8 1/2 month old has stopped taking morning nap

I have an 8 1/2 month old boy who has always had a strange relationships w/naps. My husband and I have basically been slaves for his naps - we've taken it really seriously and work hard to make sure he gets them b/c he he has always had trouble w/them. For the first 6 months he seemed to only take them on the go mostly stroller, but sometimes in the car or being held (b/c if you put him down he'd wake up). Around six months we started to be able to get him to nap in the crib (which was a good thing, b/c everything started to wake him up outside)- the times were somewhat irregular, but at least he predictably slept (could be 1/2 hour, could be 2 hours). Lately, around the time he used to nap in the morning (10:30/11) - he might get really drowsy eating his bottle, but when I put him down he almost bounces awake! and then precedes to be busy crawling around in the crib for over half an hour before I give up and let him play on the floor. Today this happened and he didn't go down till 1pm. He will probably sleep about 1.5 - 2.5 hours now. At night he generally sleeps from 7pm till 7:30am w/1-2 wake-ups for eating - so he gets a lot of sleep at night (at least 12 hours). So the question is: is this okay? should I be trying harder to get him to take that morning nap? is he just ahead of where he is supposed to be developmentally (he's a big boy for his age and he started crawling pretty early (7.5 months) ? or, like many things w/babies, could this just be a stage and he'll revert to 2 naps eventually? Thanks for your advice! just want my baby to get his sleep

11-month-old transitioning to one nap?

My son will turn 11 months in a few days. This past week, he's had 4 out of 5 days where he will only take one nap (after complete exhaustion & possibly in car) or won't nap at all! He used to go down twice/day with a bottle, but lately that's not working. We've increased his naptime bottles to 8 oz. He seems very sleepy (almost asleep), but once he realizes that bottle is empty, he cries/screams & wakes up. (I'm also worried we're feeding him too much since we're giving him so much more formula to try and help him sleep ...)

Could this behavior be due to teething? It's possible that he's teething right now. If so, will he go back to two naps? Have you had a child who had a temporary upheaval like this and went back to two naps?

Another note - when he goes so long without sleep, he remains a pretty happy baby. He's kind of a little energizer bunny, he just keeps going & going. Putting him down earlier definitely does NOT help. But I can also tell that, though he deals with it pretty well, he's still tired & kind of running on empty when he only gets one nap (and certainly the case the one day he didn't nap at all).

Again, is it possible he'll go back to two naps or should I just help him to a one-nap transition? It's so hard to plan my day when I don't know when/whether he will nap. I work from home and have other obligations sometimes that makes this quite challenging. Thoughts and tips welcome! Wishing my baby had a schedule!

Is 8 month old transitioning to 1 nap?

My (almost) 8 month old daughter has consistently taken 2 naps/day for the last few months (although sometimes only 20 min/nap). She recently had a cold & is starting to crawl, so her sleeping has been off, and we're currently reinforcing her sleep training. The past 3 mornings, she didn't sleep at all, and cried through the 40 minutes that we left her in the crib (checking about evry 10 mins as per ferber). Her afternoon naps the last 2 days were pretty typical. Today, she went to sleep very easily at 12:30, and slept for almost 2-1/2 hours, much longer than her usual naptime. She woke up happy and calm. At night, she usually sleeps about 10-11 hours.

Is it possible that she's ready to transition to 1 nap/ day?? From what I understand, it's really early, but at least today it seemed to work great for her (we'll see how it impacts her sleeping tonight!) mj

