18mo dropping nap!!?!?

[dachshund mom]

4 of the past 5 days, 18mo DD has not napped. The two weeks before this it's been a 20 minute nap. I nurse her like usual, but she continues to wiggle and fidget until I get frustrated and give up 30+ minutes later. Then I'll lay there for a while to see if she'll go to sleep on her own, but she never does. She's been sleeping longer at night - one night this week she slept for 14 hours, two for 13 hours and last night her usual 12.

She's never been a easy napper, and when she does it's a short one. She has slept in her car seat maybe 10 times her entire life, never fallen asleep in a stroller, rarely in a carrier. The occasional day I haven't been there to nurse her to sleep, she just doesn't nap.

So, is she dropping the nap? Or is this a phase? Maybe she doesn't want to nurse to sleep anymore, but I (or anyone) can't get her to sleep any other way. After much anguish in the early months, I've learned with her to go with the flow on sleep, but this seems really early to drop naps. Anyone btdt?

[ellemenope]

I know what it is like.

Everything is a phase. You have the freedom to go without naps for awhile and then go back to them. You don't have to make a decision to give up naps at any point. Just go with the flow.

I know it is hard. I am pretty sure my 12 month old would have dropped her nap too if I had let her . I am sure you can say the same thing. We just have to get creative and keep trying. But, please don't stress too much over it.

But, yes, 18 months is early to go nap free. I can't go looking for the studies and citations right now, but I have done a lot of research and reading on the subject and there was one thing that stuck with me.

It was that an adult's brain is different from a toddler's brain (duh) in that a toddler's levels of cortisol increase significantly throughout the day unlike an adult's. This is the same cortisol that increase when babies are left to CIO. It is the same hormone that we all try to avoid by keeping are kids' lives as stress free as possible because increased levels of cortisol have been proven to have negative effect on the immune system, memory, development, etc.

So, a toddler wakes up at his lowest level and goes to sleep at his highest level. When a child takes a nap in the middle of the day his is essentially reseting his cortisol levels to zero.

I know I am simplifying the hell out of this, but anyway that is what I got out of it, and this is what helps me appreciate all the hard work I put into getting DD to nap. Please, if someone can say this more scientificaly, I'd really appreciate it.

In my case, I really wanted to believe my DD was different. She didn't need a nap. She is just not a napper. But, when I read this, How could I argue that the chemistry in my DD's brain was different? That somehow she was immune to cortisol effects?

Yes, my DD is different in that she is a to get to sleep. We just keep working at it.

[Honey693]

My DD stopped napping for awhile around that age. I just enforced quiet time and mommy nap time where I would tell her she didn't have to nap, but mommy was and then I'd lay there and not talk for 45 minutes or so. After a week or so she started napping again.

[Stitches]

See my thread, I'm having the same issues, except my DD is a year older. My DD has never been a 'good napper'. She did a similar thing at 18 months, she just started daycare and she really didn't nap there much, and then would try not to nap at home. She really did need the sleep at that point, and after a while she got back to normal. I sympathize with you, I am green with envy for anyone who's child sleeps easily.

[tylerdylan]

My DS2 stopped napping at 18 months. Not that he didn't need the nap anymore because he got really cranky at times, but he just absolutely refused to take one. He is 3 now and the only time he "naps" is if he's in the car for more than 30 minutes or so.

[Italiamom]

Originally Posted by Stitches

I am green with envy for anyone who's child sleeps easily.

THIS!

In all seriousness though, you might just have to fight her on it, at least for a few weeks. I know it is a PITA, believe me, as most every bout of going to sleep in our house takes at least an hour to make happen. There are days where the schedule doesn't permit, and DS doesn't get a good nap. But when I can, I try to make it happen.

It is SO frustrating though. I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya that it's just a stage. Any new milestones that might be coming up? Or any new teeth working their way in?

[NewMoonMum]

I agree, it's so hard to know.

To hear my MIL tell it, neither of her kids EVER took naps(I suppose she means once they started sleeping say at least 12 hrs a night?)
My friends have a daughter of about 2, who went about 4 months without her naps, then suddenly, a few weeks ago, started taking them again-for 3 hours!!!
My son started phasing them out around 2. Now at 2.5, he very rarely naps(maybe once a week, if that). However, he does get quiet time in his room every day, which frankly is my saving grace! If that is at all plausible for you, I highly recommend giving that a try!!

[whoanellie]

My DD is 19 mos and has never been a great napper (you know, the hour and 45 min. to get her down for a 45 min nap! ). We just go day by day- sometimes she obviously needs the nap and sometimes we try and it doesn't happen so we have some cuddle time and stories and maybe a short video. As much as I've tried we've never maintained any sort of schedule for more than a few weeks. I wish I had an answer to help but while I know logically of course she would benefit from a nap- I'm seriously so over the 2 hours of our day trying to convince HER of this fact. So we just roll with it- after some down-time she's good to go again.

Wish I had the magic answer, believe me!