My 11 mo old dd has been a great napper for months going down for 1 hour in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. This past week has been heXX! :mad: She fights like I'm trying to kill her if I lay her down or even lay down with her(what I usually do). She screams and wiggles to get down. If I let her down she is miserable rubbing her face and crying...very obvious she is tired. I know she is learning knew things and all that but is this a phase? Please tell me it will stop! She has been walking for the last month but it wasn't this bad then. And know that I think about it, going to bed at night hasn't been the best either! What do I do??????:confused:

you might try eliminating one naptime, and just putting her down for one nap a day. it might be tough at first, but try slowly pushing that morning nap back until she's going down just after lunch time, and then after that nap, keep her up until bedtime. she'll have to adjust to the new schedule, but it usually only takes a couple of days at most. to keep her up and not cranky, you may have to pull some tricks out of the mommy hat! try going for a walk and letting her walk, or if she has a ride on car and there are sidewalks, let her ride the car down the street and back... or get out crayons and let her scribble, or playdough is always fun if you can keep her from eating it (ew!). shaving creme is another one that is messy but very fun for a little one to play in - something they do at my daughter's nursery - i don't do it cause i hate the smell, but other parents i know swear by it! another thing that is fun is to let her play with a basin full of water and some bath toys (or a water table if you have one). anyway, i never had to do this with my own two, but i did work with infants and toddlers in a daycare, and we HAD to keep them up until noon so they'd all sleep at the same time! :)

you may want to keep them up until after lunch . Then let them sleep a good 2 and half hours our three like (feed them at 11:30 and sleep 12:00 till 2:30 or 3:00 and they will be refreshed. I was a toddler teacher for 6 yrs before My frist was born and that is what we did once they become a toddler.

You child may be trying to switch from one nap to two. That happens a lot by about a year old. They also get to a point when they can walk where they feel like they are missing things when they have to go down for a nap. I think the idea of putting him/her down after lunch is a good one. Try to make lunch really calm and quiet and then take your baby to the nursery and change diapers and rub down with lotion to relax them. Try to make a relaxing routine out of it. Good luck, don't give up on naps.

Thanks for the replies! I kept thinking that too, that she was trying to tell me she didn't need 2 naps anymore BUT when she was fighting me the other day, I sat her up on the bed with her bottle and she was falling asleep sitting up! As soon as I tried to lay her down with me she started screaming again! I know it's not an ear infection or anything because when I do get her down for the night, she sleeps all night. I am fine with her taking one nap because she does so well at night now (8:00 pm until 6-6:30 am) but whats with the fighting and how do I stop it? Is it a phase? How do I let her know that mommy knows what is best for her? :confused: I try really hard with the lotion and all but she tries to roll away and keep moving! She is definitely inquisative about everything!!! Did anyone else have a lo that fought naps and it was just a phase????? PLease say Yes, I hate fighting with her!;)

I believe this was the age that my daughter went to one nap. Instead of a 10AM and 2-3PM nap she went to one 12 noon nap. So I also had to adjust the time of the nap (not just the number). I realized this when I started finding her asleep on the floor in her playroom in mid-play. :)

Thanks for the replies! I kept thinking that too, that she was trying to tell me she didn't need 2 naps anymore BUT when she was fighting me the other day, I sat her up on the bed with her bottle and she was falling asleep sitting up! As soon as I tried to lay her down with me she started screaming again! I know it's not an ear infection or anything because when I do get her down for the night, she sleeps all night. I am fine with her taking one nap because she does so well at night now (8:00 pm until 6-6:30 am) but whats with the fighting and how do I stop it? Is it a phase? How do I let her know that mommy knows what is best for her? :confused: I try really hard with the lotion and all but she tries to roll away and keep moving! She is definitely inquisative about everything!!! Did anyone else have a lo that fought naps and it was just a phase????? PLease say Yes, I hate fighting with her!;)

you might just have to let her scream it out. we had to do this with my youngest and it only took a couple of times before she decided sleeping was not going to kill her! now, she actually sometimes seems grateful when i put her to bed!

another thing to consider is teething.... sometimes just that initial laying down (and something about the blood flow) can be momentarily painful with new teeth (i remember feeling it when my wisdom teeth were coming in!). anyway, it's something else to consider. :)

Elliesmom~ I think your right about the 1 nap! She used to sleep around 9 in the morning and then around 2 in the afternoon. Yesterday she didn't nap until 11:30 till 1:30 and that was it for the day! But she was soooo tired by 7 pm I had to put her to bed. I would like to make her nap later but she gets up around 6:00 am and it's hard to keep her up until after lunch! Any suggestions????;) mcr~ I have tried to let her scream but sometimes she throws up!! She gets so upset. My dh was trying to rock her and she was fighting and screaming and she threw up all over him!!! What a mess! I will check on her teeth though! Thanks for the reply!;)

Okay, I know that this is going to sound crazy but here goes.

My son LOVES to sleep with us, but we are not so keen on it (for obvious reasons). When he is sick, I allow him to sleep with us and then it is a struggle to get him back into his own bed. Here is what I have realized, I needed to make his bed as similar to ours as possible.

I bought high thread count sheets (and put them in our bed for a couple of days to get them to have our scent). I also bought an eggcrate mattress. With all of these changes, the difference is unbelievable. I lay him down (whether it be a nap or nightime), and after a couple of minutes of winding down, he is out.

I would not recommend this for small infants who can not turn and maneuver themselves. However, for older infants 10 months and over or so), I would think it would be a godsend.

I just bought the sheets and then bought a twin size eggcrate and cut it to fit. The extra piece we put on our dog's bed, so both of our "children" are sleeping much better.

Amy