A.S.
answers from
Portland
on
sounds like its time to give up the afternoon nap.
-
Q&A
Get advice from millions of moms -
Timeline
See what’s coming up for your child
My daughter is 28 months. Around 18 months, she started not taking a regular afternoon nap. She has a tendency to build up exhaustion and then nap. When she takes a nap, she then doesn't want to go to bed at night. If the nap is only 5 minutes, she goes to bed an hour later. If she has a proper nap (over an hour), she's up two more hours.
Would I be a terrible mother if I gave up my daughter's nap for her? I really don't want a 9:30 bedtime! I have a 7 month old, and he goes to bed around 6:30-7. I've been loving having my daughter go at 7:30, cause then I get an hour or so with hubby before I head to bed at 9. Last night I was literally in bed and my daughter was still up! She was in the best mood she has been in in a very long time, but she couldn't settle to go to sleep since she had a nap!
Mind you, she only takes these naps at most once or twice every 10 days or so, but I feel like it throws her whole schedule off. I know she needs the sleep, but she was bouncing off the walls at 9:30 last night!
I like it when she has a proper schedule.
sounds like its time to give up the afternoon nap.
If she doesn't seem to need it, and you can get to 7:30 or so with no meltdowns, then it's definitely worth a try!! I also value my time at night, so I feel your pain! :)
But if she can't get to bedtime with out major issues, then now is probably not a great time to take it away. If it's only every week or so that this happens, maybe deal with it a little longer and see if she gives it up entirely while being able to get to bedtime without melting down. Good luck!
Updated
If she doesn't seem to need it, and you can get to 7:30 or so with no meltdowns, then it's definitely worth a try!! I also value my time at night, so I feel your pain! :)
But if she can't get to bedtime with out major issues, then now is probably not a great time to take it away. If it's only every week or so that this happens, maybe deal with it a little longer and see if she gives it up entirely while being able to get to bedtime without melting down. Good luck!
My daughter is 33 mos. old & is exactly the same way. IF she takes a nap, she'll be up till almost 11 pm!! So... we have 'quiet time' now in her room around 2pm. every day, and she goes to sleep at 7:45pm. every night. Seems to work better for all of us. She also sleeps until 8am. I will warn that we go through melt downs between 5 - 6 pm. though :( I usually just fix dinner about that time & then she plays for a bit, relaxes with a bath & then off to bed. If she does take a nap, we just deal with the later bed time, but honestly, she gets herself back on schedule. Good luck!!!
Does she also have a morning nap? My son is almost 27 months and naps once a day for anywhere from 1.5 to 3.5 hours. It usually doesn't affect his bedtime either way, but he naps starting at 12:30.
If you are worried she still might need a nap, have you tried something a little earlier, like a mid-day nap around 12? I put my daughter down around noon everyday for her 2nd nap and she's out like a light by 6:30, but she's only 9 months old. Just a thought, good luck!!
