Nap Dropping *Disaster!*

[Tweakster]

Amy you have to keep at it.  It doesn't take days...it takes weeks or even months.  We are having reasonable results with the 1.5 nap but bedtime has to keep moving around no matter what we do because he just won't do a consistent length night.

7 isn't early bedtime...you have to go with 6 or so when he hasn't napped.  I know you don't think he'll sleep later but this is a new day a new challenge and trust me, if Finn can do it, anyone can.

(((hugs)))

[teilvnav]

7 isn't early bedtime...you have to go with 6 or so when he hasn't napped.

I can see why this is necessary if he is up that early. We'll try it if he skips again. (Who am I kidding; we'll try it *when* he skips again.)

He will stay quietly in his room sometimes if he is skipping a nap as long as we give him some books and assure him that it is ok for him to look at them in bed. We have tried it in the morning but all he wants is the bathroom, food, and Special Agent Oso... in that order.

Today I let him sleep as long as he wanted for his nap; he did nearly three hours. He was in a much better mood this afternoon... good thing, because we were ready to sell him to gypsies. 7:30 BT; he fell asleep at just after 8:00. Even if he is up early again tomorrow, at least he had that great stretch of sleep today so he is more caught up. I don't mind the 6am wake ups... DH gets up with him since he has to get up for work anyway. It is just the terrible effect that being OT has on him; he turns into a bear. Like his momma.

Ok, onwards and upwards. I know that it goes without saying, but I hate this transition!!!

[Tweakster]

How was the night?  I definitely notice that night sleep is far more important at this age than nap so I do what I can to preserve it.  And it means a super early bedtime if he hasn't napped.  10-11 hrs sleep overall just isn't enough, he needs 12-13 to be manageable.  It's just very flippin' hard to get him to take it!

[teilvnav]

He did pretty awesome overnight after that mega-nap. He woke up once asking for water and then was up at his old usual, 6:00 am. Hurray! Today he is being a little bum, but it is "I am 2.5 yrs old" kinda bum, not "I am an incredibly OT emotional wreck" kinda bum. Sooo much easier to handle.

I am going to keep with the capping but move BT earlier than 7:00 if OT starts to build up. I had been hoping that he would start sleeping in in the mornings to catch up on sleep, but he just doesn't seem to be wired that way. After this long, you'd think I'd know that. Incidentally, MIL told me yesterday that DH was up between 5-6:00 am almost every morning until he hit 12.5 yrs old. Then they couldn't pry him out of bed. She had to insist on a 7:30 BT even though he was in grade school, because he got up that early no matter when he went to bed. Interesting...

[Tweakster]

Yeah and looking back both DH and I were early rising too BUT we self-entertained because we had to.  So I do think F comes by it honestly. 

We often do a longer nap day but find it only pays off once and then we go right back to cutting.  And then paying attention around bedtime and making sure we catch that window before he's over the top. 

I think once we are through this final hurdle we'll have been through every nap transition together lol?  3-2, 2-1, 1-0. ('cept you the crazy lady going to do it all twice...just to be thorough?!) lol

[teilvnav]

LOL! Thank God that Anna seems to be a beter sleeper than Nathan. She is up 2-3 times at night right now, but goes back to sleep right away and settles herself for 80% of naps already. He wasn't doing that until 8 months old! I honestly can't remember a time when I didn't love to sleep and wasn't high sleep needs, so maybe she takes after me.