8.5 month old nap confusion - pls help!!

[Syedoo]

Hi - I'm so confused with dd's nap schedule. Everytime I think I have it worked out - boom - it changes all over again! I'm now at a point where I really don't know what to do anymore.

Here's her EASY as it has been the past week or so:

Wake - 6.30- 7
E- 7, 8
A- 3 hrs - 3 hrs 20
S - 1 hr 10

E- 12, 1
A- 3 hrs 20
S- 1 hr 10

E- 5,6
A- varies btw 2.5 - 3.5
S - 7.30 - 8

The reason her schedule isn't set is because I have been trying out different A times so as to extend her sleep but that's the problem - whether I give her 3 or 3 hrs 20 I still get 1 hr 10 of sleep! Just one day she gave me 1 hr 40 sleep on 3 hrs 20 A time. Is it OT or UT?
I really don't know what I'm doing wrong - any suggestions welcome!!!

Another question I have is now that her A time is extending, her day is getting longer and longer to the point where she is up till 8. How do I set her bedtime to 7 pm if the A time gradually increases? Wouldn't that just keep pushing her day forward?

Please help me - I had everything all set and now I feel like I don't know when to put her to sleep or how long to keep her up!

[ZacsMumme]

((HUGS)) I wonder if you are entering 2-1 territory. I actually think her day looks okay for her age. I know what you mean about the day lengths, and they do start to get long!

Have a look at these links and see if you think she is heading for 2-1.
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=95670.0
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=41952.0

[Syedoo]

Thanks for the response!!
Do you really think that's it? I thought she was too young to just have one nap a day!!

[ZacsMumme]

She is most likely too young to have 1 nap...but when both start shortening like that your A times are going to get quite long, so you may need to chose one nap to cap, and let your LO sleep as long as she likes for the other one.
ie wake her from her AM nap at 45mins or 1hour so she is a touch more tired for her PM nap, then let her sleep as long as she likes for the second nap.

Alternatively you could increase her A times and see if this gives you longer naps. You may find your day starts to get quite long though.

Does that make sense?

[Syedoo]

That definitely makes sense! Thanks!
What I had tried the other day was giving her a shorter pm nap followed by a short A time before bed - therefore not having such a late bedtime.
I did, however have many NW's and an EW - could that have been because of the short last A time?
So...if I try to cut a nap short - would that not have her OT at bedtime and in turn cause an EW? Sorry - I just really want to figure this out once and for all!!
Thank u so much for your help - you don't know how much in need of it I am right now!

[ZacsMumme]

WU 7
E 7, 8
A 3.5 hours (I would push her out a touch to 3.5 hours to see if you get a longer nap)
S 10.30 - 1 hr 30 (and hope for 1.5hour/2 nap)
E- 12, 1
A- 3.5 hours - If you get a good first nap keep your next A at 3.5 hours, if short nap then cut A by ~20mins but watch your LOs cues
S- 3.30 - 1hr (cap at 1 hour to start with)
E- 4.30,5.30
A- 2.5-3 hours
S - 7.00-7.30

You will need to give things a few days and see how they go. One of two things will happen. You will get a better AM nap and your LO will be more tired for bed with the second nap being a touch shorter OR

Your LO will continue to nap 1.10 for the AM nap we may need to re-evaluate.

Quick question before going into this, when are your NW and what are they like?

Just also want to say that for an 8.5 month old a 1hr40 nap is fine/great/restorative

[Syedoo]

Thanks for that!
Yesterday was a little different for dd. She slept for 2.5 hrs in the am, with a half hour cn in the evening am slept at 7.30. However, she didn't seem super tired at bt. She has also had many NWs (3-4 already). I'm not sure if that's because of her daytime sleep or because shes teething!
You asked about previous NWs before going into this - she wakes at about 2.30 am where dh goes and puts her back to sleep w pu/pd and then at about 5 to feed.
Here's how her day was yesterday -
Wake - 7

E- 7.30, 8.30
A- 3 hrs 20
S - 10.20 - 12.55 (2.5 hrs)

E- 1.15, 2.15
A- 3.5 hrs
S - 4.25 - 4.55 (30 min)

E- 5
A- 2 hrs 40
S- 7.35

NW- 1, 2, 4 - 4.30(feed)

She's never done this before - don't know how she had such a long nap on 3 hrs 20 when she wasnt the day before!!

Any idea why? Sorry for the constant messages - I'm just very confused and like her naps to be predictable - this schedule is completely out of whack right now!
Thank u!

[Syedoo]

I tried a 3.5 A time and got a 1 hr nap!!!!!! Aaaahhhh - now what???

[ZacsMumme]

This is such a tough age, At exactly this point we started going through this as well. Is there anything developmental going on at the moment ie trying to crawl, stand or doing new things such as mastering the pincer?

The long nap could have been a catch up nap and then as the last nap was only 30mins she went to bed OT. I know my LO can handle ~2-2.5 hours on a 20-30min CN and he is 10.5 months so maybe that last A was too long. Did you wake her from the CN or did she wake herself?

That said. If she is happy with 2 X 1.10 naps this may be all she needs to be restored during the day. What is she like on waking from her naps? If it is working (other than you want her to nap longer) this may actually be a good routine for her as she is not quite ready for the 2-1 and may not need much more sleep than 2.5 hours on a 12.5 hr day.