Jessie 06:33 AM 12-16-2011
Hi all -
I'm a new provider, with a 15 month old and my own 10 month old. I just started 2 weeks ago, and these two kids are enough for me right now! I've got a newborn coming in March, and I'm hoping to get my routines - especially nap - down by then.
My question is this - the 15 month old seems to be ready to drop his first nap. I've tried everything to make 2 naps happen for him, and either he takes the morning one OR the afternoon one, but he's a wreck if he only takes the PM one. I'd still like to make the morning "rest time" for a little longer - it's easier to get my daughter down if he's resting in his pnp, but I can hear him squawking in there right now - is it appropriate to insist on a morning rest time until he's a little further in to his new schedule?
This is connected to a whole bunch of other questions I have, mainly about logistics and locations of napping, but this is the big one right now. What do other people do who have some kids napping and some not? My daughter needs to be nursed to sleep (I know, can of worms there, but that's the way it is) so I don't see plopping her in a pnp in another room and letting him continue to play.
Thoughts?
Jessie 06:34 AM 12-16-2011
Just to clarify - not my own newborn! He'll be 8-10 weeks old when he starts...
Meyou 07:02 AM 12-16-2011
What times are you putting him down now?
Most of my little ones drop the morning nap after 18 months. They go down between 8 and 830 am and sleep until 930-10am. Afternoon nap is 1230-230. We're really active between 10 and 12.
Ariana 10:03 AM 12-16-2011
My daughter dropped her pm nap at 12 months (still napped at 10am). I ended up merging the two naps into one big nap at 12pm. I had to gradually do this though. It went from 10am to 12pm in a matter of weeks gradually pushing it by 15 minutes each day.
I would suggest skipping his morning nap but pushing his afternoon nap back to 12pm. He'll end up sleeping longer.
Jessie 10:09 AM 12-16-2011
Thanks for the tips! Our morning nap is/was around 9, usually goes until 10:30 or 11. Afternoon nap from about 1 to 3. I still need to make morning nap happen for my daughter, but it might be a good thing if it's on the early side. Before the 15 month old came, her nap was at 8, now it's been pushed to almost 9:30 sometimes, and I'd love for it to be a bit earlier, she's exhausted.
I guess I'm just trying to figure out how that time should be spent for the little boy. I don't think he's ready to be full-on playing and running around when just a couple of weeks ago that time he was napping, so I'm trying to keep him sitting quietly or looking at books for a good amount of time. Maybe 45 minutes isn't unreasonable?
Meyou 01:07 PM 12-16-2011
Try earlier in the morning if you still want the am nap. Sometimes they go straight to bed at 8am here if they seem tired already. The earlier they go down the more time we have before nap for activities. I like it that way.