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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Giving Up Morning Nap
mamamanda 06:13 AM 02-11-2016
So, I'm struggling with what to do schedule wise with ds. He is 17mo and he consistently goes to bed at 7:30 each evening. He typically falls asleep within 10 minutes. During the week he wakes between 6:00-6:30am when he hears dcks come in. He sleeps until 8:00am on weekends or days when dcks come later. He was napping twice a day until Christmas time, but he started fussing at bed time and taking up to an hour to fall asleep so I thought he was ready to give up the morning nap.

I transitioned him to just one nap over Christmas break and it seemed ok for a week or two, but now I'm really second guessing myself. He seems so tired all the time. His eyes have little bags under them and are pink at times, mostly during the morning. He is also fussy and extremely clingy with me, crying whenever I leave him even with family. He does have a lot happening. He is teething, adjusting to his 4mo cousin joining our crew which means less one on one attention from mom, we're expecting a new baby and he sees the preparations for that as well. It just makes me sad to see him so out of sorts b/c he has always been my confident, independent little guy. He typically goes to play and will sit with one activity for 15 or 20 minutes at a time entertaining himself. Now I can't even make lunch without him standing at the gate sobbing for me.

If its just adjusting to all the changes, I can deal with that. I keep worrying that I've made it worse by not getting him enough sleep though. How do you know when they really are ready to give up that nap? I know we often work dcks routines to get them on the group schedule, but since he is mine I have the unique opportunity to nap him in his own bed whenever I feel he needs it. I've tried laying him back down in the morning and its like a 50/50 chance on whether or not he goes to sleep. I just don't know. Advice?

Oh, his afternoon nap is 1.5-2hrs.
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Unregistered 07:04 AM 02-11-2016
I have found with some kids, you can't entirely drop the morning nap when transitioning to one afternoon nap. With some kids, I let them have a little cat nap in the morning to "get them through" the morning. Usually about 30 minutes. This has seemed to help and after a month or two they are good with just the one nap. Even if he is not sleeping when you put him down in the morning, at least he is getting a little down time and hopefully resting a bit. Even though all kids make the transition to one nap at different ages, he is within the age range and sounds like he is showing signs that he is ready. I'm sure all of the changes that are going on around him could also be playing a part in his having a tough time with it.
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Leigh 07:25 AM 02-11-2016
When giving up morning nap, I think it's a good idea to move bedtime out a little. Could he go to bed at 8:30 instead, and then sleep in a little more? That might be what he needs to make it to afternoon nap.
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mamamanda 10:08 AM 02-11-2016
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
I have found with some kids, you can't entirely drop the morning nap when transitioning to one afternoon nap. With some kids, I let them have a little cat nap in the morning to "get them through" the morning. Usually about 30 minutes. This has seemed to help and after a month or two they are good with just the one nap. Even if he is not sleeping when you put him down in the morning, at least he is getting a little down time and hopefully resting a bit. Even though all kids make the transition to one nap at different ages, he is within the age range and sounds like he is showing signs that he is ready. I'm sure all of the changes that are going on around him could also be playing a part in his having a tough time with it.
This might be a good option for him. When he falls asleep in the morning he usually sleeps about 2 hours so I could just wake him after a short nap and see if that helps.
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mamamanda 10:14 AM 02-11-2016
Originally Posted by Leigh:
When giving up morning nap, I think it's a good idea to move bedtime out a little. Could he go to bed at 8:30 instead, and then sleep in a little more? That might be what he needs to make it to afternoon nap.
I actually tried that, but he was even more tired b/c he won't sleep in on days that dcks are here. He is like the world's lightest sleeper and even with white noise going he hears them come in and then is wide awake. His bedroom shares a wall with the entry way so its pretty unavoidable.
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