I have always had a pretty sleepy baby.
(aww… tiny sleepy baby asleep with her toys. and burp rag.)
What i mean is, she is moving, playing, talking, dancing, running SO MUCH from the time her feet hit the floor in the morning that she would be napping within 2 hours of wakeup time. This goes for wakeup in the am and after both naps. Both naps which were usually between 1 and 2+ hours long. And bedtime by 7p. No problems. No fuss. Too easy.
That is, until we moved.
And she decided that napping was for babies.
The hysterical, ridiculous tantrums she throws now when you so much as gesture towards her room are a little comical, but a lot frustrating.
(and no, she still cannot really calm herself down, she screams and cries for a very very long time if no one rescues her)
It has been mentioned to me that maybe she only needs 1 nap.
I balk at this idea, but I am willing to give it a shot if it will prevent my little peanut from turning into the hulk 2-3 times a day.
So, we tried it a few days and guys – she slept like total SHIT. She went down after lunch (say 11:30) after nearly falling asleep in her grilled cheese, without a problem. And was awake by say 1. And ready for another nap by 3:30ish.
(see the sleepy eyes? this was a 1 nap day. or 1/2 nap as it were)
By ready, I mean when we kept her awake she went to bed at 6:15. and probably could have gone down closer to 5. She was a walking zombie, klutz actually, since she looses her coordination when she is tired. When we let her nap @ 3:30, we had to wake her up at 5:30 for dinner. In my book, this is not ideal.
I personally think she still needs 2 naps.
14 months old + Nonstop craziness = worn out easily.
But how do we help her know that she still needs 2 naps? We have blackout shades for her room which defiantly help. What else?
Or am I being a really big baby naive here and she can handle 1 nap? And, if she is only taking 1 nap, how long should it be?
(thankfully, bed time has not been an issue. we still have problems with her staying asleep though, but that is a post for another day)
I keep asking G for directions, in structions, destructions anything to give me the answer on this one – all I get is “Haii mama” So now I am asking YOU – is she ready for 1 nap? 2 naps? (do not even say no naps, i will faint) And how?!! How do we do it and keep our 7pm bedtime intact?
So, we totally went through this at 1 year. At which exact same point we moved in to a new house, as well. I was completely convinced that she was attempting to make the switch from 2 naps to 1. Really? I think it was simply a sleep regression. I just followed her cues every day for about 10 days-1 week and yes, some days were VERY hard and there were even a few nights in there when I remember having to sit outside her room and die on the inside as I listened to her scream "MAMA" for 5 minutes at a time (I couldn't go any longer, I didn't really know how to since she has always been a stellar sleeper). And then suddenly? VOILA. It was like she figured it all out again and here were at at 16 months, with two perfect naps a day and bedtime at 7:30. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI swear by the Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child book... it rocks!!!
ReplyDeleteWe went through sleep issues with both girls around the 15 month mark. Bean is STILL taking 2 naps a day (mostly) even though Tot had given one up by this point. My advice would be to follow her cues on wanting to sleep- 1 nap some days, 2 naps on others- I think it might work itself out. It doesn't help that it's still light at 9:00.
Found you from...somewhere...lots of blog hopping today. I also have a 14 month old. He goes to a Montessori school which only does 1 nap a day, after lunch 12-2 and goes to bed at 7:30. On the weekends, he tends to take 2 naps though, one around 9 and another around 2. Weird. I just watch his signals.
ReplyDeleteit's been awhile now (maybe since he was 9 months-ish that jacks been on one nap. so they all go down after lunch. I mean the girls just lay back there and talk for an hour but it's better than nothing lol.
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