BabyWhispererForums.com
SLEEP => Naps => Topic started by: alunrau on January 26, 2012, 20:46:22 pm
-
Hi there,
I'm just looking for some nap advice. My LO is 8 months and totally incosistent with her naps. One day she'll have two good naps, and the next day she'll have nothing but 45mins naps! One morning she'll be awake for 2hrs, and show tired signs, then nap for 1.5hrs, the next day I'll put her down at the same time, and she naps for 45mins. Then one day she doesn't show any tired signs and is suddenly freaking out and I can't get her to sleep fast enough, then does a 45min nap because she was obviously OT, even if she's only been awake for less than 2 hours.
From what I read, for her age she should be doing 3 hours of A time. I'm not sure what to do. I will post our EASY from yesterday, I know our morning nap was not the best, but it's better than 45mins, and therefore I considered it to be a good day!
W 8:00
A 8-10:15 (A time 2hr 15min)
S 10:15-11:15 (1 hour)
A 11:15-2:20 (about 3 hrs A time)
S 2:20-3:50 (woke after 45mins, made some noise, rolled over, back to sleep) Total 1.5hrs sleep
A 3:50-8 pm (a little longer than she could handle, should have thrown in a catnap, but unfortunately just didn't work with our evening)
We had a stretch of not so good nights, but after introducing meat into her diet and increasing her food, she has had only one NW most nights in the past two weeks. She usually sleeps from 8pm-3am, nurses, then back to bed until 8am. Occasionally she will have two NW to eat, but she eats and goes straight back to sleep. I do not do a dreamfeed anymore because during our period of multiple NW's it was not worth it for me to stay up and dreamfeed her...I needed to go to bed early to get the most sleep I could! Therefore, I have been letting her wake on her own to eat.
She is breastfed and has 3 meals of solids per day plus a snack after dinner (she's one hungry girl!)
Now this morning, after about 1hr 45mins A time, she showed no tired signs, seemed happy as could be, suddenly started crying and rubbing her eyes, and I couldn't get her into her crib fast enough! She fell asleep instantly, then only slept for 40ish mins. UGH.
Also, I am unable to extend her naps these days. When she was younger, if she woke early, I could do 10mins of shh/pat and she'd go back down. However, now, when she's up, she's up, even if I know she's still tired.
We are going on a week long holiday in 5 days to Ontario, where they are 3 hours ahead of us. So I'm not sure if now is a good time to try and sort this out, or if I should just wait until we return!
-
Hiya Hun - glad you posted. Thought I'd come take a look ;)
I stand by my initial suspicion that she is in an UT/OT loop. If a LO isn't quite tired enough to do a decent length nap & goes through the day doing short naps, then they will likely be OT come bedtime. Then the next day they can't even seem to manage their usual A time so you put them down early, but they still short nap - sound familiar?
As you rightly say, most LO's her age are doing around a 3hr A time, & have dropped/are dropping the teatime CN. I've included a link below to give you some ideas what other LO's her age are doing:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64158.msg476652#msg476652
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=164030.0
As for how to get there, I wouldn't just push her straight to a 3hr A b/c a big jump may well make her OT. So IIWM I would aim to increase her first A time gradually, by 15mins at a time, perhaps every 3-5 days. You are looking for the A time that will get her doing a consistent 1.5hr nap which will hopefully be around 3hrs A. Many LO's need a slightly shorter A in the morning though, so keep that in mind. You are ideally aiming to get her day looking more like:
WU: 8am
Nap: 11-12.30 (1.5hrs)
Nap: 3.30-5.00 (1.5hrs)
BT: 8pm
As I say it might be that she needs slightly less A before the AM nap eg 2.5/2.75hrs, but can handle slightly more inbetween the AM & PM nap or between the PM nap & BT. I think if you can crack the AM nap though, the rest will fall into place.
The thing I have found helps the most is to be as consistent as you can & keep to the same A time. A key principle of BW is to follow cues but the bit I missed when I first started (& hence why I ended up with inconsistent naps) is that Tracey suggests following cues BUT trying to keep the nap at roughly the same time every day, because this helps their bodyclock get used to napping at a certain time. So she is all for following cues & putting them down a little early if they need it, but within reason, or you will have no consistency to your routine. Something I wish I'd twigged onto a lot sooner!! So keeping to the same amount of A time every day will help you achieve this.
