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| Mid 4 p.m. meltdown. |
This week has been a frustrating one as we've been trying to figure out whether or not to take away Linna's afternoon nap. To some, this may seem trivial. But for a mom who is used to a two-nap-a-day kiddo... THIS. IS. TORTURE.
For 15 months (give or take), Linna has been an excellent sleeper. She naps in the morning for an hour and a half or more, and again in the afternoon for an hour and a half or more. She also sleeps 12+ hours at night.
Yes, we're very lucky.
However, lately when we let Linna take her afternoon nap (usually between 3-5 p.m.), we have a hard time getting her to bed at 7:30 p.m. So this week, I started taking away Linna's afternoon nap, which is currently resulting in a VERY crabby 15-month-old come 4 p.m. She's clearly exhausted and still needs her afternoon nap, but it's too difficult to get her to bed at night. I was hoping that by going to one nap a day, she'd then sleep for three hours.
Nope.
Her one nap a day lasts about one and a half to two hours. I think if she did a three-hour nap, she might not be so tired when 4 o'clock rolls around.
Hello, wine o'clock.
So far, the only conclusion we've come to is that we'll let Linna nap twice a day when we know she'll be up "late" for a dinner, event, or with her grandparents (they keep her up until 9 p.m. or so). Otherwise, I'm totally torn as to what to do about this nap situation. I either have a two-nap-a-day kid who has issues going to bed at a decent hour, or a one-nap-a-day kid who has major melt-downs at 4 p.m.
What's a mom to do?!
Melissa, we did it the other way around with our girls. We dropped the morning nap, and brought the afternoon nap forward so they slept 1pm to 3pm. Sometimes it was a struggle keeping them awake through lunch, but it meant they were well and truly ready for bed at 7pm, and there were no early evening meltdowns. Hope that helps!
ReplyDeleteThanks Susie! Linna was in bed tonight by 6:30pm, so clearly she is exhausted! Tomorrrow, I'm going to put her down for a nap at like noon (we'll see if she lasts), and see if she'll sleep until like 2 or 3. That would be great!
ReplyDeleteHi! I have been a nanny for MANY years! When it came time we would always drop the morning nap and slowly pushed the afternoon nap til 1:00/1:30 and it works out great! Best of luck with the new transition!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah!
ReplyDeleteAs a nanny I would also recommend drop the morning nap and then move the afternoon nap earlier.
ReplyDeleteThanks Marjorie:)
ReplyDelete