Waking up from naps screaming and crying inconsolably

Everyday this past week, both DD and DS wake up from their naps (ranging from
1 1/2-2 hours long) screaming and crying. DD usually calms down within five minutes, but DS will scream and cry inconsolably sometimes for 20 minutes! I feed them lunch before napping. They turn two next month. Anyone experience anything like this and have an ideas what this could be? DH looked it up online (which can be a dangerous thing I know but thought this was interesting) that he could be lacking protein in his diet and he wakes up starving? Mmmh, thoughts?

 

whenever my girls wake up like that it's usually because the nap hasn't been long enough & they aren't really ready to be up yet. :unknw:

 

My boys did that a lot at that age. Even after napping for over 3 hours (their usual naptime) it would happen.

I would just sit with them on the floor until they woke up.

When you hear them, do you go right in? You might want to wait a few minutes to see if they can fall back asleep and sleep a little longer.

I really think it's just a phase.

 

I also agree it's just a phase. It could be the one who is waking up crying didn't sleep long enough. My DD went through a phase (probably around the same age) where she would wake up from her nap grumpy, whining and crying. I found that giving her a couple of minutes to get up usually helped her come downstairs in a better mood. It felt like she needed to eased into wakefulness after her nap.
I hope it passes soon and they will wake up from naps in happier moods!

 

Total phase. We went through this too. I tried everything I could think of to get them out of it. Sometimes a juice box and a snack worked. Other times not so much. Hang in there. It will go away.

 

Totally agree about the "phase" thing. Jack was like this for a month or so; I would just give him some extra hold-time after naps to let him settle down and eventually it got better. He's still wakes "harder" than Nate, but that's just his personality. ardon:

And as far as protein goes, HERE is an interesting calculation I found to estimate how much protein your child needs. It says the average 29 lb. 1-3 year old needs about 16 grams of protein every day. There are 8 grams of protein per 1 cup of whole milk, so if your DS drinks 16 ounces of milk per day (provided he's healthy and not over 29 pounds), then he's not protein-deficient! :good:

 

Ladies, thank you very much for your replies! Sounds like it's a rite-of-passage as with most things! Here's hoping to a sunny naptime wakeup today!!!

 

My ds has done this off and on for a long long time-even when his nap was 3hrs (which is long enough for him). I did some research and read somewhere that essentially the brain is half awake and half asleep-so its confused. I read that the best thing to do is take them into some direct sunlight so they can wake up...it did help my ds.

 

That sounds like a great idea HSuter Going to try it tomorrow. Thanks!

 

NOT a phase. Both my twins and my friend's twins did this at the same age as your twins. We were still on 1 naps then and they were waking up from the 2nd nap horrible cranky, crying and screaming. I didn't want to do it but had to switch to 1 nap and it stopped, immediately!

Good luck!