My spirited ten month old?

[mamapajama]

HELP!!!
Suddenly I have a toddler. My little baby is suddenly a little man that I cannot keep up with. He has always been busy, but now... He started walking two weeks ago, and it seems also started exerting his will in ways I have never seen before. OK so my point and my true hangup here is his nap. He will not go to sleep for me. He is obviousley tired and has been on a regular nap schedule for like 8 months. Now he just refuses. It has become a game for him: Nurse, jump up and laugh and crawl away, then fuss and come right back and lay down and nurse somemore. Eventually he gets really tired and will jump up and throw himself down on top of me over and over and over until he is crying and I am angry. He will do this for hours (two today) but if my husband is home he will go to sleep for him in minutes. No fussing, nothing. I don't understand and I don't know how to handle it.
He is so incredibly active that sometimes I wonder if there may be something wrong with him. He is very thin (18 lbs 11oz) too which I attribute to his constant movement. My ped is a bit worried because he continues to "fall off the growth charts" in terms of his weight. But I feed him all day long. I don't know, and I feel like I don't know my little baby anymore.:

[sleepies]

sounds like mine

once mine could crawl, he didn't want to be still.
once he could crawl he did not want to be rocked.

mine is also very active.

mine also is better behaved for my husband than for me.

i think they are use to us, and know we will respond to their needs (and daddy doesn't understand and is more likely to shrug off their demands)

i doubt anything is wrong with him.

in fact, i think just the opposite.

i think is a sign of thriving. or that is what i tell myself!



you aren't alone

ps,
if you dont like him jumping on you PUT A STOP TO IT. just tell him "ouchy momma boo booo" and act hurt. they dont want to hurt mommy.

once mine could hold his own bottle, the days of holding and feeding were over for us.


GOOD LUCK and i understand

[Laurel]

My ds is also 10 months old and started walking this week. He is also very, very active and physically intense. I too have noticed that his usual sleep routine has been shot almost overnight. I would always feed him, then walk around while bouncing/rocking him in my arms, and he would fall asleep. Now, the minute I start bouncing him, he starts screaming.

If I truly believe that he is tired (rubbing eyes, irritable, yawning, etc.) then I hold him firmly in my arms until he goes to sleep, even if he cries some. I do not consider this CIO, as I am holding him, talking gently to him, rubbing his face, etc. I do not let him scream, though. I have stopped the bouncing because he seems to hate it so much. If he really won't calm down, then we stop naptime routine and try again later. But I am fairly insistent otherwise. I know him well enough to know when he is fussing to let off steam and relax enough for sleep and when he is truly distressed and I need to back off.

I do not lay down with him for the same reason you mentioned--he thinks it's time to play and wants to crawl all over the bed. It works better for me to hold him in my arms on the sofa. I also have soft, relaxing music playing.

It is often working for me to wear him down in the sling--have you tried that? Sometimes he just needs me to go about my own business and stop the intense focus on going to sleep. Then he can stop fighting and relax enough to actually fall asleep. The sling also functions well as kind of a mediator between the two of us. If I find that I'm getting really frustrated, then I know it's time to pull out the sling.

I too have to be really careful not to let my own emotions and frustrations make things worse. I've been working on this for months, and I finally feel like I am able to handle naptime pretty well. I've finally found the balance between taking charge as the parent, and not allowing naptime to become a power struggle.

[mom of girls]

Sounds just like my first dd -- she started walking at 9 months and the only way to get her to nap was to use the sling and the backpack. But I was able to get her to continue 2 naps a day this way. I found it really helped me keep up with her if we had that down-time. I was able to transition her to the bed for the afternoon nap, for the morning nap, I just sat and snuggled with her or walked.

I think she needed to separate from the stimulation, and the babywearing helped do that but feel secure and part of things at the same time.

My second dd is just now 9 months and is starting to go through the same thing!

[DaryLLL]

With 2 spirited kids, I can relate.

What I did:

Yes, sling them. Or backpack. Then try vacuuming.

Bath. Don't be tied into a bath routine. I would "throw" mine in the tub any old time. The warm water would sometimes make them sleepy. Sometimes I would get in with them.

Car ride. We called it cruisin for a snoozin. Much later, at about age 3, mine would really start to fight naps and we would do this then.

Stroller rides didn't work for me, but I know they work for some.

Loud, insistent rock music. Not too boisterous, but pounding and rhythmic.

[zombiemommie]

OMG if my son wasn't already 3 I would swear he was your babys' twin. This is him, down to the dropping of the charts thing.

All I can say is: you have to think on your feet, and go with the flow. Routines are great, IF THEY WORK. If they don't, you need to find other things to tame the beast. If you don't bend, you will break. We were car/stroller people. I think that once your baby gets used to the world that just opened via his two feet walking him places, he will settle down. When you are getting stressed, just think from his perspective. How exciting it must be to be able to WALK !!! ANYWHERE !! ALL THE TIME !!

((hugs)) hang in there and enjoy this time. Mine walked at 8 months, 3 weeks of age. ANd I don't mean toddle. He walked, and ran shortly thereafter. He was a little bald running baby.

[mom of girls]

Today was actually a backpack/car ride/bath day in order to have any nap! And then it was only an hour! But I'll remember . . . go with the flow . . .