14 month old refusing ALL naps + OT....HELP!

[Tweakster]

Hi there Christine, well done my friend.  I would say that your confidence had a lot to do with it...as did the activity level.  I used to ensure that we did a big morning before Finn's midday nap.  He is just that kind of kid that needs a lot going on and to burn off his craziness.  He has a line between needing stimulation and being overstimulated and sometimes it gets a bit grey lol but for sure keeping them active helps.

Keep us posted, and agree, we don't get out of his room until 6 a.m. and sometimes later on weekends when we don't have to be anywhere.  Our house doesn't start until then, he best get used to it :-)

[Tao]

Thanks for the congrats everyone! She ended up taking only a 50 minute nap which I am not sure if that means she is OT or UT but I am putting her down super early tonight and hope she makes up some of the OT from short nap to bedtime! Tomorrow I will keep her in bed until at least 6 a.m.

[Tao]

Hello All,

Today she went down for her nap in 4 minutes! When I put her down, she stood up screaming but then after a few wails, quickly lay down and cried for a bit more in the bed. It's a far better cry than when she stood and stood and stood. Last night I was worried that she would have NWs, since I did put her down for bed after 6 hours of A since she woke so early; however, she slept through the night from 5:30-5:30 so I hope that helped catch her up on any OT she may have accumulated from her nap to bed.

* Do you know if the naps will lengthen over time? Yesterdays was only 50 minutes but I am happy as this is better than nothing. Today I tried putting her down just a bit later than yesterday to see if that would shift anything.

* Also, how will I know if OT starts to creep in because many warn me that if I jump to one nap, OT may start to creep in. Will she start having NWs and EWs? Is this the best gauge of it?

Thanks again! I don't know if I mentioned that last night she went to bed without a peep. She didn't even stand once, didn't even cry once. Naps have always been more of a battle but I can handle just a few minutes of that!
Yippee!

[alohahellokitty]

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!! Sounds great Christine!!! I believe she's getting all of that energy out before going down for the nap! That's wonderful!

Here at our house EW'ings mean OT or teething... The other way we KNOW she's OT is fussy, winy, getting tired before the normal amount of time she's able to usually last. Also hyperactivity is another way we tell. Most toddlers love running around and being active (sooooooooo full of energy) but the craziness and being nutso is OT here. Silliness is just being a toddler... You'll be able to tell the difference.

Yes our naps have lengthened out. They went from 30min's (OT for sure) to a hour then to 2 1/2-3hrs. Now I put her down around 11am (go on sleepy signs, only put her down when she's tired, or I push it back a bit, unless she asks for it) As of this last week she goes down at 11-12 (depending on cues) and sleeps for a hour or so, wakes and plays for 30-40 min's and then goes back to sleep. She's in her crib for about 3 hours most of the time now days. When she wakes I do not go to her unless she gets mad (or we are close to 2-3 hours) DH kept telling me not to go to her the minuet she wakes, and I stopped and now she plays and goes back down for a second nap most times. This helps stretch her day out as she's resting in her crib more and not running around or being super active outside of the crib. Yes I do slowly attempt to push that nap out as she tolerates it. She's teething and isn't tolerating it at all right now. Last night she asked for 'night night' at 5:40pm and she had woken up at 7:20am that day (2 1/2 hr nap as well).

I'm so happy about bedtime yesterday! And a good 12 hrs! Her night time will help her stay a float until she's really ready to operate on a one nap. Then you can start to push her out and enjoy a later bedtime and a late WAKE UP!!! Momma gets to sleep in then!!!!!!!!!

[katie80]

Hi Christine, (Liana posted as I was, too, she's got great advice!)

Great news on the improved settling!  I'm so happy for you!  And yay for the great night!! 

So, at this house a 50 min nap is OT.  But, I've obviously led you on that wrong path before  , so it may not be for Sophie.  I think your best bet now is to stick with this A time for several days and see what happens (i.e. will she start to lengthen out).  It will be interesting to see how she does today with the little more time.  That may help to point you where to go from here.  But, it does take awhile for things to stretch out, so you might have to be a little patient.  For Claire, it took about 2 weeks.  There were some longer naps, some shorter naps, but to get the consistently longer ones, it was 2 weeks.  (Then, she started teething and it all went downhill, LOL!)

