9 Month Old Naps

[irish3680]

We have been using this routine for a while now and I think Ella may need a change. She is 9 months old For the past week or so, Ella has been taking shorter naps and on and off waking earlier in the morning. When she wakes early she will be happy for a few minutes and then start fussing and try to fall back to sleep but not be able to. She has been crankier the past few days. In the past this has been a sign that she needs to increase A time, usually her first am one. She seems to handle a longer A time better first thing in the morning. Also, when her first nap is short it seems the rest of the day she is more tired and crankier even if she pm nap is longer. She needs 3 - 3.5 hours of daytime sleep and 11.5 - 12 hours at night. She prefers to sleep 1.75 - 2 hours in the am and 1.5 in the pm. She also sleeps better for her pm nap when she has a nice long am nap. I am just worried about extending her first morning A time because it seems we are getting closer to 1 nap territory and I know she is not ready for that. I know many on these boards opt for a shorter am nap and a longer pm nap, but that doesn't seem to work for her. She does better with the opposite. I would appreciate any suggestions and example routines. Our routine is:

7/7:30: wake & play in crib until 7:30
8:00: Breakfast
10:00: bottle
10:30 - 12:00/12:30: nap (lately she is waking at 12:00 @ the latest)
12:30: Lunch
2:15: Bottle
2:45 - 4:30 ish sometimes later: nap (again waking earlier from this one too)
6:00: Dinner
7:05: Bottle
7:30: bed

I have been putting her to bed earlier to account for the lost daytime sleep and she is sleeping in until normal wake-up time. She is just a lot more tired during the day, especially in the late afternoon. I have also been putting her down for the pm nap earlier (around 2:30) due to the shorter am nap. She would be fine to nap until 5 pm and then go to bed at 7:30 if the pm nap got pushed later, just not sure how to work it.

Thanks,
Shannon

[EsMum]

Hi Shannon,

My Ella has been going through something similar and I found out it's because she is at the age where she needs less day sleep as she works towards going to one nap a day.  The advice I was given is to shorten the am nap (start at 45mins) to get a longer pm nap.  You will also need to play with the nap times.

If you take a look at the 2-1 nap switch thread at the top of the nap page, you will get a lot of good info from mum's who have gone through this or are going through this. 

Good luck!
Michelle.

[irish3680]

Hi Michelle,

Thanks for the reply. I have been reading up on the 2-1 thread and see that mom's are shortening the am nap in order to get a longer pm nap. When I have done that or when Ella wakes early on her own from the am nap, she is usually cranky and then doesn't sleep well for her pm nap. I think the way for her is to have a longer am nap and a shorter pm nap. I know many don't do it this way. I'm not sure if I should add more A time first thing in the am so she takes a longer nap and give a shorter nap in the pm. So far she has not refused the pm nap if she has a long am one, she will usually just play for a while before falling asleep. On days when it happens like this she is happier.

Anyone ever done it this way?

Shannon