You might also want to keep a log her day, noting WU, A times, nap times & duration. I found this really useful in helping me spot any patterns emerging.
HTH hun. You're doing a great job.x
-
Hey. Sounds like UT to me.
Your EASY from yesterday is not too bad a day at all. The first A was shorter than would be expected for her age - you already know that - leading to the 1hr nap rather than longer. The second A is good and followed by a good nap. It is totally normal for there to be a transition at 45 min, some movement, a change in breathing, a murmur etc. Adults do this every 90 mins in the night but we don't remember it. So although you heard her at 45 mins she continued to sleep for 1.5hrs.
I would have gone for an early BT to reduce the A to bed, but it isn't always possible with family commitments etc.
I think you could try an increase of her first A time to get a longer nap in the morning.
As for the crying. What was your LO doing in that A time just prior to the crying? Any visitors? A new toy? Practising a new skill? My thoughts are that she's become OS during her A which leads to tiredness, or at least wanting to escape the stimulation. If sleep is offered this is a good way to escape stimulation although she wouldn't have been fully tired iyswim. My DS used to get like that from play group and he'd have to have a nap right up to going into play group and a nap directly afterwards only 1.5hrs later! He thoroughly enjoyed going but it was a lot of stimulation. Don't forget a younger baby will scream to block out the world. Another, similar, option is that she wants a change of scene (boredom) so gets fussy, crying and eye rubbing which are not always tired signs at this age. What do you think?
As for the trip, well, I generally think of these sort of routine breakers to be a chance to change things up and come out better the other side. I'd go with the flow and if the whole routine goes to pot because of the time difference and change of environment etc see it as a chance to get things on a new track when you get home.
(posted same time at clairebear)
-
Ooh I forgot to mention the trip!! Was going to add - I'd probably wait til you come back before you try & get things in order b/c the time change is probably going to throw her a bit. Like creations says try & go with the flow & enjoy your time away!
Some good points there from Creations about stimulation too.xxx
-
Thank you for the advice. I will try to slowly increase our first A time to start with. I'm just not sure about where to start from, seeing as her first A time can be all over the place. Should I try to keep it at 2hrs for the first 3 days, then increase by 15min increments every 3 days? Or start at 2hr 15mins??
As for stimulation, I don't this OS is our problem. Our mornings usually consist of nursing in bed, followed by some morning cuddles, then she has some floor time while I prepare us breakfast, then after breakfast she usually sits in her bouncy chair while I quickly shower, then while I do my hair and make up she hangs in her jolly jumper or exersaucer. Prior to nap I get her dressed/change diaper and then depending on how close to napping to she is, we will sit and do some quiet playing/songs (ie 'itsy bitsy spider/round &round the garden etc).
Now that I type it out, of course it does seem like she's doing alot, however over the 2 hr period, it doesn't seem like she's done that much!
-
Today was actually quite a good day naps wise, so how about starting with the 2h 15?
If she seems to be struggling towards the end of her A time try taking her for a walk around the house (carrying her or put her in a sling) & gently point out things out the window etc. We did this in the garden with my DS when we had to increase his A time when he was younger & it really helped b/c its quite calming, & the motion can help them relax ready for their naptime.
-
Ok, sounds good. Another question....is an hour nap considered restorative at this age? I mean yesterday we got an hour nap, then she was able to do 3 hrs A time, with another good nap, so does that mean her nap was restorative enough?
Also, tomorrow after the 2h 15min A time, if I get a good nap, I assume I will aim for the 3 hr A time afterwards and if I get a short nap, aim for 2.5hr A time????
-
I'd say 1hr is ok but 1.5hrs is better for her to feel really refreshed.
If she seemed to handle the 3hr 2nd A time ok today then you can try it again tomorrow. Just keep an eye on her for signs of OT though as the suggested 3hr A was assuming she did 3hrs A, a 1.5hr nap & then another 3hrs A.
