Help! My 16 Month Old Will Suddenly Only Nap for 30 Minutes

Get used to it. some babies just don't nap anymore and start phasing them out all together. Frustrating I know,especially when you are used to those naps, can't have any quiet time to get anything done but don't expect or force him to sleep, maybe just make it one afternoon nap. Maybe have him just laying down with some music will calm him or let him play in his playpen or just let him know you need to get some things done, maybe while he eats lunch in his high chair in the kitchen you can do some kitchen chores, when its time to clean the bedroom let him come and help etc..and you can get somethings done. But other than that get used to him being up :) aahhh the joys of motherhood ;)

Hi J.. Oh I remember that frustration!! It's just a phase and it will get better. I too LOVE the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It does sound like your child is at the right age to drop the second nap. My boys did too about that age and it was tough. I would give them an active morning, then a heavy snack and then put them down between 11/11:30. If the nap lasted less than an hour, I would put them back down again @ 2:00 or so but generally just for a rest- I would play an Einstein dvd or something for them. Just stick with it and he will adjust to it (although there may be some days that he still will take 2 naps). Once he starts napping for a good length of time, you can slowly start pushing the nap a little later in the day. In the meantime, you may have to try either ignoring him or soothing him back to sleep, depending on his personality. Good luck!

If you are still doing the morning and afternoon nap, I would cut the morning and just go with the one. Try to feed him right before he falls asleep, so he is sleeping with a full stomache. He probably will wake up after 20 mins or so crying, but I would advise not going in there. Give him about 20 mins or so, and he should go back to sleep. If you are consisitenlty going back in his room to check on him, he will keep crying b/c he knows you will come in and get him eventually. As long as he is safe in his crib, he will be OK:) Good Luck!

We used a book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" and one thing it suggests to try is delaying the morning nap by 10 or 20 minutes, over a period of time (days or weeks) until it is occurring midday, and eliminating the second nap while you're doing that. You may have to have an earlier bedtime initially, since your child will probably get quite sleepy in the afternoon, and the book also says you may have to soothe extra long at nap time since you are delaying it. Our son was sort of forced into a one nap schedule because we started him in day care around that time. They kept him so busy in the am that he didn't have time to be sleepy, so he fell into the one nap routine easily.

Also, try not to let your child be in a car or some other place where he will likely fall asleep when it's close to nap time. It's not quality sleep, and it will get him off schedule.

I do know people who have kids that gave up napping entirely by 18 months, and others who had kids who only took brief naps. I hope your child starts napping longer, I know how valuable that time is! Good luck.

When he goes down for his nap, do you just put him in his crib, or do you rock him? If you are rocking him or assisting him with some other "crutch" (like laying with him), the easy answer is to teach him to fall asleep on his own. That way, if he starts to wake after 30 minutes, he will know how to roll over and fall back to sleep. If he is already falling asleep on his own, you may be out of luck-- he may just be at a point where he doesn't need as much sleep in a 24 hour period. If he's already getting nearly 12 hours at night, he may be one of those kids who doesn't need much more.

Postpone the nap till after lunch and put him down then. If he wakes up too soon, try to get him back down (nursing, bottle, music, rocking, whatever). I think he will eventually get into the new schedule and sleep a good 2 hrs or so for you in the afternoon.

It may help to give him some busy mornings. Good luck!

J., there's no way of getting him to nap for longer periods of time. As babies and toddlers grow, their needs for naps change. The naps get shorter, and they eventually eliminate one nap. Your son is doing that now; it's perfectly natural.

Why do you want him to sleep more? If you need more time to yourself, then you can try getting a babysitter, maybe an older child, to give him attention at a certain time of the day while you do whatever it is that you need to do. We used to call these older kids "mother's helpers" or "mother's friend." I'm sure there is a girl or boy who would come and play with your son for a couple of hours a day, if you give the kid a couple of dollars.

Alternatively, you can also find someone who would be willing to mop your floor or whatever for you, while you spend time with your child....

It might be time for you to get a playpen so that your boy can be in the same room with you but not in your arms all the time. Some kids do well with this partial attention, but some don't. Also a walker or a swing can keep the little one occupied, playing by himself. He might be ready for something like that.

But please, please, don't try to force him to sleep more than he needs. He's going to feel rejected, and this is going to cause a world of hurt for him and the whole family, now and in the long term.

I hope you find a solution that will keep everyone happy and feeling blessed.

Peace,
Syl

Try the 90 minute cycle. Apparantly, if you coordinate sleeping and naps with 90 minute cycles, it helps (which it has for my 17 month old). After they wake in the am, either put the child down after 90 minutes of being awake or 3 hours after being awake because that is when they are sleepiest, then again, for the 2nd nap (if there is one), put your child down again either 90 min or 3 hours. I go by that somewhat or it seems my daughter is most tired after 2 hours of waking in the morning and 3 hours after the 1st nap. If your child is beckoning from the crib, it may just be to manipultae you to get them up so they can play more. If you wait like 10 minutes more, chances are that they will realize it is nap time. My daughter played the game and now she may talk in her crib for like 15 minutes (and a fake cry for a few minutes), but she falls asleep. She does, however, not go to bed until 9pm (latish, I know), but she is getting 14-15 hours of sleep a day, so whatever works. She doesn't have to get up for her job :)

The advice below sounds great. I definitely recommend moving to one midday nap right after lunch, even if you have to make lunch at 11:30. Stay away from the car when he's sleepy!

I will also say that both my kids have gone through phases (learning to walk, learning to talk) where they were just so excited by the world that they had a hard time sleeping for a while. When they started talking, they both would babble themselves to sleep for a LONG time. But they need that! Nothing lasts forever and you WILL figure it out :-)