So any tips or advice how to handle my son's 10 minutes to an hour waking up period after a nap. He's like his dad and he has to warm up to the idea of being awake. Morning times we have no problem, but nap times are a beast to get him to calm down. He'll cry and cry.
We usually snuggle till he's happy, but that's a long time for me not to be doing anything but snuggling. And yes, I do enjoy it, but at somepoint I need to get working on either feeding him and I or other things.
Yeah the tv thing is what I used to do, but hasn't helped for awhile now :( and he's 20 months.
I just saw an interesting special about sleep on PBS. It was basically a new study that showed if you wake up from rem sleep you will be grumpy and if you wake up from non rem sleep you will be happy and productivie. Not that this helps in any way I just thought it was interesting.
I'm a firm "no tatnrums allowed" parent, and always disciplined all tantrums (Which was only a couple because the kids learned quick not to try it) EXCEPT those crazy post nap "spells". Each of my kids had nicknames for their after nap whiny beast alter egos around age 1 1/2- 2 1/2.
In our house, they were lucky they were "allowed" to fuss for a while after a nap while we ignored it (again, I would never ignore a regular tantrum, so this was going above and beyond). We certainly didn't cuddle them or reward it-well maybe, I'd indulge a little right at first because comforting SOMETIMES made it end sooner, but if not, down they went and I checked back in with them when the demon had left their bodies. Sometimes trying to "do stuff for them" makes it escalate when they're in that zone. We spared them any regular discipline, went about our business, and waited until they had about 20 minutes of whiny terror time before we started the "OK, that's enough." warnings.
Now my older two, 5 and 3 enjoy rolling their eyes and saying, "Oh no, the tyranosaurus is here, just ignore her" when their little sister gets out of her nap on the wrong side of the crib.
My son seems to be fine if I can get a snack into him. So I just have a snack ready when he wakes, fruit is a good bet in our house. I sit with him for a few minutes while he eats in my lap at the table and within 10 minutes he's usually good to go. I think his blood sugar just needs to come back up after having several hours with nothing to eat.
My middle child was like this...he needed a snack!
I always had some juice and some fruit on hand ready and waiting for him...or some graham crackers and milk...or juice and go-gurt!
It had to be something he liked and something like a 'treat' to get him to actually eat it though!
Hope this helps!
My daughter has always been like that.
And my friends' kids too.
Some people just do NOT wake up all perky and ready to interact right away, nor want to.
So be it.
They can wake up, in their own timing and manner.
Why not?
Or, if they are STILL tired, kids do not wake up well, either.
My kids too.
I just GIVE them their space and ALLOW them to wake up, in their own time.
Why rush it?
I don't like to be rushed upon waking either. I get all irritated too if someone FORCES me to wake up all cheery and perky.
My son likes to snuggle too, when he wakes.
No biggie.
I just do so, then I tell my son "Mommy has to go to the bathroom..." then I get up and go. He's fine with that. Then I go and do other stuff. It is our 'routine.' He got used to that. Doesn't wait for me.
Me going to the 'bathroom' is something TANGIBLE for him. So he understands, that 'excuse' for my having to get up and leave the room.
Then I tell him "when your'e ready to wake up, Mommy is just doing some chores..." and that works too.
And just make your 'disappearing act' longer and gradually longer.
And then they will adjust.
And transition.
I was also going to suggest having the snack already ready. That is what I did for my daughter at that age. The routine worked pretty well, and I agree about the blood sugar being low after a nap.
i say have a snack and drink ready and give it to him. if he continues to have a tantrum, ignore it. he has learned that throwing a fit gets him attention and if you dont give it to him for acting bad then he'll eventually stop and move on to something else. my son tries throwing tantrums for silly stuff, like when i give him water when he wants juice. he'll cry and lay on the floor and try to put his cup in the sink. i found that if i ignore the tantrum he stops after about a minute or less and drinks his water and is happy.
how old is your son? one of my girls used to have some "bad boot ups" when she awoke from her naps but they gradually got better as she got older. it was just trial and error (and sometimes just "riding out the storm") to find things that helped - going outside (not always helpful), watching a video (not always helpful), etc. If she woke up after falling asleep in the car - look out!
(One incident that still makes us chuckle though - she's very social when she's awake and happy, and one time she was *just* starting to wake up after falling asleep in the car, and we could hear the little sputtery cough she used to do before she'd launch into her crying aria - but then she turned and saw one of the neighbor kids just outside the car door, about to ask if she wanted to play, and it was like someone had just flipped a switch and she perked up and said "oh, hi, So-and-so!")
Yeah, Joseph did that until I learned a few tricks. I feed him lunch, give him a little cuddle time, then put him to nap. After nap, I have something like V8 Splash (a little sugar, a nice taste, something to help balance him out) already poured and waiting on him, and 1-2 fig newtons, too. I don't wake him fast...I used to try to let him sleep as much as he could and then wake him to get dressed for kung fu. I figured out quickly that wasn't working! He'd cry for no reason, and I'd be like "What? Why are you crying" (he didn't know) And then I'd be like "If you're crying because you have to go to kung fu, then you don't have to--go back to bed" and that'd get him wailing! Terrible (I don't have built-in patience for that, I don't get it). So, we arranged the schedule so he eats a little earlier, so that he can go to bed a little earlier, so he has more time to wake up unhurried, get his snack, then get dressed. No problems that way. I don't think kids handle the "get up and go" thing very well, and blood sugar can drop during nap which can make them act fruity. I just wake him up now and say softly "Hey baby, time to get up now" and he'll lay there a minute blinking. I rub his back and give him a kiss, then say "come on, let's go to the bathroom first....I've got snack ready". He gets up, goes to the bathroom, comes out in his uniform, and he's fine. Thank goodness!
For my 19 month old son, he can wake up a total crank. I don't wake him up to tell the truth; I know how long he sleeps, plan for 45 minutes extra time "just in case", and he has lunch and takes his nap, we work our activities around that. He may wake up and cry, if he's laying a certain way I have just learned he doesn't want to get up yet so I give him his paci (only for bedtimes) and blanky and walk away again. He'll lay there 10-15 minutes and then call for me nicer. Now he's starting to nap in his big boy bed which makes it easier though; he comes to the door (it's open a crack, with a safety gate in the doorway) when he wants to get up. I say "WOW, you slept in your big boy bed??? High five!" and then give him his snack/drink, and all is well.
The good news is it's just a stage. My son did this too. some days it just was ugly. He often was settled down with a sippy cup of milk and some cuddles from me. hang in there..
Does he have a favorite show, movie, or special toy that he really loves? My 2 yr old cries a lot after nap time, but if I hold him on my lap and let him watch Caillou on On Demand, or use my iPad for a few minutes it snaps him out of it. Otherwise he just grunts and sobs forever!
