Unregistered 01:18 PM 01-29-2018
I have a 17 month old who is a very inconsistent napper. Some days, he naps twice. I only let him nap one hour in the morning from 9-10. Second nap is at 1:30. I always try and put him down for both a morning and afternoon nap to stay consistent. Some days, like today, he only naps in the morning and then refuses afternoon nap and is crabby til pickup. Some day he only naps in the afternoon (anywhere from 20 minutes - 3 hours). On these days, he is crabby until afternoon nap and if it is only a short nap, continues being crabby until pickup. Some days he naps both morning and afternoon. On these days, he is much happier. It is so frustrating, because clearly when he takes two good naps, he is happy! From a baby, he has never been a good/consistent napper. What would you try next in a situation like this? I am trying to be consistent with his routine everyday, but that does not seem to help him be a more consistent napper.
Rockgirl 01:26 PM 01-29-2018
I’d work on phasing out the morning nap. When I’ve done that, I let them take a 20-30 minute morning nap, then wake them. After a few weeks of that, I stopped the morning nap. The first week or so, they are practically falling asleep in their lunch, but they do adjust!
storybookending 02:27 PM 01-29-2018
Originally Posted by Rockgirl:
I’d work on phasing out the morning nap. When I’ve done that, I let them take a 20-30 minute morning nap, then wake them. After a few weeks of that, I stopped the morning nap. The first week or so, they are practically falling asleep in their lunch, but they do adjust!
This. And if he wakes early do not get him up until naptime is over.
Mom2Two 06:59 PM 01-29-2018
Yeah, at that age, I'd move to one nap a day.
If you keep him up later in the morning (i. e. have him got to nap later), does he take a longer nap?
Unregistered 07:43 PM 01-29-2018
Originally Posted by Mom2Two:
Yeah, at that age, I'd move to one nap a day.
If you keep him up later in the morning (i. e. have him got to nap later), does he take a longer nap?
It depends. When he only takes an afternoon nap, he can sleep as little as 20 minutes or as long as 3 hours. When he only sleeps 20 minutes, I let him cry for the remainder of nap time.