From 2 naps to 1 = less total nap time = crabby 19mo

My son just turned 19 months old and has been gradually transitioning from 2 naps to 1 over the past 2 months. He used to sleep for an hour and a half in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon (approx). He sleeps at night from 7:45-7, and has since he was 11 months old. He now decidedly wants just one nap, around 1. The problem is, he's only sleeping for an hour and a half, maybe a little more, and it seems like he needs more sleep. He wakes up crying and irritable now, before he'd wake up happy and ready to play, but won't go back to sleep. I've tried putting his down for his nap earlier, later, putting him down to bed earlier, I just can't seem to get him any more sleep. I know that the number of total hours of sleep he's getting is ''enough'' for his age, but he just seems to need more. His pediatrician said ''everyone has a hard time with the nap transition'' but that's easy for him to say, he doesn't have a crabby toddler following him around!! So I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice, I would so sincerely appreciate it Grumpy's Mom

1. It took him well over 3 months to make the full change. I think the extra morning naps every few days helped balance out the too-short afternoon nap. Even as you prepare for 1 nap days, keep looking for those signs of tiredness in the early morning hours, at least until the 2nd nap gets longer.

2. On the one nap days, the nap was much earlier for a long time--11 am, sometimes even as early as 10:30 am. 11-1 was his pattern until age 2, when it is finally settled into more of an actual ''afternoon'' nap, around 1:30-2 pm. You might try a few days in a row of 10:30 naps to see if you get a longer nap.

3. With all these changes came an earlier bed time--6 or 6:30 on the short, early, one-nap days. We were able to move it back to 7, and now 7:30 once the nap lengthened and moved toward the afternoon.

It is a long and frustrating process, but he will get there! Good Luck

My first idea is to continue trying to get him down a little earlier. Maybe it won't work, but you could try a wind-down 30 minutes earlier with books and lullabyes. Is he tired at all earlier in the morning and you're missing that narrow window?

This won't work for all styles, especially those who tend more to CIO...

but I've found that on the days I just care for one 17month old, if I nap with him, he'll sleep longer. When he wakes much earlier than would be a full nap (barking dogs, construction noises), he sees I'm there and goes back to sleep. If needed, I stroke his hand and whisper ''Shh, go back to sleep''. When he finally wakes up, he's in a rested, pleasant mood and the rest of the day is quite nice.

If I'm tooling around the house picking up or prepping food, sometimes he wakes up crying, unhappy and grumpy, even though the sleeping set up is such that he can get up and get out of the room on his own.

Sometimes I'm restless and don't feel like a nap. He can sense my body tension and won't go to sleep easily. However, if I force my body to relax and pretend to sleep, he'll drift off much faster. I also usually ask him if he'd like a song, and then I sing something gentle while stroking his head, ending with a kiss and I love you.

I realize many will disagree with this style, but if you like it, you may find that a rested child makes life much, much nicer for everyone.

P.S. If he's had a good night's sleep, we go down sometime between 10-11 (closer to 11), and he sleeps up to 2.5 hours, and is up til bedtime. The presence of a resting adult body is very comforting

Is one-year-old ready to give up the morning nap?

Our daughter goes to sleep at night around 7:30 and wakes up in the morning around 7am. She seems to me to get tired about 3-3.5 hours after waking. After a lot of walking and going outside, I usually put her down for a nap around 10:15. At worst she takes an hour to fall asleep and lately sleeps for only 1/2 hour. She's usually up between 11:30-noon. I then put her down for a second nap around 2:45. She might fall asleep quickly, but sometimes it takes her a long time. Again she sleeps for only 1/2 hour. Is it time to transition to one nap? It just seems like an hour is a short span for daytime naps, though her night sleep is really good. I thought most babies transitioned to one nap at about 18 months, so she'd be very early for that. Any thoughts? Confused about naps

I remember reading about the short morning in Weissbluth, I think it was. It was reassuring to know that this was normal, and it helped us keep his naps regular and restful. Worth a try. Good Luck

try to get the morning nap closer to 9:30/10am. even if you put her in awake and not too tired and she plays for a little while prior to sleeping. then the afternoon nap should be closer to 1pm.

if she is truly ready to drop to one nap, you need to try to push your child to stay awake until around noon and then eventually to 1pm for afternoon naptime.

