When nursing down for naps doesn't work anymore but tot still needs nap what do i do!?

[KellyandBean]

Just got back from taking my 17 month old for a stroller ride to get her to nap. She just dropped to one nap a day at 14 months and now she seems to think she doesn't need any nap. She has always been a sleep fighter so this is nothing new really but im worried because at some point at bedtime she decided she didn't want to fall asleep on the breast anymore so i gave her a paci and put her in her crib and laid on the floor next to her. That was the end of nursing to sleep at night time. But we have always nursed to sleep for her naps in the rocker but it seems to be working less and less lately. The trouble is that unlike bedtime where she is POOPED i can't get her to go to sleep in the crib for her nap. If i try laying on my bed with her she just thinks it is funny play time. Put her in the ergo and dance and she squirms and wants to get down. The only thing that works lately is the stroller or going for a car ride which is ok for now since it is summer but what happens when snow falls? Will the end of nursing for naps be the end of naps for her? She so desperately still needs them as she is a mess by noon and is up at 6am. She gets really upset when i put her in the crib and will either play and giggle and jump around or will start crying while standing up. I don't feel comfortable with any amount of crying so i end up just getting her back up. It is basically a battle of wills and she is winning. Will there be any way to enforce a nap on her without CIO? Curious if anyone else has ever delt with this and how it turned out. TIA!!!!

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Unless you live in AK, winter time is still a good 3 months away.  By then she will be 3 months older and a totally different kid.  ;-)

I noitced with my tough sleeper, a bink and a very special blankey AND a very special stuffed animal were the perfect combination for him to take his nap.  I also have crib toys, still, for both my boys.  Its that jungle music box/water light thingy.  They push a button and it plays soothing bedtime music and has soothing water sounds.  If they arent asleep yet by the time it shuts off, they just sit up and hit the button again. 

[Adaline'sMama]

My kid likes to walk around in circles and be whiney for about 20 minutes before falling down onto her floor pillow and taking a nap all on her own. We stopped nursing down for naps about a month ago and she was napless for about a week, but after that she figured out that she wanted to sleep. She will lay for about three or four mintues with her eyes open and just drift off. My kid is not an expert at sleeping, so I was really surprised.

[JudiAU]

At that age, I would do almost anything to ensure a nap. Some ideas, take a walk with a sling, sling + bounce on exercise ball, rock in a chair, drive in a car, take a walk in a stroller, lie on bed for nap at the same time, place in crib and hold hand and sing, sing, etc. Nap aids include very dark room to signal sleep time, a very consistent nap time with lots of cues, one after another. At 17m we go potty, read stories, turn of the lights, close curtains, and nurse. If nursing doesn't knock 'em out then I put them in the sling and bounce or go for a walk. Both kids needed active motion in the sling (bounce, walk) and not just up there.

[Ella-6]

DS (18 mths) needs to be cuddled down to a sleep. He has to be really sleepy for that to mean someone lying next to him with their arm around him to nap. Usually I throw him in a Mei Tei in the front carry position and do laps in the very boring, darkened hallway. When he settles down enough then I lay him down on a floor bed. If I put a blanket on him too soon it wakes him up. He has to be fully asleep to accept the blanket.

Sometimes holding a snuggly while we're doing laps gives extra comfort.

[mamacolleen]

DD is 2 and for a long time now her nap routine has been sit in the rocking chair cuddling, listening to the same CD of celtic lullabies, in a darkened room until she is in a deep sleep and then transfer to the crib. I keep trying to transition to just lieing beside me in bed, which we do at bedtime, but she is just not tired enough to fall asleep that way in the middle of the day. Some days the nap routine is 10 minutes and sometimes 30. I need to catch her before she's over-tired or it will be a longer routine. Sometimes she wiggles and fusses and tries to get down. Occasionally she cries in arms.

She accepts a similar nap routine from DH and from the sitter.