Support Thread for 2-1 Nap Transition cont'd pt 3

[momtonb&ab]

Please see http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=165030.435 for the previous thread which has been locked because it hit 30 pages! 

[<Catherine>]

Marking my spot!

[scsparks06]

I think my 15 mos old is trying to transition to 1 nap, slowly, but surely. We were at 1 nap for a month until we posted on here about NW's for 1-2 hours at a time. We returned to 2 naps and magic! DS is now sleeping 10 hours at night (no matter what time we put down it's 10 hours only), waking around 6/7am, awake for 3.5-4 hours, nap at 9:30/10am for 1.5 hrs, awake for 3-4 hrs, nap at 3:30/4pm 1-1.5 hours, awake 3 hours, bed at 8.  I try not to let him sleep past 5pm so he's not up late. Generally he wakes up at 6am, but sometimes it's 7am. When that happens, obviously our day moves an hour back for everything. This is a little difficult when I am trying to transition from 2-1 by 15 min increments. So my question is do I stick to a time schedule (ie he goes to nap at 10am no matter what) or do I stick to a total time schedule (ie he goes to nap 4 hours after he wakes up)? Right now I am going with length of A time, unless he's super tired for some reason, and pushing A time farther by 15 mins every 3rd day, decreasing S time in pm nap and decreasing A time before bed. Does this sound right? Thanks!

[Khalam's Mama]

oops my spot. Just starting out.

[<Catherine>]

We're all over the place at the moment, we had a few really good days of 1 nap but seem to have gone back to 2 now, although yesterday my friend was looking after him and he refused his nap all day and finally went to sleep in the car when I picked him up. Our nights were really great for a week or so, still STTN consistently but we're getting shorter night - still not bad though and I don't think I could really say it's EW so not complaining!

Just don't know whether to just 'go with it' as far as naps are concerned at the mo or try and get him back on a set routine again.

[Khalam's Mama]

Don't ask me I have no idea!
We are currently working with one long (1.25-1.5hr) nap and one short (45min) nap but I am struggling with the A times to go with it. We are only getting 10hr nights so do I make days 14hrs to take up the slack or do 13hr days in the hope he will take it up instead? Do you guys do set bedtime?

[nelliestar]

Our bedtimes are fairly set except when we have a short nap day and then its early to bed (or an EW). 14 hrs seems a very long day. If it were me and wakeup time was 6am I would do bed no later than 6.30 to see what happens. Our DS is quite high sleep needs and has never done really long A times..we are on 4 hrs 30 mins at the moment.

Our son's day starts at 8am at the mo which works really well for a nap at 12.30 for 2hrs 30 mins but the last          A is always the shortest - about 4hrs. We have stumbled upon this routine and its working well - 13hr nights and 11 hr days. Don't know how it happened but not complaining. we started getting long uninterrupted nights as soon as we switched to 1 nap. he'd always been a good sleeper but would wake quite early.

Hope this helps!

Nell xxx

[Khalam's Mama]

But I keep doing 13hr days and BT just gets earlier and earlier until EW is so early I treat as NW and get him off again and a later wake up and start all over again! I tried a few one nap days but got NW if did more than 1 in a row so don't think we are ready to go cold turkey. I would love 13hr nights!

[nelliestar]

I think you need help from someone who's more of an expert...sorry! I'm not much use. Interested in your replies and will keep watching xxx

[<Catherine>]

I wish I could help too but I have no idea what I'm doing either!

[Manueli]

Just budding in here. Am wondering of how you get to 1 nap a day from 2 naps. We are doing 45 min AM nap and long PM nap. My original plan was to reduce the AM nap time gradually until I could drop it. Well, there is no way I can wake this guy up before 45 min. And even then he still keeps sleeping in my arms with all the lights on, radio on, etc. Just really doesn't want to wake up. So is there a different approach? I read in BWSAYP that Tracy suggests to push the nap further until 2 becomes 1 but I don't really understand what she means. I also can't see Hayden having a shorter A time between the naps, he just wouldn't go down.

[<Catherine>]

Well after expecting a 2 nap day yesterday, we had a 3 hour nap instead and then he was really cranky before bed so early bedtime - I was expecting a early wake up as he never goes to bed that early but he still woke at 6.30/7am which is usual and meant he had over 12 hours! It's great but not consistent.

At the moment I'm just letting him sleep as long as he wants for the first nap which is usually 1.5 hours but occassionally 3, if he only has the 1.5 hours then i put him down for a 2nd shorter nap, but he will sometimes refuse this (which sometimes leads to OT).

[nelliestar]

Thats a good night Catherine!

Have you ever tried doing a short am nap and long pm?  We had to switch to that when we started the 2-1 transition Then we had a few days where we couldn't do the am nap as we were out so we just did the pm nap earlier and longer and thats eventually how we switched to 1 nap. We were forced to really as DH takes DS to church sunday morning and so am nap is out for sundays. We would get him home, try to get some lunch into him and then put him down for a long nap. Then we noticed he would wake later on mondays and put 2 and 2 together....had to take a leap of faith on nursery days but its working so far.
 Still don't know what we would do if he woke early one day! Dreading it! I suppose we would do an earlier long nap and earlier (and prob OT) bedtime?

Thats been our experience anyway! HTH's someone

Nell xxxx

[<Catherine>]

Have you ever tried doing a short am nap and long pm?

No, but will give it a go if things dont settle down a bit, although the only real problem (as we're still getting good nights) is how 'difficult' he's being sort of late afternoon at the mo - however not sure if this is just a phase or if it's down to OT. The other problem is on days that I am working (3 days a week) he is with my sister or my friend and it just wouldnt really work if they couldnt put him down until later, and he'd probably then be sleeping when I pick him up. At the moment if he has only had a 1.5 hour nap in the morning then he will often take his pm nap in the car when I pick him up (up to an hour), although he seems to be refusing to sleep in the car more and more now. If I am at home all day with him I have no trouble getting him to have a pm nap if he's only had a 1.5 hour am nap.

Today he was with my sister and did one long nap again (seems to be a thursday and friday thing! ), it was about 2.5 hours I think. He was grumpy this evening again but we had been stuck in traffic so he'd been in the car for over 2 hours so this could explain the grumpyness!!! Had a slightly early night, will have to wait and see what sort of time he wakes.

[nelliestar]

Its not straightforward is it?!

What time did he wake today? It seems normal (reading back on this thread) to have some days 2 naps and some 1 nap at first I think. It does get complicated when you are halfway between 1 and 2!

Hope today is going well,

Nell xxx