-
So I'd just like to happily report an hour and a half morning nap! She woke at about 7:30ish this am. I heard her make some noises at 7:07 but when I looked at the monitor she Appeared to be sleeping still. At 7:27 she was definitely awake. At 9:30 we walked around the house and looked at pictures and out the window. At 9:40 I put her in her sleep sack and gave her her lovely. Her eyes started to go right away, so I layer her in her crib and rubbed her back and sang her a lullaby, and she was out instantly. I didn't hear I peep out of her for the whole 1.5 hours!!!
-
YaY for good naps :)
Hold on to the success and remember it if/when you get a short nap. It can be a bit on/off for a little while until you get consistency with them so don't lose heart. Good work mummy :)
-
And after 3 hours a time this afternoon, we got a 45 min nap.....! Guess well be having a catnap before bed and we'll try again tomorrow!
-
It's quite common for the first nap to get longer and more regular before the others too. You'll get there x
-
It's quite common for the first nap to get longer and more regular before the others too.
^^this. I just looked back on my records from when DS was your LO's age (yes I keep records!) & his morning nap was always the best one for a long time & then suddenly the afternoon ones got better. It will happen its just about finding the right A time.
and YAY for the success! Hope you have a great holiday.x
-
I thought today's morning nap was going really well, I looked at the monitor at an hour in, and she appeared to be sound asleep, then like two minutes later, she was up crying! Which isn't like her, as she normally wakes up making happy talking noises, even if she's only slept for 45mins! I was planning on doing 2.5hrs for her second A time, to see what kind of nap that got us, but then we went to visit family, and she fell asleep in the car for 10-15 mins, so of course that throws everything off. I just got her down for her second nap now, and for some reason she wouldn't let me put her down until she was sleeping, which she rarely does! She's definitely not feeling herself today, so I'm not too worried about the naps.
Regarding the morning naps, I do remember a time, probably around 4-6 months when I was gauranteed her morning nap would be good, and then the afternoon nap was always iffy. It was such a wonderful time!!!! And by good I mean atleast 2 hours, often I'd have to wake her up because she was sucha good sleeper....oh how I long for those days again. Looking back I think, WHY WOULD I WAKE HER UP!?!?!? (oh right....because the book says, don't let your baby sleep more than 2 hours at a time.....!!) What I wouldn't give for those long naps now!
-
And we have another crappy nap this morning after A time of 2 hrs 15 .... UGH. See what I mean by totally inconsistant, what works great one day doesn't work at all the next...or the next!
-
Hiya how are things going? Hope you are managing to enjoy your holiday.
Sorry I've not been around for a few days but I have had a poorly LO on my hands.
-
Hi there! So we are home from our holiday! Our nights were absolutely terrible, which I totally expected, as my LO really likes her own crib! The last time we travelled, she didn't sleep well at night either, so needless to say, there was lots of accidental parenting during the nights. Then two days before we left, she came down with an awful cold, and her first fever! Poor little thing! I've never seen her so out of sorts.
Despite the bad nights, she actually had some really good naps! Most of them were actually atleast 1.5 hours long! Now that we're home though, our nights have been better, back to our usual one or two NW....but naps are back to the pits! She still has a terrible cough and is definitely not feeling herself. So I'm not trying to push her A time, just following her cues, as I know when I'm sick, I like more sleep than usual. Once this cold passes and she's back to her cheerful self, then hopefully we can try to up the A times again, and get some more consistent naps!
-
Hiya - hope you had a nice time despite the rough nights?!
Sounds like a good plan leaving things while she is sick b/c yes they do usually need a wee bit more sleep. Once she is better if you want to post a couple of days routine then we'll see if we can get things on the straight & narrow.
xx
-
Yes, we did still manage to enjoy ourselves. It sure is nice to be home though! I was one tired mama! I handed Zoe over to my hubby and had a good nap as soon as we got home!
I will be in touch once she's on the mend!
-
Just a quick note while I think of it. I think one of the problems with our first a time, is I don't really know when my lo actually wakes up! For example, this morning I couldn't sleep, and I heard her make some cooing noises at about 7:10, it's now 7:40, and I can see she's awake on the monitor, but shes barely made any noises, so if I was sleeping, I wouldn't have woken up to her yet! And there have been other times I've been awake before her, and I've noticed this as well. When she's had a good nights sleep, she wakes up happy and is quite content playing quietly in her crib for 45 mins!
-
That's difficult. Are you able to turn the monitor volume up so you are woken by her lovely cooing?