C is about to turn 3. He still naps 9/10 times, and for 1.5-2.5 hours (at which point I wake him). But he takes a loooong time to fall asleep (usually around 9 pm), and it's starting to frustrate everybody including him. He can't really sleep in because his brother is loud and an early water. I do my best but can't give him more than 7 am.
I think I need to drop the nap at this point and give him a bigger chunk of night sleep. How do I go about this? I tell him he doesn't have to sleep, just have silent time, but he falls asleep anyway. Do I have him do silent time somewhere else to get his body used to it? I obviously need to figure out how to get a break too, although I know he'd love it if we made that a preschool hour or something.
I think I'd still let him nap but for shorter periods of time. Maybe for a week wake him up after two hours, if he's still having trouble falling asleep start waking him up after 90 minutes, and if he still can't fall asleep at night, shorten it to 60 minutes. When he's ready you can transition it to quiet time. We still do a 60 minute quiet time at age 5 because I need that break.
I think I'd still let him nap but for shorter periods of time. Maybe for a week wake him up after two hours, if he's still having trouble falling asleep start waking him up after 90 minutes, and if he still can't fall asleep at night, shorten it to 60 minutes. When he's ready you can transition it to quiet time. We still do a 60 minute quiet time at age 5 because I need that break.
Problem being he's a beast to wake up (I can say that because he inherited it from me). He actually only slept about an hour yesterday so I was hopeful it would help but nope.
What is the rest of your schedule like? I think the easiest way to have him not nap is to go outside during the time that he normally naps and have him have a quiet hour during a different part of the day (and maybe have it somewhere other than his room if you still think he will fall asleep).
I feel for you. My kids got to a point where even a quick 15 minute nap in the car meant not falling asleep until 9-10pm, ugh.
Post by arehopsveggies on Oct 22, 2020 11:05:54 GMT -5
Ugh I’m almost here. If he naps he’s up till 11. But I really want the quiet break during the day! And I want DH to get some evening playtime with DS2 that isn’t just DS2 being a screaming grumpy mess.
DS1 was never a consistent napper after 1.5 or so so I don’t know how to get kids to drop them
Ugh I’m almost here. If he naps he’s up till 11. But I really want the quiet break during the day! And I want DH to get some evening playtime with DS2 that isn’t just DS2 being a screaming grumpy mess.
DS1 was never a consistent napper after 1.5 or so so I don’t know how to get kids to drop them
Same. Mine dropped naps by 22 months. And he didn't nap more than 45 minutes at a time until he dropped to two naps/day at 8-9 months.
Post by thoseareradishes on Oct 22, 2020 19:07:02 GMT -5
I take E up for rest time at 1, and I go get her at 2. Most of the time she just plays, but she does occasionally fall asleep (if she does, I still get her at 2). Luckily she's a bit like a cat and just jumps up and gets on with her day if she falls asleep. I like the idea of trying rest time at a different time than his usual nap time.