my son is 2 yrs and kept his morning nap until 16 months. it was a very smooth transition - but i moved that afternoon nap close to noon for a couple months to help with the transition. then early bedtime helps for a while as well.

you seem to have good night-time timing for you child, and this helps with good naps as well. just try and get both the naps earlier and see if you can keep them both until your child is really ready. beth

14-m-o changing to one nap, but it's too short

So I've checked out the archives and didn't see this particular topic. My son, 14 months old, is beginning to transition to one nap a day. However, he will only nap for 40 minutes- he has never been a long napper. So on days when he only wants one nap, he is a complete mess by early evening. His bedtime is 7:30-7:45, and has been that for 6 months. On days that he gets two naps, it is not only hard to fit in, but then he is just not ready for bed, so he has a hard time putting himself to sleep, and usually won't fall asleep until after 8, which means he sleeps later the next day, and the cycle continues. I don't want to put him to bed too much earlier, because his schedule is fluctuating so much, that I don't want to randomly move around an established bedtime. (He does sleep through the night, and puts himself to sleep for both naps and bedtime.)

All of my friends who have babies who only nap once a day tell me how their baby naps for 2-3 hours during that one nap. My question is whether anyone else has gone through this? Is there anyone who has seen their child adjust to the one nap a day by gradually taking longer naps? He clearly needs a longer nap if it is just one during the day.

I have also tried letting him cry when he wakes up after his short nap to see if he will go back down, but he won't. And I have also tried picking him up, and doing his nap routine and then putting him down right away after the 40 minutes, but that also hasn't worked. Help please! anon

When did your baby shift to one nap?

We have an active ten-month-old who has been quite happy this past week taking one two- to three-hour nap after lunch. Attempts the past few days to get a morning nap in have utterly failed. My mom thinks it's too early for her to be one-napping it. I'm sure it depends on the kid, but I'm looking for a general survey here: when do people's kids shift from two naps to one? Should I keep trying for two naps? -sleep is weird.

Is 18-month-old ready to move to one nap?

I was wondering about the details of transitions from 2 to 1 naps for your babies and toddlers. My 18 month old still takes two naps, but I have been wondering if she is ready to go to one now since there are many days recently that she skips one of her naps altogether. So how do you all know? Another reason I am wondering: she used to go to bed very early, like 6 p.m. Now, if she takes a 1.5 hour nap starting at 2 pm, then she won't fall asleep until 7:30-8:00. On the days where she only takes a morning nap, she is out at 6:30 or so. Otherwise, she just lies in bed talking/whining for a long time (we try to put her down around 7-7:30). I hope this makes sense. Just looking for general tips on how you made this transition. Thanks, Nicole

We just recently did the two to one nap switch with my 16 month old daughter. Our situation is probably a little different than most people's since our daughter was (atempting) to take one nap at day care three days a week, but sitll doing two at home.

However, like the person who posted, she started either having a hard time falling asleep for the a.m. nap or not falling asleep for the p.m. nap when she was home. And when she was at day care, she was having a harder time even taking her one nap.

So, a couple weeks ago we decided to just go for it. We felt that our daughter was giving us all the signs that she was ready for it and that it was in her best interest to help her fully make the transition. Once we decided to go for it, we have not looked back. Since naptime is around noon at day care, we decided to shoot for that at home as well to keep things consistent. We now plan for lunch around 11:30 and then do the naptime routine. What I noticed right away is that my daughter started going to sleep MUCH faster; no more of the long babbling and singing before falling asleep. For the first 3-4 days, the naps were only about 1 hour, but now about two weeks into it, her naps have extended to about 2 hours. We are still trying to get the bedtime down, but everything I have read and heard is that it's best to go back to an early bedtime (6 p.m. for her) when the transition from one to two naps is happening to help them catch up on missed sleep. This seems to be working for us. I keep wondering when I should start inching the bedtime later, but I notice that when she goes down later than 6:30 p.m. she either wakes up more during the night or earlier in the morning. I will say that making the transition has also been good for the entire family. We now feel like we have some sense of a schedule again instead of wondering if she is or isn't going to get one of the naps in and then trying to decide each day when to put her down for the night. I hope this helps! n.r

Out of desperation I decided to skip her morning nap and put her down around noon for her afternoon nap. It took about a week before she was able to comfortably skip her morning nap without much fussing (she was still tired around 10 AM, but I just kept her going), but she immediately started taking a 1 1/2 hr nap!

