Dropping the nap--survival tips needed

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

Considering my history of sleep problems and the fact that my daughter is definitely a high needs kiddo, I shouldn't be surprised, but I fear that, at 21 months, she's giving up her nap. Nap's been getting shorter and shorter, and the past few days she's been going to sleep earlier and waking up earlier. We're not morning people, and I'm NOT happy about this development, but I'm trying to deal.

The biggest problem is that she's a very intense child, and I had been using her nap to recharge and regain the patience that is typically gone by lunch. Without that hour or so break, I'm scared I'm going to be, let's just say less than pleasant.

So how do you survive the giving up of naps?

[Spring Lily]

I'd institute "quiet time" in place of nap. Have her play quietly in her room, if she can do so unsupervised, so you have a physical and mental break. She needs downtime, too. My DD wouldn't go by herself for quiet time so I ended up having her sit on the couch or bed with me, tucked a blanet around her, gave her a pile of books and let her sit and look through them while I read, played on the computer, or dozed next to her. It worked pretty well, and she did get used to the idea that we don't talk during quiet time, it's not an interactive time.