how do you get your young toddler to nap?

[melon]

Now that he's weaned himself off the boob, the only way i can get my 15 mo to nap during the day is by walking him in the stroller, or driving in the car.

He gets sooooo tired and whiny, but will NOT nap. I try to explain it to him, but he doesn't quite get it.
I've tried TV, bottle, quiet dark room, holding and rocking....nothing works.

HELP?

[Katie T]

I am not the best person to respond as I such at getting my own toddlers to nap but here goes.

I lay with them and pretend I am sleeping. Most of the time they would get up and run around the bed and room (which is child proofed) but would eventually join mama and fall asleep. It would sometimes take 2 hrs and sometimes 30min to get them to sleep but I had tried everything and this was the only thing that worked.

I dread the day DD2 weans for this reason.

[3littlelambs]

our 16 mo. old can be hard to get to sleep b/c he's so squirmy and generally protests to being rocked until he's really calm. We wrap him up tight in a swaddle blanket like when he was young as if to swaddle him so his arms are still. This really helps him to relax and be still long enough for him to realize he really is tired. We also use a white noise machine while he sleeps. So, I wrap him up and walk around the room for a few minutes then finish up in the rocking chair. I also sing to him to get him to focus on me and not squirming. it's gotten easier over time.

[Novus]

Usually, I pat my 14-month-old down. He has a hard time falling asleep if I'm lying down with him & almost never nurses to sleep, so I put him down on the bed or in the crib and sit beside him and pat him. And play music for him on my laptop. But sometimes, that doesn't work and he can't stop kicking & squirming, but clearly needs to sleep, so I have to lie down with him and hold him. I don't like doing that because he always screeches & he hates it, but sometimes, he really seems to need that because he's usually out in under 30 seconds. Good luck, mama--finding a new routine is always challenging.

[Luke's mama]

the summer my ds turned one, we strolled him to sleep almost every day for nap. then the weather got nasty so I switched to holding him while walking back and forth in a quiet room or hall and singing to him. Then he started getting heavy so I started lying down with him in bed, reading a few stories, then cuddling him and singing softly. Works great now, but a very few times he has refused (maybe only twice) and a few times I have had to make him keep lying down, holding him still, repeating that no playing right now, time to lie down, etc. those rough times it might take 30 or more minutes, but most times it only takes a few minutes now that we have the routine down. I am glad this works because he is a monster if he doesn't get his nap!! Sometimes he has nursed as part of the routine, but not always, and not lately.

[Luke's mama]

oh, and i know a lot of people are anti-pacifier, but it has been crucial to DS' sleeping.

[tangledblue]

Here's what we do...no guarantees! (Also, he's just taking one nap, right? Maybe moving it a little later would help?)

1. Stories with milk, often for about 15-20 min. Dim light (have found dimmer switch to be critical, but any low light should do). My DD really needs this to wind down.
2. Lights off and singing (usually about 10 min)
3. DD often drops off in my arms and I put her in her crib; if not, she goes in when she's ready and I either leave the room or sit in the chair quietly, depending on her mood.

[melon]

we're still struggling with this, so any more advice?

He never liked a pacifier...
we tried later, earlier, no good.
I lay down with him, but he just wants to get down, and will squirm and scream til i let him.
He never liked being swaddled, either...doesn't even like a blanket on him. He'd freak if i tried to swaddle him.
We tried singing, music, tV, white noise, dim room.....
heeeeelp!

[ellemenope]

After lunch, I put DD (26 months, 24 lbs) in the back of my ergo and clean up the morning's mess and do my daily chores (laundry, dishes, floors, bathroom, etc.) I save all the cleanup for after lunch.

I put her fave blankie over my shoulders so that she can put her face on it and play a particularly long song over and over. It is upbeat so it gets me moving, but also something that is easy to fall asleep to. I do my cleaning but I also kind of just dance around lol. It usually takes me about 30-45 minutes to finish my chores, and then I lay her back onto our bed, pick her up and reposition her, cover her, and leave.

I am addicted to this method. My house is always sparkling clean, and DD falls asleep without tears, although she has started to protest a bit. (She is getting wise.)

For, bedtime I lie down with her and call my mom. But, this does not work for naps.

[Baby_Cakes]

At that age, I was still rocking her to sleep for naps. She went through a stage where nursing down didn't work anymore, so I would nurse her and then just stand up and rock her for a bit -- maybe 20 or 30 min -- and she would fall asleep. I would put her down and she'd nap for maybe an hour after that.

Once she hit about 20 months, she stopped napping for MIL, but would nap for me. Then at around 21-22 months, she stopped taking naps completely. But, her bedtime moved up to about 8 pm.