So, based on my experience I would say that you should just go ahead and change her schedule. But just for the record: your daughter is a record sleeper! She used to go to bed around 6 PM? Wow! Just amazing. Count your blessing, girl! JOJ

One Nap Hell - 16.5 month old

After 3 months of a very tough 2 to 1 nap transition, my 16.5 month old sleeps only 45 minutes for the WHOLE day. He is grumpy, cranky and tired. He wakes up around 5:30 am (hate that!)-7:00 (rare) and goes down for his nap around 11:30. We usually go our for fresh air and exercise, followed by a big lunch before nap. His night time sleep is at 6:30pm. What am I doing wrong or not doing? Too early or late of a nap? Not enough protein in his lunch? My son will sleep another 45 minutes if he is held, but my lower back can't sustain that much longer. Also, we don't go in right away when he first wakes up. We will let him complain up to 20 minutes. Any suggestions will be very appreciated. Frazzled Mom

14-mo-old going from two naps to one

Our 14 month old has been on a great sleeping schedule (knock on wood) since she was 9 or 10 months old -- sleeping 11-12 hours through the night, with 2 naps during the day (the first one at 9 for an hour to an hour and a half, the second one at 1pm for 2 to 2 and a half hours). About 3-4 weeks ago, she started taking longer and longer to get to sleep for her naps, and sometimes would not nap at all for one of the naps. We thought it might be getting time to switch to one nap. We've tried it this week for about 4 days now, with one nap at noon for 3 hours. She seems happy in the morning and she is going to sleep right away for her nap, sleeping solidly for 3 hours. We are putting her to bed very early to try to give her a little extra sleep. The problem is she seems REALLY tired a lot of the time -- crankier in general, especially by the time she goes to sleep at night. Plus, there is such a long interval between the time she wakes up (usually around 6 am) and her noon nap . . . We are concerned now that we made the switch too early. A few questions -- when do kids usually move from 2 naps to 1? do most families make the switch cold turkey, or make the decision day by day as to whether to do 2 naps or 1? would this be confusing to a kid who is a creature of habit -- i.e., seems to be happiest when on a set schedule? is it normal to take time to adjust to the new nap schedule -- should we expect a crankier/sleepier kid for a few weeks? or is the tiredness an indication that it's just too early to cut down to 1 nap? Thanks. anon

14-mo-old still wants morning nap, but not afternoon nap

My 14 month old still wants his morning nap just as early (about 9ish) but though he is exhausted, has been refusing to nap during the afternoons. We put him in his crib after the nap routine and he will play the whole time. I've even left him for 1 1/2 hours hoping to bore him into sleep but to no avail. The challenging part for me is that about 1/3 of the time he will nap and is so much happier on those afternoons. Otherwise he can be sort of grumpy. He has such an early bedtime too (6:15) that it is hard to imagine us moving his bedtime any earlier. But on days without 2 naps (and only on those days) he usually wakes screaming after about 1 hour and I believe it is because he is so overwrought from his day without naps. My questions are these:

1) What age have your children given up the second nap and is it usually the afternoon nap that they give up? 2) Is there any better ways to coax them into sleep when you know they need it (i.e., keep the two naptime routine longer)? 3)Also my son just started taking steps and I've wondered if it could be related to excitement over this developmental feat but not a real readiness not to nap twice. Has anyone else experienced this?

