Hi
I could really use a little help in sorting out my daytime naps to solve EWs. I've tried everything I can think of and just seem to be getting more and more lost.
He is textbook/ spirited, and at 6 mths was definately on the lower end of sleep needs doing a good 3hrs A. We had a wonderful time for a while with 2 nice long naps, but as his A extended things have got more and more messy. I had some success for a while on a 1-1.25hr am nap, with me waking him at 11am, and then a nap from 2-4pm with a 7pm bedtime. He then spent a couple of months teething and I was sleepy during that - and I think what happened is I didn't extend in time and now seem to be forever caught in UT/OT loops.
At the moment he is waking at 5.30am - I would like a 6.30am wakeup. DH gets up to go to work at this time and often disturbs him anyway, so it seems sensible to make the routine allow this wake-up otherwise it will just cut his sleep short half of the time. And it is a true EW - usually getting 10-10.5 hrs night sleep.
Yesterday
Awake 5.30am sat up and started babbling (tried a feed to see if he would settle but just rolled around in the cot until I got him up at 6.45am)
9.30am Nap awake 10.30am woke crying but fine once out of bed
Then fell asleep in car from 1.15 -1.30
3.00pm Nap until 4.15pm (took 15 mins to fuss to sleep, I woke him to preserve bedtime)
Asleep 7.45pm
Today
NWing 3am to babble and roll, bumped head at 4am and started crying, back to sleep until 6am
10.15am Nap until 11.15am (late due to health visitor appointment, I woke him)
3.00pm Nap until 4.20pm (again I woke him - but was very cheerful about it so I think he might have been waking)
Asleep 7.35pm (but only had half his bottle 3.5oz
as decided he would rather go to sleep before finishing it - but how can this be as I started it at only 3hrsA?)
I CAN get long naps in both the am and pm but just can't seem to get rid of the EW and preserve bedtime.
I thought he was OT, not really catching up, and then UT at bedtime. But tonights behaviour makes me question that.
Maybe this is all OT?
He did start crawling 2 weeks ago, and this seems to have dropped the A's slightly.
If he doesn't take his night bottle properly then he wakes with hunger at 4-5am. Other times he can sleep 11hrs or so without a feed as he does it quite often now. Finally!!! I want to cut this out completely now as well - but can't really do it until I know he isn't OT else it will make it worse. He has reflux and is a bugger to feed at the best of times
.
Thanks so much in advance