This little sweet thing of mine is killing me lately! By that I mean, she has decided that she doesn't want to nap! As I am sure I have mentioned before, she has NEVER EVER EVER been a good napper...not even as a little bitty baby. She would not fall asleep out in public in a stoller or on my shoulder, etc. If I breathed on the carseat if she slept in the car she would wake up. Even when she went to one nap it was only for about an hour and 10 minutes. Once in a blue moon I would get an hour and a half or 2. Her teacher tells me that at school IF she does go to sleep it is for no more than 45 minutes. The past several weeks she has started not sleeping at all or going every other day taking a nap. On the days she does take a nap it is still her regular time, short nap! She wakes up happy and does sleep well at night...usually 11 hours. As far as this week is concerned, she hasn't napped since SATURDAY!! I still make her stay in her room on her bed and rest. The Easter Bunny brought her some Cinderella books on CD so after an hour if she is still not asleep I have let her read those. Here is the kicker...she has started that if she does take a nap, then she will NOT go to sleep at night, but still wake up at the same time. She isn't even 3 yet, so I KNOW she needs the sleep and her attitude shows it too. HELP! Suggestions? Oh, and please don't tell me how your child sleeps 3 or 4 hours a day. I may have to come through the computer screen after you...no actually, I will just cry!
4 comments:
Riley is a good napper, but there are days when she will not go to sleep. On those days she still stays on her bed and has quiet time. My advice on if she takes a nap is to not let her sleep over an hour if she is having trouble going to sleep at night. I know it's hard though...we need that quiet time ourselves:) Good luck!
Ok...I know we have had this conversation recently. Big Brownie has had his days that he doesn't nap at all so I have so much sympathy for you especially being pregnant.
When Big Brownie doesn't want to take a nap for a couple of days in a row, (which does happen on occasion), I make him get outside and run and run and run until he is so exhausted, he can't help but nap. I have also woke him up earlier in the morning so that he can play hard earlier in the day and I have also moved his nap time up to 12 as opposed to 1 or 2p. One other thing that has worked for me is allowing him to lay in my bed and I lay down with him for about 5-10 minutes. I sing him a few songs and then I close my eyes. Within minutes, out he goes like a light. Sometimes I fall asleep too, which meant, Mama needed a nap too. It can't hurt to try anything at this point...right? Good Luck girl!
Try letting her listen to the new CD's to sleep. Disney has some that are 30-45 minutes. Eliza has Cinderella, Little Mermaid, and Sleeping Beauty. They boys have all kinds of them including a whole Weekly Reader set and some of the Adventure in Odyssey (Lifeway) about character issues. When I put them down for nap I click one on and usually by the end of listening to it they are asleep. I have also been known to hit repeat and tell them not to get up until it goes off (SHHHH).
Silas needs a lot of sleep. Eliza does not. She is usually good with an hour or so. Silas will still sleep 3 hours sometimes if I let him. Kindergarten is going to kill him. But he does lay in his bed awake at night not able to go back out. I just think Lila does not require as much sleep. When it comes to attitude you can make a deal with her that when she does not take a nap but her attitude gets ugly that her attitude needs a rest and send her when she gets in that mood for a little while. If only to distract her for a while. I know how you feel... if it is not one thing, it is another =)
OH I FORGOT... I have to add that when Callan was little we had a Nap Fairy =) ( I cannot believe I forgot about her). There was a special silver bag that hung on Callan's door and while he was resting (if he was resting quietly) she would bring a little prize (like a box of Nerds, or gum) and if he SLEPT he got a bigger prize like a Ring Pop or tattoo!!! It helped him. You just have to find what works for her.
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