My son has always been a great napper and honestly seemed to need and crave the sleep. I've read the postings on this site but nothing seems to cover my issue. Thank you for any insights or suggestions you can offer. ilf

I, too, had a difficult timing adjusting to (and accepting) the fact that he was giving up his second nap. I had read that most children give up their morning naps first, so I was really confused at the time. In fact, it was a pretty tough transition for both of us.

I started pushing his morning nap later and later (maybe in half hour increments per week) and putting him to bed, yes, an hour or so earlier. On those difficult days when he didn't take his afternoon nap, he would be ready to collapse as early as 5 or 5:30. We just did it and took advantage of the fact that we had a longer evening to ourselves, although it often meant that my husband wouldn't see him after work. Our son was an early riser anyway -- luckily, the Tour de France was being broadcast live starting at 6 am on our satellite TV so we hung out with him and watched TV in the mornings. Good luck! Teresa

However, after a few weeks of unstable sleep, my son started taking the morning nap later and later, until finally it started around noon, and then 1:00. At the same time, this nap became longer. It was really great, because he had always taken two very short naps (barely an hour each) and now he takes a very long, solid afternoon nap (2.5 hours on average). Also, his bedtime, which at the time he took two naps was also about 6:30, started to drift later at night, to about 7:30 or 8:00. It took a bit of time, but in a month or two this new sleep pattern consolidated, and he then did fine with it.

I think what I might do is to let your son give up the afternoon nap and keep the early bedtime, but try to phase the morning nap a bit later every day (maybe 10 minutes at a time). Once you get the morning nap a bit later in the day, then try to phase his bedtime a bit later. You will probably have some not-so-pleasant times while he consolidates to the new pattern. Try to make everything else as stable as possible (follow a really rigid routine in terms of meals, activities, start time for naps, etc. if that's possible) until the new pattern consolidates. Also, you might come up with a way to comfort him back to sleep when he wakes upset, and then worry about phasing that out after the new sleep pattern has consolidated. Just make everything as easy as possible for him. Karen

With the transition to day care, my son now takes one long nap starting between 11 and 12. For 2 - 3 weeks he was pretty cranky in the evenings but that was short lived. I was worried that it would take a lot longer to adjust than it actually did. He is now fine in the evening and even sleeps in, another extra perk. Occasionally after a tiring afternoon he will fall asleep in the car, but it is now the exception, not the rule.

To transition your child, you might want to try to put off the morning nap until late morning. For me, the easiest way to keep my son up was to take him outside or to the park, where he is always content checking things out and where he can go much longer without napping and without getting cranky. You might want to try a similar diversion. Good luck! Laura M.

When do babies give up morning nap?

When do babies usually give up their morning naps? do they just stop being sleepy before lunch, or does the nap get later and later until it blends into the afternoon nap, or what happens?

Cut the nap altogether? - almost 3

We're at our wits end! Our son, almost 3, takes these long naps (2-3 hours) and then is terribly cranky for 30-40 mins afterwards. He has a VERY hard transitioning out of them, understandably. Then, he's not really ready to sleep until 9 or 10 pm and wakes up around 6 or 6:30 am. We tried for weeks waking him after 1.5 hour of a nap, but his crankiness, crying, resistance to waking up was unbearable. Then, we went thru a phase of no napping, and he'd be in bed by 7:30 (which was nice for my hubby and me to have some QT time in the evening together again!), but late afternoons he really started to fade. We really think he still needs some ''quiet time'' in the afternoon. We've tried putting him in his room to read, play quietly, but getting him to stay put is tough. I realize consistency is key, and in the past, we've been good about consistency, but I feel like we're in a weird phase, but my husband and I want to take back control! We'd like a little more time in the evenings to ourselves and fewer cranky issues around naptime. Our son is also a pretty sensitive, intense little temperament. Help!! losing it

