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Sleep, or lack of it...

Until recently Abby has always been a very good sleeper although a bit of an early riser.



Anyway she is now absolutely refusing her lunchtime nap. We have tried everything, talking to her, leaving her to scream etc but she won't go to sleep. She is so tired that we all suffer during the afternoon. She can hardly lift her feet by early evening, her speech goes, she is 100% likely to have a temper tantrum, she bites her own hand in frustration, she doesn't eat as well. A couple of times she has fallen asleep on the sofa next to me whilst I've been expressing or feeding Charlie (3 months) but if I try to put her to bed she fights and fights. On the occasions that we have left her to cry (returning every few minutes to reassure) she has got so hysterical. All she says is "downstairs, downstairs". However she will still sleep at my parents or nursery without problems. In fact by the time she gets to my parents (once a week) she's so tired she often sleeps 2-3 hours.



Does anyone have any clues on what to do? She really does need this nap.



H xx

Replies

  • Oh dear



    James was 2 at xmas and for the past few weeks he has dropped his daytme nap. Its hell! And I'm 30 weeks pregnant and with no energy I don't know who is grumpier at the end of the day!

    He will snooze in the car if we are out but never at home anymore or at nursery I don't think.

    What I tend to do is just rely on cbeebies or a dvd or books and we have quiet time after lunch for about an hour which recharges their batteries.



    We have found that with dropping a nap, James' sleep at night is broken and I invariably I am up at 3am every night for an hour with a hyper or very grumpy child, its a killer.



    I think its just one of these things you have to battle through until you can find an easy solution I'm afraid.



    Sharon

    xxx
  • Hey we went through this a few weeks ago and like sharon being heavily pregnant it was a nightmare for me!

    I would keep taking josh up for his nap at his usual time and then he would either play quietly in his room for a little while before yelling 'downstairs' or he was having none of it... I just persisted and after just over a week of the battle of wills mummy won and he is now back to sleeping in the afternoons plus I usually have to wake him after 2 hrs or he would sleep for longer image

    I could have understood if he was sleeping all night after not napping during the day but he wasnt hed be up 3-4 times in the night because he was so overtired he couldnt relax and sleep properly :roll:



    I hope you can sort something soon!

    xx
  • Hey BF - I replied in Toddler to this! I won't repeat again in here but hope you get get Abby napping again soon! x
  • Issy gave up her nap soon after Amelia was born! she now doesnt nap in the afternoon at all, but she does get on the sofa with a blanket and cushion with teddy and has an hour or so of quiet time with a book or dvd. She is still going to bed at seven, but she is also sleeping a bit longer in the morning till 7 - 7:30, think its just a stage! couldnt come at a worse time for some of us who are pregnant or have a newborn baby!! xx
  • Isaac is also starting to refuse his daytime nap, especially on days when we are not out and about so much - grrr! He just doesn't seem to be as tired then about 4-5pm he gets very irritable and whingey, not pleasant!



    I am trying to keep his nap for as long as possible tho especially with being pregnant and having a new baby. So I tend to still put him down for a while and he will natter away for a while before the screeches start!



    Isaac does tend to go down better when he's been to toddler group or out walking. He's more tired out from all the new stimuli and physical exercise. More difficult to do this with a baby too tho!



    Hope you find a solution x
  • Poor you BF.



    From what you've said it sounds like Abby just wants to stay up so she doesn't miss out. Especially if she's fine when she's at your parents etc.. If you're down stairs with the baby, she doesn't want to be up in her room having a sleep.



    From my experience with Lily she wasn't in a routine until 6/7 months so i guess you can't have Charlie go down for his nap at the same time? Or perhaps put her down when Charlie's asleep? Or like Jody says have a snuggle time on the sofa.



    I do feel for you..but i think it's normal behaviour with a new sibling. Just frustrating and exhausting for you. Its something i worry about when i have another one.



    Hope things get better for you xx
  • Thank you for all your replies. I tried putting her up for "quiet time" from Friday and it's worked. image On Fri and Sat she spent over an hour happily talking to her dollies and reading to them. Yesterday she talked for an hour and then slept for another. Woo hoo! And instead of screaming as I carry up up for a "nap" she runs up the stairs telling me which book she wants to read to dolly when we go up for "quiet time", even holding her arms up to be lifted into the cot. On top of that Charlie is now having a 1.5 hour lunchtime nap. image



    Thanks so much,

    H xx
  • So pleased for you! Well done...some valuable time out for you too x
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