When your DC gave up naps, was there a transition period?

[sidmand]

I was hoping to have naps for awhile longer, but DS has never been a great napper! (Knock on wood) he sleeps very well at night and almost always has (like 12 hours and once he goes down we don't hear a peep until the next a.m.!), but naps...that's another story. So, he really hasn't taken a nap for about three weeks now. He does seem tired though (we are putting him to bed about an hour earlier). He also works very hard almost every morning, sometimes he has therapy for four hours straight, but when I try to put him in for a nap, he just jumps and screams for as much as an hour!

Someone suggested I just be very consistent and try and put him down for a nap for a week and even if he screams, just let him. I really don't think he wants to nap anymore. He's mostly okay, a bit more cranky, a bit more tired, but I'm wondering if that's just a transition he's going to have to go through. Although a few times, as soon as we get in the car, he falls asleep! That's how we used to get naps...I would drive for hours at a time so he would sleep. I can't do that again!

So, do I just chalk this up to a transition to no nap? Do I keep trying but be more consistent? Other? FWIW, naps have really never been great. From three months to seven months he took NO nap (and went to bed at 5:00 p.m.). We never had more than one nap a day and that ranged from about 45 minutes to a (very very rare) three hours.

I really think he's just giving them up (and I'm just happy he pretty much waited until the end of the first trimester so I'm not quite as tired!!!!). It's much earlier than I expected, but I'm okay with that. Everyone else just keeps telling me how tired he seems (I know, but I keep trying for a nap with no luck).

Help!?

Debbie
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[o_mom]

We went through a transition period with DS1. First we moved the nap later since he wasn't going down right away (from 1pm to 2pm, then closer to 3). I would wake him up by about 4:30, when he was going down at 3 or he wouldn't go to bed until very late. On days he didn't nap we would move bedtime up.

After a couple months, he was in an every other day kind of routine, then every third day or so. Finally, it got to the point that it wasn't worth it as he would protest so much that he would wake DS2 (who needed the nap more) so we just stopped. This was all from about 3 yrs to 3.5 yrs.

Now he naps about once a week, usually just spontaneously falls asleep on the floor or couch. If we really want him to nap on the weekend, I put him on the couch and turn on NASCAR racing.

[egoldber]

Well, it could be a nap strike, which sometimes happens. But he could be ready to give up the nap.

With Sarah it honestly took her several weeks to transition. I took away her nap because she was not able to sleep at night. I had to work really hard to keep her awake in the afternoons and not let her sleep. It was probably 3-4 months before the afternoons were pleasant.

[Aunt to sweet baby boy]

Avi used to take a 2-2 1/2 hour nap every day. He started at a new school this week and the woman in charge does not usually have naps for the 3 year olds. She has cots and a place for them to sleep but she says they are usually busy and can get through the day with no nap. We pick him up between 3-4 from the school. Yesterday Avi fell asleep in the car on the way home, was then super cranky because I woke him up. He ate a sandwich and was in a better mood. He then took a bath around 5:30, and was going to watch one show before bed. He has been falling asleep around 6:30, he used to go to bed around 7:30-8. I am not sure what will happen over the weekend, he is at the point where he could take a nap, but he seems to be doing ok if he is kept busy and goes to bed early.

Ilana, aka Nana to my sweet nephew Avi

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[jawilli4]

My son did something similar at about the same age. His sister was still an infant and I needed him to nap, but to no avail. I ended up instituting quiet time in his room. Essentially, he can nap, read, listen to music, or play with something quiet for at least an hour before he is allowed to leave his room. He has a digital clock in his room and he knows the first number has to be 3 before he is allowed to call for me. It took him about a week of adjusting to the new rules, but it has really worked out well for us. We also do about 30 minutes of quiet time at night because he was also fighting us about going to sleep. You might want to consider trying something similar, as quiet time is a real sanity saver in our house.

Good luck,
Jan

[mudder17]

Kaya was always an awesome night sleeper (well after we did the sleep training at 4.5 months) and would sleep 12-13 hours a night AND take naps. But at 30 months she just started playing through her naps, but wasn't going to bed any earlier. So we just gave up her naps and put her to bed 2 hours earlier. It took about a week, but essentially there was no transition.

If he seems to be doing okay with giving up his naps, see if you can get him to go to bed a little earlier to make up for the missed naps. From time to time if Kaya has had a tough day or two, she will take a nap for a little while, sometimes in the car, sometimes on our bed. It doesn't happen very often, but I do think she's starting to realize when she needs some downtime even if it's for a 30 minute nap.


Eileen

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[sidmand]

Thanks for the advice and BTDT. We did try to institute a quiet time. We told him that he didn't have to nap, but he needed to stay in his room/crib for a little while. I'm not sure if he doesn't understand that or just doesn't want to do it.

My sitter had a little more success than I did. She told him and had him lay down twice, but eventually he was there for about 45 minutes. Didn't nap, but just kind of chilled out. I think he understands way more than we give him credit for (and sometimes pretends he doesn't...he is a smart little guy!), but he doesn't always and I'm not sure whether this is something he truly doesn't understand or if I'm thinking he doesn't. I had thought about numbers on the clock, but he's just learning numbers and I don't think he would recognize them consistently enough.

I also thought about telling him he can come out when his music ends (we play a CD at nap and bedtime).

He has fallen asleep a few times in the car for about 10 minutes. And he is going to bed about an hour to an hour and a half earlier (depending on how tired he seems!). It's not actually going too badly. I would love if he would take a nap (how come adults would always love if someone said..."take a nap now," but kids never want to?), but I think I've resigned myself to the fact that naps are probably a thing of the past. He's just very active and wants to play and run around straight through naptime.

Debbie
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