3 year old no longer wants to nap

Ever since I converted my 3 year old son's crib to a toddler bed he's been resisting taking naps. He has not taken a nap for 4 days now. Today he was yawning and throwing an unusual amount of tantrums - I thought surely he'd nap. I have a nap routine and I put him down at the same time everyday. He's been going to sleep at night around 7:45pm and waking up around 7 am. I feel we both really need him to take a nap. But since he's so resistant do I just give up and try to put him to sleep earlier at night? Do you have any good resources, books, or websites to suggest? Thank you! anon

Adjusting bedtime when 2.5 year old stops napping

My 2.5 year old daughter is getting to the point where she doesn't end up taking a nap every day. I assiduously try, but it isn't always working anymore. I think I'll shift to a mandatory quiet time to at least keep the nap possibility open. My main question is, how much earlier does she need to go to bed? Her afternoon naps have never been long--usually 1.25-1.75 hours. Afternoon naps have also worked out so nicely because it meant that my husband could come home from work by 6:30 and put her to sleep between 7 and 8. When she starts going to sleep earlier, his scheduling will probably also have to be rejiggered. Do people have any experiences to share in this regard? I'm sure this is the subject of lots of conversation. I looked in the archives but didn't see specific questions to this regard. thanks! sleep curious mom

We did shift bedtime somewhat earlier when our first child started school, because he had to get up earlier in the morning than previously. But we were working with a relatively late initial bedtime (9ish). Moving up an already-early bedtime seems impractical and probably not necessary. Holly

To your question: our son's 8 pm bed time has not changed at all. Instead, his waking time has crept later--a blessing given that he was a 6 am waker for most of his first 2 years of life!

His is still in transition, though, and as a result he will fall asleep earlier (6-7 pm, sometimes even 4 pm) if he is riding in a car or has had a really exhausting day. Reading this as a sign of his needing an earlier bedtime, I did try moving it up to 7 pm. That only resulted in night wakings and a 5:30 am wake-up time, so I gave up. The days he does fall asleep in the late afternoon, I try not to let him sleep more than an hour--this seems to preserve his need to go to bed at the regular hour. Any longer and he's up ''watching Johnny Carson'' with us!

So, keeping the old bedtime seems to work for him. He goes right to sleep at 8 pm, and sleeps until 7 or sometimes 8 am. It's a big transition; I'm sure you'll figure out what works for you. happy without naps

3.5 year old not napping I'm 8 months pregnant!!

We recently moved my 3.3 year old into a twin bed, which has been going well, but now he will not nap at all!! He's been an excellent napper all his life and until very recently would do 2.5 or sometimes 3 hour naps from 2-4:30. It was awsome- except that he would fight bedtime for an hour and not sleep till 9:30/10. Without the nap he is super tired and grumpy by 4pm so I know he still needs a little rest but its impossible to get him to stay in his bed. Is this unusual? Is this the age when kids give up napping? Should I try to enforce the nap or just look at it as the next transition, even though its kind of been cold turkey. The good thing is that he doesn't fight bedtime at all-but its still late, 8:30. The bad thing is I'm 8 months pregnant and I'm EXHAUSTED! I've tried ''quiet time'', but it lasts for 10-15 minutes. He's really social and wants me to play with him. He'll focus on certain art projects but I still have to be in the room with him. Any other suggestions on what to do in the afternoons given that I'm pretty tired and probably will be once baby arrives? He will be going to preschool 2 mornings a week and I'm seriously considering getting a babysitter for another 2 mornings even though its really not in our budget. I just miss those 2 hours where I could lie on the couch or take a nap! They really helped me survive being a SAHM but now I'm starting to freak out because I feel like things are really changing and I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it well... missing those naps

If they balk at taking a book nap, I simply remind them that the other choice is a sleeping nap. This almost always quells arguments.

