (unless he was displaying readiness earlier) and limiting his nap to no more than 2 hours. (He was taking up to an hour to fall asleep at night sometimes too.) Most days he falls alseep within 20 minutes.
Good luck!
Hi there,
It sounds like she's just not tired yet. If it's consistantly an hour-ish before she's out, I'd wait an hour later to put her down.
I wouldn't take her aquarium out - it seems like she really enjoys having it in there to look at. Even if she's not sleeping in that beginning point, it seems like its a nice time for her to relax.
When my son was this age I found that putting him down just after he ate lunch was the best remedy. He seemed to be "winding down" at the table eating. So instead of letting him play after the meal and chance getting wound up again, I would just clean him up and take him straight to his room. We would then read a few books and sing a song. I also put black towels in his windows to block the light and the light changing - blinds and curtains just didn't cut it! Good luck. I am a firm believer in children getting their rest, but we have tons of days when naptime seems to end at 5pm or later, too. -M.
My daughter started doing this a about 22 months also. I would just put her in her crib for a two hour stretch that was suppose to be naptime. Sometimes she played in the crib the entire time with no nap, sometimes she slept and sometimes she played for 1.5 hours and then fell asleep. When the later happened I would wake her to ensure that she wouldn't sleep too late in the day so she could still get to bed at 7:30. Long story short by 2 years old she was done napping. We just made her bedtime a bit earlier to get over the no nap end of the day grumpiness. After a few months she had adapted and was fine. She still (at 3.5) sleeps 12 hours at night. The only good thing about no napping is bedtime is a breeze b/c she's so exhausted by 7 or 7:30 PM.
Hi B.,
I think O. of the saddest days for moms is when the nap goes out the window! I feel your pain. I still feel that my 5 yr old could use a nap some days. But he won't. What we do is quiet time in his room for about an hour. He can watch a DVD or play quietly to just kind of re-charge. The good news for you is that she is still in her crib so you can keep trying and take what you can get! IMO, she probably still needs a nap at 22 mos. Maybe try taking out the aquarium toy and see if that helps. Let her look at books or play with other quiet toys and see if that helps. Good luck!
Your 22 month old may not need a nap anymore. Both of my older kids were finished with naps around 2 years old. It sounds like she is just happy with a little quiet time instead of the nap. Unless she is acting tired or overly tired, I don't think there is anything to worry about.
Good luck.
