after-nap issues

[djenya]

For the past couple of months DS is incredibly fussy and clingy after he wakes up from his nap. He had done this before when he was much younger, and I determined it was because he wanted to keep sleeping, but that doesn't seem to be the case now. His naps are usually around 3 hours, and he will cry and fuss and cling for about an hour after he wakes up and it's driving me mad. He screams if I try and sit down and just wants me to hold him in whatever exact spot he picks out. I have tried letting him skip naps (which he willingly does most days) but then he will wake up and scream several times in the first couple of hours. Has anyone dealt with this before? We're at a loss here.

[kdtmom2be]

I couldn't let this thread go with no reply! We were SO there a year ago. Shortly after DD was 2 I just simply stopped letting her nap regularly because that's exactly how she was. I would get two hours of peace and quiet for nap time, but the trade-off was two hours of screaming, tantruming toddler afterwards. I couldn't do it with a baby in the house too, it was too hard. So, we gave up the nap. NOW, if she's tired, she naps, but we don't have the tantrum afterwards.

Wish I had some better suggestions, but that was the option that worked best for us because I couldn't hold her and deal with baby at the same time, I only have so many hands.

[blessedmama59]

I would say try going without a nap and see if that helps. My daughter does this sometimes, but she's only 14 mo. It usually lasts for about an hour and if I put her down, she cries and throws herself around. I really have no specific methods to deal, I just try to find things I know she enjoys doing and it eventually gets her out of the grumpy mood.

[Rosebud1]

Three hours seems pretty long for a child of that age. Is he napping past 3 or 4 pm? If so, it could be getting his days and nights mixed up and affecting his night sleep. Would you consider waking him after a certain amount of sleep? I think a 1.5 hour nap would be restorative, but not so long as to be disorientating. Is he getting enough sleep at night, if he is sleeping so much during the day?

[QuestionGal]

DS is sometimes a bear after naps. A snack makes a world of difference.

[djenya]

I tried no naps and he'll go to bed early (after 12 hrs awake) but his sleep is fitful and he wakes often, especially the first few hours, so that didn't seem to be helping. He would wake up screaming after a couple hours and need some serious calming down to go back to sleep.

He refuses any snack, toys, pretty much everything I put in front of him after a nap (except nursing). The only thing I've found that keeps him calm is going out front to look for snails. He still clings but at least the screaming/crying stops after a few minutes.

As for the naps, length of time doesn't seem to make a difference. He will usually wake once and sometimes I'll go get him and sometimes I'll nurse him and he falls back asleep. I usually ask if he wants to get up, and he'll tell me if he wants me to lay down (ie, nurse). He gets about 11-12 hours of sleep overall with the long naps - the same he gets without a nap. And he naps usually about 7 hrs after waking.

I'm due with #2 in October, so I'm hoping to find a solution that works soon. I've starting again with the no napping so we'll see what happens.

[rvamommy]

My niece went through a phase like this and what "cured" it was letting her decide when to get out of bed or come out of the room. We would make sure there were books and a drink in the room and wait for her to let us know that she was awake and ready to come out. I'd say the stage lasted for 2 or 3 months? We just made sure she took her nap right after lunch so she didn't go down over-tired, and then waited for her to signal that she was awake.

[simplemama32]

Just a random thought...but could it be at all related to the new baby coming along? Maybe he senses a big change about to happen to his world, and so he's clinging to mama a bit tighter?

That may be way off base, as I would think such worries would manifest in other ways than just after-nap fussiness. You completely have my sympathy, though. DS can be Mr. Grumpy Pants after his naps, and it's tough!

[physmom]

Sounds 100% like DD (18 months). no suggestions here but I totally understand. She's the exact same if she doesn't get a nap too, we have CONSTANT night wakings until I go to bed. Sometimes she wakes up 8+ times!!!!! Arg!

After her naps she always has to pee right away too so it's a tricky situation because sometimes she goes to her potty right away (and then she is normally happier) and othertimes she make her legs completely stiff and refuses to sit down. Those are normally the bad days and we have to wait around until she finaly says she needs to go. She also always wants to nurse afterwards and refuses anything else.