Resisting Last nap = nighttime meltdown

[Aly Mac]

Hi there,

my lo has started to resist the last nap (see routine below) and it's mucking everything up!  Because of this, she can't last 'til her usual bedtime, so I fasttrack it (bring it earlier) and she inevitably falls asleep while nursing.  Whenever she does this, she will wake 45min later and I finish her feed.  Then it can take an hour for her to get to sleep again (she struggles, obviously ot).  Then, she wakes at around 6 instead of 7 and the day is out of whack!

What do I do when she resists the last nap? How do I transition to the 2 naps if this is what she is *telling* me she wants?  Also, I find when this happens she goes back to 45 min naps for the day with exception of first nap. This then mucks it up even more!
thanks

This is her routine *normally* - of course it's all an hour or so out when she wakes early.

7 bf
8.30-10 s
10 solids
11 bf
12.30 - 2 s
2 bf
4 bf (top up here, as I find wo the df she still needs more calories in the day)
4.15 - 5 nap
5 solids
5.30 bath
6.30 bf
7 bed.

with the changes it's more like this.

6.15 wake
6.45bf
7.45-9/9.30 s
9.45 solids
10.30/45 bf
11.30.- 12.30 s
2 bf
215-3 s
4 bf (top up here, as I find wo the df she still needs more calories in the day)
4.15 - 4.45 try to nap but NO GO!
5 solids
5.20 bath
5.45 bf (one side fall asleep)
6.30 rest of bf - straight back to bed
7.30/8 finally asleep

[malialeanne]

Hi Aleesa. Your lo is adorable!

Most los are not ready to drop the 3rd nap until A times approach 3 hours and nap 2 ends between 3 and 4. Because your A times are fairly short, it will be tough for you to get there right now.

However, extending A times a bit should allow you to get that 3rd nap in for now. She's probably refusing to nap between 4 and 5 because she's catnapping between 2 and 3. I would go back to a 2.5 hour midday A time and try to stretch the next A time to 2.5 hours as well. I used a 6 a.m. waketime for simplicity and assumed a 1.5 hour first A time.

6 a.m. wake

7:30 a.m. - 9 a.m. s

11:30 - 1 p.m. s

3:30 - 4:15ish catnap

7 p.m. bed

Many los do a shorter A time first thing, but 1.5 hours is pretty short, especially if she can handle 2.5 hours later...Just FYI, a too-short first A time can contribute to or reinforce early waking. You've probably already checked it out, but here's a link to info on early wakings: https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=87109.0

HTH!

[Aly Mac]

Thanks Malia.  She does sometimes go longer than the 2 hours. for a while there 3 was working.  It's more that it's so inconsistent.  ONe day she will, another its' 1.5hrs all the way with 45min naps ( I just start the next day anew as I know that one effects the other!)
A question for you - did yo mean to put the second A time at 3.5hrs? It might be a stretch for her, but I'll try.  I'll add 10 mins each day and see how we go.

btw - your lo is very cute too - and thanks for the link I hadn't found it.

[malialeanne]

Whoops, no, sorry, I meant a midday A time of 2.5 hours. Let me go back and fix...

Your naps are still pretty early with shorter A times and the 1.5 hour first A time. Once she gets the hang of longer A times you'll be on your way to getting rid of that catnap.

My dd definitely has different moods from day to day, but I strive to keep her A times as consistent as possible, and her naptimes consistent within 1/2 hour. So, if she wakes at 7, nap 1 is around 9 a.m., but if she wakes at 6, it's 8:30 a.m. This keeps our routine pretty together even with varying wake-up times. I know it's hard to keep them up when they're fussy, but she just can't get a good long nap with a too-short A time. She often fusses about an hour into her A time and then gets a second wind.

Good luck, let me know how it works out.

[Aly Mac]

Thank you