naps too long and early wakings because of this?

[marijke]

Hi there,

I was wondering is it possible that my ds (13 months old now) woke up at 5 this morning because he's having too much daytime sleep?

During our holiday in July we switched to one nap (because he didn't fall asleep for his morning nap but was talking to himself all the time). This was ok for a while (though he was a bit grumpy), he even slept until 7.30 in the morning (normally awake at 6)!!! But then he went to daycare for the first time and there the ladies let him sleep a lot longer then we did (sometimes 3 or more hours a day). We didn't like this daycare so we switched to another lady (she's ok!) and she says he still needs 2 naps and lets him sleep. Like yesterday he did a 1.5 h morning nap and in the afternoon he slept for 1 hour 45 minutes. And this morning he was awake at 5.15... So in a couple of weeks time he went from 7.30 to 5 h wake up time... Any suggestions? He normally needs around 13 h of sleep, so today I let him sleep 1 hour in the morning and 1.5 hours in the afternoon and put him to bed at 7.30 (normally 7).

Thanks!

[Layla]

He probably only needs about 13hrs of sleep. I would aim for a shorter morning nap & 1.5hrs in the afternoon so that the rest of the hours add onto night sleep... so to answer your question... yes, too much daytime sleep can cause early wake ups.

If he wakes at 6 in the morning , Iwould aim for something like this:

6am - wake
9:15-10 - morning nap (this nap only really needs to be 45mins long)
1.30-3pm - afternoon nap
7pm - bedtime

What time is the morning & afternoon nap now?

Layla

[marijke]

Thanks for your advice! Now he sleeps from 9 - 10 in the morning and 2 - 3.30 in the afternoon. So I'll adjust his sleeping times to what you suggest and see what happens. This morning wake up time was 6 so better! So right now sticking to 2 naps is better than 1 nap?

[Layla]

Yes, I do think its better to stick to 2 naps rather 1.... althought some 13mo's are ok on 1 nap, most are not. He doesn't seem to fight the naps so I would stay with 2 but try to shorten the morning nap, bump up the afternoon one & offer an earlier bedtime. You could so the morning nap around 9.30-10:15am. He should be ok on 3.5hrs in the morning .

Let me know how you go
Layla

[marijke]

He doesn't really fight the naps although he always cries a bit lately. I put him in  bed 10 minutes ago and he's making noises now so maybe he can stay up longer (2 instead of 1.30). I think he'll be allright with 2 naps and we'll notice if he's ready to transition to 1 nap... Thanks for the advice!
Marijke

[marijke]

This morning he was awake at 5.30... Yesterday had one 45 min nap and woke himself from second nap after about 1h15 mins. In bed by 7 pm. Maybe it's better for him (and me) to have just 1 naps of 1.5 h and sleep a little longer in the morning? Lately awake time was around 6.30 when he had 1 nap. And he was grumpy yesterday anyway so I don't see the difference (except sleeping longer in the morning). Please help!

[Layla]

If he was better on 1 nap & woke later then you can try 1 nap again & if he seems really tired in the morning you can always give him 2 naps as a catch up.

[marijke]

Thank you so much for supporting my idea, I think he'll do better on one nap. The care giver only gave him one nap today and when I came home he was in a really good mood  She also told us to put him tin bed later in the evening (now bedtime is 7 - 7.30) then he'll sleep longer in the morning. But I think first we'll try with one nap and see what happens (nighttime sleep is more important I think?)...

[Layla]

Generally when they go to 1 nap you don't want to exceed 5hrs before bed. I would say do nap around 4.5-5hrs from time he wakes & bedtime about 5hrs later... so I don't think you should push bedtime later than 7-7.30pm. If you are going to be offering a later bedtime then the nap needs to be later as well so that the whole day is pushed forward rather than him taking a nap from 12-2 & going to bed at 8pm (a 6hr stretch before bed is going to lead to overtiredness imo).

Well done to a successfull 1 nap day

[marijke]

Today he woke up at 5.30 again... He did one nap from 12-2 (my boyfriend woke him up) and I put him in bed at 7 (indeed he was very tired!). So fingers crossed...

[marijke]

yes, he did it! he slept until 6.15 this morning and is in an excellent mood!
thank you for the advice, I guess my ds is ready for 1 nap and no more than 2 h sleep during the day!

[Layla]

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!