I think you're right about knowing the OT is creeping in, NWs and EWs, etc.  Hopefully, others will have more insight on this.  But, with the 12 hour nights, she's doing well, so I'd stick to it. 



 

[Tao]

Shoot....just woke at 45 minutes. Going to try to leave her there and see what happens, if she goes back. Hopefully she goes back. She rarely does though and this could be because she's used to my going in and getting her within a few minutes...I know she needs the sleep though.

Hmm...this might have been an OT nap. I will stick to it for a few more days though in hopes that it will lengthen.

[Tweakster]

Hi there, you need to stick with it before shifting any A time yet.  Her long nights are putting you in a good place to stabilize her.  She needs to realize, hey this is my only nap, I best make the most of it.  Let her body do the talking.

[Tao]

Good point Wendy. I will stick to the same A time tomorrow. Tonight she stood and started screaming a bit but nothing like before. After a few minutes she laid down and was quiet and went down after 15 minutes. Yippee! I'm praying for another 12 hour night! I'm keeping my eyes open because I know that her nap to bedtime is quite long especially on just 45 or 50 minute naps. I'm hoping she can keep it up until her naps lengthen. Mommy really doesn't want to go back to two naps =)

[Tao]

445 a.m wake up this morning. I kept here in there until 5:30 although she never went back. I"m going to put her down at the same time today at 1015 and hope that even though she woke early it still counts as her "resting"...I'm scared OT is creeping up. Go away!!!! LOL

[Tao]

Put her down at same time 10:15 and she must've been OT from early wake up because she fought it and after 1:20 of WIWO finally went down...Sigh.

[katie80]

Sorry, Christine!  The 2-1 is really tough!  Hang in there!!

[alohahellokitty]

Oh I'm sooooooo sorry!!! Oh Sophie!! She's going to get it. ((((((((hugs)))))))))))) until she gets it!!!

[Tao]

Hello!

So just put her down for bed and not a peep, which is nice =). Hopefully she will stay that way until she falls asleep. I'm hoping for a good night rest since she woke up so early! In the month of July and August, we have to drive up to our family which is 4.5 hours away FOUR times! Now that she's sort of getting it, I'm sort of dreading the trip...worrying that it may knock her off her "routine" again. I think the only thing I really can do is to just try to stick with it as much as possible although I know that she will most likely put up a fight at MIL's house since she's so touchy and when we return just try to get back into it as much as possible! I'm trying to stay positive and know that it may take some tweaking when we return!

Hugs to all of you. Hope your LO's are doing well...

[marlowsmom]

You had said before that she doesn't sleep in the car ever so if you don't have a portable DVD player then get one.    Marlow LOVES Elmo right now so a few Elmo DVDs and Baby Einstein should keep her happy part of the way up to your family's house.   

If you are staying at you MIL house then I suggest you bring any blankets, toys, and fans/noise machines that you use in her room.    Do what you can to get the room she will be staying in as homey as possible.      Also, try to get there in plenty of time to have play time in the room that she will be sleeping in.    Has she ever been on a long car ride before?

[katie80]

Hi Christine,

Glad she settled well for you at bedtime! 

I think you're right about trying to stay positive for your upcoming trips.  I have a history of dreading things like that, but it turns out Claire always does better than the worst case scenario I've created in my head. 

You've got the right idea about sticking closely to the routine and getting back on track when you get back home.  I've found that Claire usually does even better at home after being gone; it's like she's so happy to be back in her own crib again, LOL! 

I agree with Sharon, bring all the things she's used to at home and spend time introducing her to the room she'll be sleeping in and telling her how nice the crib/pack n play is.  I usually bring soft blankets to put in the pack n play or a fun sheet for the crib and proceed to show Claire the pretty flowers or snowflakes or whatever on them.  She actually gets pretty excited to sleep in there then!   

Another thing we've done for the car is to bring favorite snacks, drinks, etc.  A new something (toy, animal, doll, etc) always helps too, but don't bring it out til needed; then it's a fresh distraction for awhile!  And we've now started to find a park or something on the way, so we can get out of the car and Claire can run around a bit.  HTH!