Is a 1 hour nap worth it when it takes over an hour to happen?

[Cprem]

Hello Momma's (and dads)

I'm hoping for some advice as my DD (26 months) is refusing to take a nap anymore--she is talking away right now--eeerr. It can take over an hour to put her down for a 1 hour naps. This involves me rubbing her back, going in and out of the room, and singing songs. It is an exhausting, stressful experience.  I"m wondering if it is even worth it anymore but she seems kind of young to give up on naps plus without it she is super grouchy in the evenings..

Any advice? Is it even worth it any more?

She goes to bed at night around 8:30 and wakes up any where from 7am to 7:40. 

Input needed...thanks!

[mopeggy]

Around this time I transitioned my son from afternoon naps to quiet time, which he still does for 1-1.5 hours in the afternoon and he just turned five. When he was young he would sometimes sleep, he never sleeps anymore but it gives us both some nice down time while my younger 18 mo old naps. If she consistently doesn't sleep during quiet time, can you push the bedtime earlier to about 7 or 7:30 so she isn't cranky at night and still makes up the hour lost from nap?

[elisheva]

My ds2 is 29 mo and he hasn't napped regularly for several months. What about trying to go no-nap-early-bed and if it doesn't work, you can go back? Or hybrid? We sometimes let ds2 nap but it means late bedtime... Right now he goes to bed around 6:30 - it's 9 or later if he naps. Just remember there is no all or nothing. Kids are amazingly flexible. She may not want a nap right now but maybe in another month, she'll want it again.

[ElliesMomma]

only you can answer that question. for me personally (for ME), it is not worth it at all. i get soooo tired when my toddler won't sleep (i need the break and a quick nap too and i hate hate hate when i try and don't get it.) so for the ME part, i would rather not even try.

but for the CHILD, even though i spent two hours getting him asleep for one hour, it is worth it to him. he NEEDS that nap. he needs it to grow and to not be so crazy. i can tell when mine is really ready for sleep b/c he starts doing crazy things like trying to knock over lamps and just going around pulling my papers off tables -- things he knows for sure are big NOs. and he doesn't care. 

but mine is a lot younger than yours. at 29 months, i think my daughter had mostly quit naps. maybe she took one once in awhile (like when i needed one, and i laid down with her). 

[Addie]

Well for me, yes, it'd be worth it, because my DS doesn't generally nap longer than an hour. So that would be a solid nap for us.

I'd also encourage you to try an earlier bedtime.

[marispel]

My DS is 30 mo and goes to daycare during the week.  On weekends I would read a book with him while he had a bottle and I would basically rock him to sleep.  If he didn't fall asleep in my arms, he wouldn't nap.  A few weeks ago he stopped falling asleep in my arms and so I just let him play and talk in his crib.  I would wait about 30 minutes and try again.    For me, this was frustrating because I felt like I was spending so much time trying to get him to nap so I changed this up...

First, I get him outside and we play - I chase him, we kick the ball, chalk on the driveway - good exercise kind of play.  Then we have lunch and we start talking about taking a nap and falling asleep.   We talk about how his luveys are ready for their nap and things like that.

Then, we change diapers, read a book while he has a bottle and then I put him in his crib.  I then sit in the rocker and tell him no talking and he must lay down.   I decided that he wasn't allowed to jump around at daycare so why was I letting him jump around in his crib?   Everytime he tries to sit up, I tell him to lay down it's nap time. This can go on for a good 30 minutes but it's a work in progress.  Even with bed time it takes him a little time to settle down, so I just go with that.   I get to relax in the rocker while he is trying to fall asleep.

For me - that nap is so worth it.  I'll spend a good hour or more some days getting him down, but then he naps for 2+ hours.

[corrieoseal]

My DD actually went through a phase a phase like that when she was about your DD's age. I had her pick a few "friends" to come to nap with her and they'd throw a party up in her bed for an hour+ some days. After that, though, she'd usually settle in and go to sleep for over an hour. This went on for about a month. I don't know about your DD, but mine was usually in a very good mood the whole time so I only had to go in every 15-20 minutes to remind her it was time to rest and readjust her covers and ask her to put her head on her pillow. Since she wasn't upset, I let it continue to see what would happen and often just hung out upstairs during that time. After a little more than a month, she settled back into her regular naps again. She still plays or sings some days for 20 minutes before napping, but at 32 months she's taking 2 hour afternoon naps again and sleeping 10-11 hours at night. So, if the process of taking naps isn't too much of a battle, I might wait it out for a few weeks to see if it's just a phase or if she is truly finished. Otherwise, I'd move to an earlier bedtime if she is truly done napping.

[MrsBone]

Ds is doing this right now at 26 months. he doesn't take a nap every day. He'll go to bed at 10 and get up at 7, then take a nap from 1-3, or if he doesn't nap, he'll go to bed at 8, sleep until 7, and then go all day without a nap again, then go to bed late, and get up early again and the process starts all over. So he either sleeps 11 hours at night and no nap, or he'll sleep 9 hours with a nap. It doesn't seem like nearly enough sleep to me, but I'm trying to roll with it. I'm 30 weeks pregnant and I have finally instituted quiet time.I put a gate on the door so he can't wander the house, and he stays in his room from 1-3 every day..sometimes he sleeps, sometimes he plays or "reads." I'm sometimes able to take a nap at that point too because I know he's safe in his room. He's adjusted very well to the quiet time and I think looks forward to it.

[weliveintheforest]

Can you just lay down with her?   If her nap gets skipped, how does the rest of the afternoon and evening go?

[reezley]

That's the age my boys pretty much stopped napping (actually each continued to nap *occasionally* up until about 3 years old).  I would say it's not worth trying so hard and stressing yourself out. Took me a while to realize that myself!  Maybe try an easy way - like driving or going for a walk, or putting on music and lying down with her.  Try for a reasonable amount of time (10-15 mins?)  and then give up and go for the early bedtime.