10 month old refusing PM nap and EW - HELP!

[EloysH]

Hi 

ok, 

so hopefullly when he catches up his sleep he will sleep in later in the morning...

the last 3 days ...

Couple of brief night wakings and back to sleep by DH
5am  BF and wakeup (play in cot for 40 mins then up)
6:30am Breakfast
8:30am NAP - 1 hour - 1.25 hour
9:30am wake
10:00am snack
11:30 - 12:00pm lunch
1pm BF
1:30pm sleep  NAP 1.5  - 2 hours
3:00 -3:30pm wake
6:30pm bed

tonight I put him to sleep at 7:30pm as he was not showing tired signs...  but he went down like a log so I may have misread his cues. I hope that he still sleeps the 11 hours that he has been doing at night lately at sleeps till 6:30am    but that may be wishful thinking.

Anyway LO was feeling better today,  still a bit clingy and touchy with sore gums,   but plenty of smiles and more energy to play for longer periods without needing a hig from Mum.

Eloise

[Purplecattypants]

Glad he's feeling a little better 

So, you could try wake to sleep at 4am if he is consistently waking at 5am....go in a rouse him (dont wake him fully), rub his belly etc so his little eyes stir under his lids and he moves a bit, but he doesnt wake fully. This should hopefully break the cycle and he wont wake at 5am. It may take 3 days of doing this but should work (Tracy said 3 days to make a habit, 3 days to break).

I would keep doing what you're doing for a while longer, try wake to sleep perhaps, then if still no joy try cutting down on his daytime sleep a little more (so an hr nap in the morning) and see what happens. Only try this as a last resort, you dont want him getting more OT obviously.

Good luck!

[EloysH]

thanks Angela for all your help so far..

5am today no joy.

we will try wake  to sleep glad you told me it was a rouse and not a waking a wasn't sure.

Eloise

[Purplecattypants]

Good idea, it does sound like its habitual now....let us know how you get on!

[EloysH]

Hi

Just thought i'd update since it's been about a week.  Well the last week have been really hard due to teething but the worst seems to be over.  Just as he is returning to his old self, the NW has settled down to one wake a night and the EW has been 5:30am .  So now i feel ready to try wake to sleep  I just could not bring myself to wake him given that he's been so miserable. 

We have not had any afternoon naps for the past week, and I  now only try for about 10 mins I think he looks tired. (as I need to get on with my life, it been 6 weeks now of no afternoon naps except a few here and there).  He seems to be coping better and better without the nap and sleeping longer at night.  The routine is like this now:

5am-5:30am  wake  BF
6:00 -7:00am breakfast
snack around 8:30am
9-10am NAP   1.5 hour
12pm  Lunch
2pm BF
4:00 - 4:30 Dinner
5:00pm BATH
5:45 - 6:30 BF and Bed

[Purplecattypants]

Oh dear sorry to hear about teething and no arvo nap!

Did you have a read of that link I posted about 10/11 month old sleep gone wonky? Why not take a read and see what you think, then perhaps come up with a plan....having such a long afternoon awake time really is going to catch up with him I think.

[EloysH]

Hi Angela,

Yeah I have read that link quite a few times actually. I think it has some helpful ideas.  I still haven't tried the wake to sleep because I'm chicken! And also, he's getting 11 hours of sleep a night so that's quite a bit already.
 I'm just stuck in this routine that we have going here, and in a rut. I can't decide on what to do. In two minds about everything.  I want do something to help the situation but don't know what is the best option.

I don't want him to have any less sleep than he is having because he is overtired.  So limiting the morning nap and wake to sleep methods are a bit off putting.

I have given up on trying to make him sleep in the afternoon before 4:30pm..  He just *won't go*  and I say this with conviction cause I tried really really hard and long like for ab ut a month to get the afternoon nap at all different times and for long time periods.  The only thing I haven't tired as I say before is the late cat nap (late means 5:00pm or later)  this is when he is ready.   I usually keep him up till 6:00pm because if I let him sleep for the night at 5:00pm he wakes at 4:00am.

By 5:00pm he is ready for bed, cranky and not eating dinner properly.   Now i am thinking that we should put him to bed for a nap at 5:00pm and wake after a short time.  But I'm worried that he'll be even worse mood and really out of sorts, as I expect he would want to go to sleep for the night.  Also, I do the breast feed just before bed (about an hour after dinner) so I don't know how I am supposed to structure his afternoon if he has a really late nap. See routine above. If I were to give him a nap at 5:00pm - when he seems ready this is after dinner and before bath but before the final breast feed.  That seems wierd.



What to do?

Eloise

 

[EloysH]

also can I add that ahe goes to sleep within 5 mins for night time and morning nap.  For morning nap tired signs he rubs his eyes and gets very cuddly.  Fpr afternoon tired signs he is quite touchy and cries at the drop of a hat..  and he is this way by 4:00 - 5:00pm at which opint I have bene keeping him up until bedtime - 6pm - 6:30pm.  So as far as stress for him.. I think he is handling the situation quote well although I just worry generally that he is not getting enough sleep.

[Purplecattypants]

Hey Eloise, was just thinking about you and wondering how you were getting on 

I can totally sympathise with not being able to get him to take an arvo nap....J is exactly the same! No matter what time we try, even 5pm  But then we have a normal wakeup time, so not a problem thankfully!

If it were me, I would at least try a quick 10/15/20min nap at 5pm to see what happens. You can always stop doing it if it doesnt work. Yes, he probably will be grumpy, but if it fixes the issue its worth a go? Try it for at least 3 days to see if it has an effect. In theory it should help you get a decent bedtime (i.e 7pm), so that morning wakeup is pushed back. I would give him his tea (maybe a little earlier), then short nap, bath, bf & bed.

Can't hurt to try it, what do you think?