Why is my baby so grumpy when she wakes from naps?

Question

My daughter goes down for naps so well but she wakes up as such a bear. Any tips?

Answer 1

I am grumpy when I wake up. maybe she just isnt going to be a morning person.

Answer 2

how old is your daughter? My daughter is the same way, she is 21 months old, she takes a nap no problem. she sleeps a good 3 hrs but when she wakes up she's sooo cranky. I have to make silly faces or do silly things just to get her to laugh. But I find that if I give her a little snack when she wakes up like a small cup of juice and a few small crackers or cookies or some fruit than she becomes much happier.

Answer 3

My son is the same... sometimes, the thing i do (without realizing) but now i notice it works is, when i get him up i sing and talk to him about things of his interest and he seems to wake up and perk up pretty good, try it (if you haven't already), obviously i am not loud, just nice and softly! :D

Answer 4

so does mine. maybe it's because when i wake up i'm grumpy. heredity? i have no idea!

Answer 5

Let her wake when she is ready, talk softly so her and ask her what is wrong. My son used to wake up so cranky so i left him in his room, with his door open and waited for him to come to me, and he did when he was ready. I always got a cuddle from him. The power of distraction works wonders. If she will let you, get a book out,put on some kids music (wiggles playschool) make it a happy environment for her and try not to let it get to you. Kids pick up on how your feeling and they use it.

Answer 6

Could just be that she was woken up by something and wasn't quite ready to be awake yet, so she's still kind of tired.  Could be that she just won't be a morning person.  I notice with my 14month old that when he wakes up, if I play peek-a-boo or something with him in his crib before i pick him up and if i talk playfull with him and sit with him for a minute before i just put him down, he's WAY less grumpy when he gets up rather than if i just went and got him and put him down to play.  Maybe she's really thirsty and needs juice/water/or formula whatever she's on, like sometimes in dry climates or in the summer heat maybe her throat is real dry, you could try a humidifier or something like that.  If it continue's I'd check with the dr. about it because they do have things like night terrors and stuff that could be bothering her and it just takes a few mins to get over it once she's awake.  Could be a number of things I suppose.

Answer 7

my 22 month old daughter is almost the same way.. i say almost because she isn't always grumpy... once in a while she's cheerful when she wakes up.. what i found was that when she woke up grumpy, i'd try to put her back for a nap... it just means she hasn't had enough sleep... if i'm successful and she goes back to sleep, when she wakes up again, she's definitely cheerful.

also the heat makes them grumpy... make sure to put something light on her for the naps and see how that works out...

good luck

Answer 8

My son did the same thing. I was so glad when he finally stopped taking naps. He used to wake up from his nap and be grumpy and miserable for sometimes over an hour after. And that was after a 2-3 hr nap.

He is now 7 yrs old and sorry to say, he does half the time wake up grumpy, but nothing compared to how how used to. I just ignore him, I don't 'cater' to his grumpiness.

My opinion, it's his personality. He's just not a morning person. It's who he is and there's nothing wrong w that!

Answer 9

Its natural to be grumpy when you first wake up.  I know I usually am.

Answer 10

she may just be grumpy because she was waken up or simply just that your baby likes to sleep. this usually happens to babies so you shouldn't worry about it too much

Answer 11

She may be sleeping too much. Don't give her coffee! If she is grumpy give her sugary candy but very little. She will have much more energy.

Answer 12

it is normal for most babies to be grumpy after naps. although my daughter is hardly grumpy after her naps, when she is, i usually give her a big smile and a good morning and a wave. it helps calm her down and most often, she smiles and waves back. just don't get frustrated. crying is baby's way of saying they're uncomfortable or still sleepy or just in need for a little tlc (tender loving care) from you.

Answer 13

Your daughter probably takes after her mother.

Answer 14

if you are waking her from her naps, she will be grumpy bear. if so, let her sleep thru her naps. if you continue to wake her before she wakes up herself she will be angry all the time. let the child sleep, she may be growing.

Answer 15

i thought my son was the only 1

Answer 16

Does she get really hot when she sleeps? My son was doing this but got better when I just let him sleep in a t-shirt because he gets really hot for some reason while sleeping.

Answer 17

my daughter was like this too....I eventually (around 18 months) just kept her awake all day--NO NAPS!!  She slept 12-14 hours a night (and still does if I let her-at almost 6!!) and seemed perfectly happy that way. Of course, I was sorry to see nap time go, but some kids are just like that.  BTW, my son napped until he went to kindergarten~~

Answer 18

Probably for the same reason *I* am grumpy when I wake up from naps.

What that reason is, I couldn't tell you... It's just the way we are.  

Some people are cheerful wake-up folks, some aren't.

Answer 19

Maybe she is a Pisces