Hope this helps! Tanya

My daughter gave up her nap completely the day she turned 3 and there was no going back, although she started really fighting the naps when she was 2.5 and I was in your position (8 months pregnant). I utterly panicked. Two things worked for me during those last few weeks of pregnancy when I needed to sleep and she was ambivalent about it: taking a nap with her, and letting her choose a tiny toy from a bunch of cheap stuff I bought at Mr. Mopps AFTER she took a nap. Good luck! anon

And just one more thing: you'll be fine after the baby arrives. Forgive me if this is forward, but you sounded in your post as if you're worried in general about the possible chaos (and exhaustion) that will descend after #2 is born, as if this nap issue is just the harbinger of things to come. I felt the very same way, and I just could not imagine pulling it all off, the sheer logistics and balancing act of having 2. But it works out, it really does. Sure you'll be exhausted the first few months, but I'll tell you, give me a newborn over pregnancy any day - it's a much more forgiving kind of exhaustion! I promise you'll have more energy than you do now, even though it's hard to fathom, and even though things really are changing for you, you'll figure it out as you go. Remember to take care of yourself and your needs (can you budget for a sitter for just 1 morning a week?), and you'll be a great mommy of two. Good luck! Mama of Two

My twins gave up their very solid 2-hour nap cold turkey when they were 3.9. I know many children who stopped earlier. Yes, it is a shock to not have that daytime break when they are sleeping, but for us, having them go to bed at 7:30 instead of 9:30 turned out to be much better. Also, it made days easier because we didn't have to plan activities around their nap. You will probably miss out on that benefit due to your infant, but the early bedtime is really a good thing.

Best of luck on your delivery. Kids need more sleep than we think

So, I made quiet time feel nourishing and cozy. He still enjoys it, and how good for kids to know how to take quiet time.

Sending light and love - -sister

His bedtime is about 9 because he sleeps during the day but it is worth it to me. On the days he doesn't nap, he goes down about 8.

Can you re-institute the crib, at least for naps? Put him down and tell him if he can't sleep he needs to at least rest as long as some soothing music plays and to call you to get him up when it is over? Tired too

Not sure if 3 year old still needs a nap

I'm not sure what do to about my almost-three-year-old daughter's nap. She still seems to need an afternoon nap - she falls asleep easily around 1:30 and will sleep for 2 hours or more. The problem is those nights she will be up until 9:30, 10 or later. The obvious solution is to wake her up after only an hour or 90 minute nap, but I find even after a short nap it's very hard for her to fall asleep at night. Is this an indicator that she's ready to give up her nap? Or should I work on more effective techniques of getting her to sleep at night? Thanks for your suggestions! Sarah

One thing that I have found can make a difference is EXERCISE. It is the one thing that will work, if we wear her out in the morning, and then get her worn out in the evening, she'll take a nap and still go to bed at a more reasonable time (between 8 and 9 pm). But that is something we rarely have the time to do, because we have to take her somewhere that we can really get her *in* to moving her body, and we have to make sure she spends a solid chunk of time doing it. Finding the time to do that twice a day, every day has proven to be more difficult that one might think. At least it has for us.

So, probably, more exercise would help. If you have the time and wherewithal, practice the Tired Puppy Principle of Child-rearing, and get that kid worn out! Mama of Another Night Owl

So, we are in the midst of transitioning from one 2-3 hour nap per day to none. It is a long process. If we happen to be in the car in the afternoon, he will sleep. Sometimes, he'll fall asleep playing. One day, he fell asleep on the changing table in a poopy diaper! On the days he naps, he will not go to sleep until 9-10 pm. On days without naps, he's often a nightmare by 4-5 pm, but he is in bed by 7:30, and asleep by 8 pm. He's even getting up later in the mornings, too, sometime not until 8 am! It is a process, but it is getting better. The car naps are affecting his actual bedtime less and less, and he is able to keep it together better throughout the day. And now it's 9 pm and here I am, writing this post! miss the nap, but love the evenings more!

