Getting Back on Schedule After a Vacation.

K.,
I think you have received some great advice and I agree to leave his nose stuffy. It wouldn't be stuffy if he wasn't throwing a fit. It's never good to give into tantrums.

I did want to speak to your question about asking the provider not to give him a nap. That's really a very unfair request of the provider. Her day is automatically at least 1 hour longer than yours with drive time. If she has others that come earlier or pick up later, she may work a 10-12 hour day and still have to clean up before and after and prepare for the next day. That makes the average provider working hard 12-14 hours per day. Not only that, she usually gets up early and doesn't have a lunch hour or breaks. Nap time is the only time she can get off her feet or even think. There is often one or more child thrown off their routine by these family trips which may very well cause her to not get a full nap time and some days, no nap time. So asking her to make a tired child stay awake is really a no no in the daycare world.

Suzi

i have a couple of suggestions, take them with a grain of salt - i would not worry about his nose stuffing up. he can breathe through his mouth. sorry if that makes me a mean ole mommy! Lol! but humans can breathe through our mouths for a reason. unless he has some respiratory issues and a dr. has suggested you do this, it's not necessary. he'll be fine. the other thing i would suggest, and you don't say a whole lot about your routine, but i would NOT let him sleep till 9! no way dude! that is probably a huge part of your problem. get him up about normal time (or start slow and do an hour earlier, then another one, etc) and i betcha he'll be tired when he's supposed to. good luck! sleep problems are the worst! (except potty training...i'm on that now and it STINKS!)

I would try putting him to bed a little earlier than he wants to go, then the next night a little earlier than that, etc. It might also help to wake him up earlier than he would on his own, so that he's not getting as much early morning sleep. He'll probably be cranky, but after a few days, he should be back to normal. Good luck!

Definitely do not get rid of the nap. Sleep begets sleep with babies. At that age they need something like 11-12 hours at night and 2-3 hours of nap during the day. They work the opposite of us adults - the less sleep they get, the shorter time they will sleep; the more sleep they get, the longer they will sleep.

Other than that, I think you are on the right track. Just keep doing the routine, and trying to stick with it. It takes awhile for them to get back into the habit. I feel your pain. We moved the first of July and our 2 yr old daughter is still not back on her schedule. She has had two or three good nights, but the rest have been a struggle. I know it will just take time. It feels like forever now, but I know it will get better. Hang in there!

Good Morning!
I'm sending you understanding hugs because we experienced the exact same thing with our daughter just the few weeks before! It's exhausting and frustrating. We did exactly what you've been doing, letting her cry it out (2 1/2 hours one night of us going in there every 10, then 20, then 30 THEN 40! minutes) My advice is to stick with your normal routine, get him up at the normal time in the AM, bath routine, etc. It's going to take him several days, but he will get back to the routine. (Took our daughter about 8 days for bedtime and another 2 or 3 for naptime). Something else I did was turned the monitor off during the "cry it out" times and then would sit on the front porch or deck for some fresh air, until my time to go back in there each night. It really let me clear my head and gave me a little more strength to deal with her.

Hang in there, it does get better!

Hi K.,

I have a now 3 year old little girl that was our miracle, born 12 weeks early, and is doing fantastic. We frequently had trouble getting Katie back on schedule after vacations. What worked for us, was to put her down just 15 minutes earlier each night until you are back to your old scheduled time. He will adjust, he is just fighting the abrupt change. And skipping the nap one day might work, sometimes it is all they need to be tired, but for Katie she would be so tired she would fall asleep at 5 or 6 instead of 8. It seemed if Katie had her nap she was actually better about going to bed on time- who would have guessed!
Good luck, I have been there and feel your pain!
L.