nap times??

[missy1981]

hiya, i have an 18 month old daughter... when will she stop having her daytime nap?.. she only has one, but its never at a set time, shes not one to fall asleep on her own, it has to be in my arms and then laid down in her bed, i never let her nap after 4pm on the advice of the HV, but the later the nap, the later the bedtime but still the early morning... any help would be great, thanks x

[phae]

the daytime sleep can stop shortly before turning 3, although they will still take naps after that occassionally.

Personally, I would sort out a regular routined sleep for your daughter and break the falling asleep in your arms as early as possible. She needs to learn to settle herself off to sleep in a cot / bed. As you havent done this since birth, it will take some hard work to get her used to this.

I would suggest she sleeps (approx) from 12 - 2.30. This should ensure its not too late for some afternoon fun, and a nice 'wind down' to bed about 7 - 7.30pm.

Children always wake up early in the morning even if they have a really late nite. As your child should be getting a minimum 12 hours sleep at night, you might wanna put her to bed earlier and earlier until you establish a pattern.

black-out blinds are the other answer to early morning rising. Children stir, see a speck of light and think 'daytime'!

My Eighteen year old son has (through hard work) a straight forward routine of 8am rise, 12.30 - 2.30pm sleep and 7.30pm bedtime. I just pop him in his cot, kiss him and walk away. he settles himself. My 3 year old was exactly the same. Dramatically reduces tears and tantrums during the day too.

Routines are boring, over-rated etc.... but they really do work and long-term makes it all so much easier.

[missy1981]

hiya, thanks for the advice... shes never gone to bed on her own, and thats my fault, but the has been a series of cot deaths in the family, and when she was born, i was terrified that the same would happen and i would lose her, so i was adamant that i would get her off to sleep, just so i know she was ok... and its never changed... i tried the controlled crying ages ago but it was too distressing as she got herslef so upset and then had unsettled nights where she would wake often... she has a bedtime routine, but its just the day time nap..if shes not tired, then i cant force her to sleep, and if it gets past 2pm i dont like her to nap but then i cant stop her from falling asleep, its catch 22... shes my first baby, im 24, so everything is all new to me, and think ive still got loads to learn, lol....

thanks for the advice xx

[Hamish]

Hi Folks, Eighteen year old son phae? you must be strong to rock him to sleap!

I agree with phae. our son, two soon, will settle himself most nights now and will even ask to go to bed(!) went through a phase of kicking up a fuss in the eve so we had to be hard and ignor him a little.

[kick3m0n]

my wee guy is 26 months old and still really needs a daytime nap. Usually it's bang in the middle of his day, 1230 till 2 ish. He'll even ask for a nap if he's tired. We keep it to a fairly strict routine tho, and I put him down whether he asks or not. We'd not long moved house when he was born and were doing lots of work on it. So, I got into the habit of putting him in his pram and taking him a wee 5 min walk to settle him to sleep, away from all the noise. It still works to this day, and if the weather's bad, he'll kip in the front porch, but still in his pram (tho only cos it's one he can lie flat in, wouldn't do this in a buggy). If you'd like her to nap cos she's tired, but feel she won't settle, you could try the pram...the rocking and gentle undulations seem to send them off quickly. At night my wee guy goes down easily, in his cot, on his own after a story and a hug and sleeps right trough unless he's ill. I know it's not for everyone, but our wee boy just loves his routine - he knows what to expect and when, and is reassured by it. I guess I'll just try to wean him off naps before he starts nursery next Oct, as nursery is from 1 till 3 for the little ones here.

[Gathorne]

I did just the same thing as you in failing to get my first child to nap on her own even though bed-time was never a problem. I gave up trying because I really didn't feel like battling to get the nap right so we have quiet time instead when we sit together and watch a video for an hour after lunch. It's not as restful as a nap, although she will drop off to sleep when really tired sometimes, but at least we both get a little rest time every day. I will add that I didn't make the same mistake with child 2 who gets put in bed after lunch and gets herself to sleep.

[JayTee1975]

I would just like to say that my daughter is just 18 months old too and she still has half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the afternoon plus she sleeps from 7.30pm until we wake her on a work morning at around 7am or until 9am ish on a weekend.

If they need sleep they will and if they don't they won't. You will know when she is ok to stay awake even though you may have the odd day when she will have a nap. They fly to quickly though baby stages so don't force her into the next one to quickly.

[BadGirl05]

I can sympathise missy

I have a 16 month old daughter and as a single mum its tough, She doesnt sleep much thru the day an hour at the most if im going any where in the car,

She also used to throw terible tantrums every time i put her in her cot for a nap if she was awake when i did it, so i used to cuddle her til she was asleep,

I gave this up 8 wks ago, it was tough as she used to scream the house down,

My mum gave me some good advice, make a tape recording of your voice, it can be any thing from stories to nursery rhymes to general waffle and play that in the babies room....

My little one soon settled as she thought i was still in the room and now she goes to bed with no problem