The first A time of the day

[*Liz*]

Right ladies, I'm lost, or more to the point DD's first A time is lost  .

Just can't seem to find it. We are getting naps from 30-50ish mins only. I've tried every A time between 1 and 2 hrs. Still short naps.

In all honesty I have NEVER got her to sleep before 1h 30 ish, she just resists and doesn't go down.

Was nodding off between 1h 45 and 2hrs for a while, and now is starting to fight that as well.

She is prone to short napping BUT nearly always has a mega nap in the afternoon so I'm not convinced that this is just developmental short napping. For that nap her reflux/ MPI often wakes her but I am able to resettle easily enough, I can't resettle in the morning as she is usually hungry by then as it is usually over 2h 30 since her am feed.

I don't mind about having a perfect EASY, and TBH I don't mind if the nap is short as long as she has a good pm nap to keep OT at bay. But I do need to fix this nap fighting as it is too time consuming with Jacob on the loose downstairs.

I do use a bit of AP - vital with the 2 of them - but she is independent to sleep as long as she is drowsy when put down.

Advice or eyes from anyone with their current situations welcome 

[L76]

Hi Liz

Our first A tends to be the shortest and it is the one he will go down for with least resistance!
We dont have a set wake up time - to be honest, can't see us getting one now I have two to deal with, but what ever time he wakes, the A time is about 1hr 15/20. He tends to sleep best at this nap too - complete opposite of Megan by the sounds of it!

Do you manage to extend the nap ever?

[lilisuze]

our A was the shortest too, for ages we had a 2 hour A to start off with so went back to bed at 9am from waking up at 7. i think its probably ok to have a short nap at 9 and then a longer pm nap and maybe a catnap at 5/6 (sounds awfully like a certain "routine" we all know and hate, but kind of fits in with EASY!

[*Christina*]

Liz, wish I could help but my first A time of the day use to be the longest but recently, it's been the shortest.  But when I meant long, it was 1 hour and 10 mins. However it has been the one where it has been the easiest to put her down. 

[*Liz*]

Nope Leanne - I can never extend it - whereas the afternoon one I often can.

I guess it might all be digestive issues though - so either refluxing if am feed was late or hunger if am feed was early, it is reflux bases wake-ups in the pm naps but if I pick her up until it stops I can just put her down again to finish her nap.

This morning I fought her from 1h 25 and she went to sleep at 1h 50, and actually slept about 1h 15.

Her first yawn was 1h 45, and she had no OT signs (like wide eyed, frantic head rubbing, fussing).

But that A does seem high, doesn't it?!

[mmom]

Liz, our morning A is the longest.  I almost think that is because we are all running around in the morning and don't think to put him down sooner.  We don't put him down until he is practically begging us to.  For us, it is anywhere between 1 hour 20 and 1 hour and 30 minutes.  


J was always a baby with higher A times wasn't he?  As for yawning, C yawns all the time, so I can't even go by that.  But he does fuss when he wants to go to sleep.

[*Liz*]

Yeah - J always had long A time - 3hrs by 5 mths and about 3.5hrs by 6 mths. And he has just refused naps 3 days in a row so I am looking at an early nap drop as well.

I do think M is low sleep needs as well as she is happy unless her reflux upsets her.

So far today she has done 1h 50, 1h 40ish (1hr nap in the sling), then about 1h 40 again.

[mmom]

Wow, so maybe all of the fighting is just because she isn't ready. 

Hugs about J dropping.  I thought we were heading in that direction too, since M was pulling all kinds of antics.  But he napped today thank goodness!

[L76]

I dread the day we drop the last nap!!!! DD still has 2hrs when at home - bliss!

Kara's right Liz, maybe M isn't ready if she is going to be on the low sleep needs end of the scale.
When you do 1hr 45, does she go down ok?

[Mrs Coops]

Hi Liz,
Just curious but do you notice any tired cues? Tell me to shut up if that's a stupid question but J has two really subtle cues. If he's laying on the floor his bodily movements change and become much more 'jerky'. He also 'talks' differently, in a different tone. It's kind of like 'I'm about to cry here' but he's still perfectly happy! I certainly can't rely on yawns!

I realise I've not given any tips on improving your situation but I am probably the worlds worst at a structured EASY! I just thought that other babies cues might give you a tip to M's, or at least something to look out for!

Well best I get to sleep, with S crying I feel a long night coming on. X

[sherry lynn]

I think you might have found it? A time 1h45m?
There were a few moms on the BC with A times that high already at that age. So I think you might be on to something. Good luck.

[*Liz*]

Sherry - I think that is it really - but gosh it helps for someone else to say it  .

Actually she went down at 2hrs A today as I was busy with J, and she had her milk feed later (refused it earlier as she was fed at 5am). Low and behold she is still fast asleep 2 hrs later  .

So I guess that her A is 1h 45 to 2hrs already, but she can't last between the feeds so ends up short napping.

Oh well - in the last few days she has started to refuse milk unless it has been 3 hrs since the last feed so I would guess she will slowly move to 4 hrly feeds over the next month or so now.

Tired cues are a bit hit and miss - she has plenty of OT cues thought!! She does get jerky and whingy.