I have a 3 1/2 year old who ditched her nap a few months prior to turning 3. My story is the same as yours...even a 30-minute nap means that we get to discuss the finer point of Star Wars at midnight (why my husband ever showed her that movie is another point...perhaps HE should be discussing the colors of light sabers used by Yoda with her...).

The transition was difficult initially, but now I love it. She still naps on occasion (once a week or ten days) as does my elder daughter. I still get my nap/space -- quiet time includes 30-minutes of Noggin during which Mommy cannot be disturbed unless their is blood or fire involved. She is better at handling her tiredness at the end of the day...or perhaps she is just less tired. jan

Trouble weaning 3-year-old off naps for preschool

Our daughter just got into an amazing preschool but they only had a spot in the afternoon program. She has been napping everyday for about 2-3 hours. we decided to try to wean her from her nap now since she is starting school in 2 weeks. She has been doing fine during the actual nap time, but falls apart in the evening. we are getting her to bed about 45 minutes earlier than before, but she is not sleeping in at all. After 6 days, she still has not made up for the lost sleep. She is cranky and tired and I feel like I may be making a huge mistake. I don't know if I should nap her the 4 days a week when she does not go to school. I am a stickler for a schedule and feel that napping off and on may be too confusing to her. Does anyone nap their child some days and not others? Does that work? Has anyone forced their 3 year old to stop napping? Did the child eventually make up for the lost sleep? How long did it take? By the way, my son shares a room with her at night, so he often wakes her up. We have to take this spot in the school and I know she will eventually drop her nap anyway...

I appreciate any and all advice on how to navigate this transition! Stressed-out mom to a cranky 3 year old!

All of a sudden, my son does not want to take naps. He will fall asleep at the bottle and when I put him in his crib, he starts screaming bloody murder. Yesterday, I tried to put him down twice without success. He finally fell asleep while watching Sesame Street at 5pm. This has also happened in the evenings, he will wake up and not want to go back to sleep. He has slept well until this point, is this a developmental phase? Has anyone else experienced this with their child at this age? I would appreciate any type of feedback on this issue. Thanks, Angela

I'll tell you a story for fun. When our younger boy got to be this age we could not get him to go down for naps. But he always fell asleep in his car seat when we were out. Thus came to pass "sleepy rides." A pass or two up and down The Arlington from Marin Ave. to Kensington and he'd be out like a light. We took sleepy rides for a couple of years at least. It is now a fond memory. Good luck! Tim

I have two things I try that usually, between them, seem to work. The first thing I do is to lie down with my 3 year old and read her one or two short books. This calms her down a lot, so it's easier for her to go to sleep. I also turn on the radio (classical music) softly, when I leave the room. This works about 85% of the time.

If she is really insistent that she is not sleepy and doesn't want to take a nap, I work out a deal with her. I tell her that she has to lie still and quiet on her bed for 30 minutes. At the end of that time, if she has not fallen asleep, I will come back and let her get up. Knowing that she only has to lie still for a little while, and that she doesn't HAVE to go to sleep, helps her accept the deal. I do go check on her after about ten minutes to make sure she is sticking to her side of the bargain. Occasionally, at the end of 30 minutes of being quiet, she is still awake, so I let her get up. Most of the time, however, she is asleep. -- Caroline

20-month-old Giving Up Nap?

When do most kids give up on napping? My 20 month old daughter frequently will not nap. I do everything possible to encourage her to nap: I nurse her, drive her around endlessly (this used to be foolproof), make sure she doesn't oversleep in the morning, and give her filling snacks. There is no obvious physical reason for her not napping, though there have been some changes in our routine. We moved her into her own crib and room a month ago and I've had a (seemingly) drastic decrease in my milk supply. She does, frequently, seem tired and gets really cranky and tries to fall asleep a couple of hours before bedtime. Has this happened to anyone? What did you do? Could she be giving up on napping at this age? I'm really going crazy. Her nap time is one of the few times I get to rest. Molly G