Does this mean we're done with naps?

[LadyCatherine185]

My DS is 21 months old. We've had many sleep issues from the beginning.. He didn't sleep longer than an hour at a time until after a year old.. Even then we were lucky to get 2-3 hours once a night. At 18 months we started nightweaning, and he began sleeping 3-5 hour stretches, then we moved him to his own bed and he now sleeps 8 hour stretches almost every night.

So here's the issue:: Since he's been basically STTN the last month or so, he has been refusing naps. He was a sleep fighter as an infant, but I would just hold him and rock him and he would usually cry for a few minutes but then would give up and go to sleep. Well, I am 18 weeks pregnant and he is about 30 lbs and I can't hold him down and force him to go to sleep. Nursing is excruciating, and I can't do it for longer than 5 minutes or so. The only way I can get him to sleep easily is by driving. I can't do that everyday. I spent an HOUR trying to get him down this afternoon.. I had to leave the room twice for about a minute because I was so frustrated.. after the second time he finally let me rock him RIGHT TO SLEEP. He has only been sleeping for about an hour for his naps as well, and waking up totally grumpy. It just doesn't seem worth it to me anymore.. But he only sleeps about 9 hours total at night, and really seems to need a nap.

If I stop giving him a nap and try putting him to bed earlier at night (he currently goes down around 9 PM and sleeps until 6 AM with 0-2 wakeups) will he eventually get used to the change and not be a total grump in the afternoons?

[Nicole730]

At that age I thought DS was done with naps too. But I sure wasn't ready (I was also pregnant). I decided to try putting him down a lot earlier than I had been, at like 11:30 instead of 1pm. It worked for awhile and then I gradually moved it up to b/w 12:30 and 1pm again. For some reason he does not nap well going to sleep at 1pm, if we are out on a playdate and don't get home in time to get him down before one, I have to wait until two. It's really weird.

Also, that whole get more sleep at night and then sleep more during the day thing seems to be true though. On the nights we get him in bed at 6:30, he is asleep by 7pm and then sleeps until almost 8am. Then he is ready for a nap 12:30. We don't always follow this schedule because we do stuff in the evenings, but earlier bedtimes and earlier naptime might help!

I also tell him that is quiet time or rest time for awhile. He is in a crib still, so he stays contained in his room, and usually just happily plays for an hour if he is not sleepy. I always remind him it is quiet time and everyone in the house is going to rest right now.