9 MO crazy naps

[Nbeidel]

My son will be 9 mo on Friday. He's EBF and taking 3 solid meals/day. After starting solids he began wanting to nurse before and after eating solids and so we have started that (only after introducing 3 meals not at 2- for whatever reason when it was 2 meals he was ok with only nursing before the meal)

At 6 mo he moved to 2 naps/day with the occasional catnap. Recently his naps have gotten strange and now it's affecting his nighttime sleep. He was sleeping from 7:30pm to 6:30am then nursing and going back to sleep until 7:30am. He would then nap at 10:30-11:45 (A time was 3 hrs) then nap again at 3-4:15/4:30 (A time 3 hrs 15 minutes) then go to bed at 7:30 (A time 3 hrs-3 hrs and 15 min). His teething started throwing off his naps a bit and now he won't nap longer than 45 minutes and he's started waking up around 1:30, 3:30, and 6:30 before getting up for the day at 7:30am. Currently he won't stay awake longer than 2.5 hrs. So his current schedule is something like a nap at 10-10:45, 1:15-2, 4:30-5:15 and then in bed by 7:30. This wouldn't be terrible if it wasn't affecting his nighttime sleep and he wasn't cranky all the time. The teething pain seems to have subsided.. for now  (he got three teeth within one week! Poor guy) Also, when he was younger if he woke up overtired we'd let him fuss for a few minutes and he's put himself back to sleep. Now he pulls himself up and stands in his crib screaming until you get him out.

Any advice is appreciated!

[Aishi]

Could you post latest easy as EAS so it's easier to follow.

45 min naps are ut so he may need atime increase and drop the cn. but post your easy first and here are Some links for reading in meantime! If he's UT then a time tweak should sort naps out which would sort night time sleep but if that's not the case then u may need to have a look at what could be causing nws (not my forte I'm afraid)

Is my baby ready to increase his ‘A’ time? (incl. 'A' times for younger babies)

How do I know its time to drop the cat nap and move to 2 naps?

All about the 3-2 transition- 5/6 months

10/ 11mo sleep gone wonky? Read this first!

[Nbeidel]

I'll take a look at those links now but here is his easy routine the last couple days

E-7:30 nurse
A-playing and breakfast (2.5 hrs)
S-10-10:45
E- 10:45 nurse
A- (2.5 hrs)
S- 1:15-2
E- nurse at 2
A- 2.5 hrs
S- 4:30-5:15
E- 5:15 nurse
A- 2 hrs 15 min
S- 7:30 in bed for the night

This is recent but it used to be he was awake for 3 hrs each time with only 2 naps.

Before last week his easy was

7:30wake and nurse
8:30 breakfast (Awake 3 hrs)
10:30-11:30 nap
11:30 nurse
12:30 lunch (awake 3 hrs)
2:30-4 nap
4:00 nurse
5:00 dinner (awake 3.5 hrs)
7:30 bed

Last week or so his first nap got really short (30 min) and this new 2.5 A time started back. I've finally gotten the naps stretched to 45 minutes but I had to add back the catnap bc he was overtired.

Thanks for the help and I'll be looking at those links!

[Aishi]

Ok looking at your easy before last week he was having UT naps followed by OT and for into an UT/OT loop which is y naps got shortened to OT 30 min.

This weeks 45 min naps are all UT. Average a times at this age are 3-4 hrs...how long have u been on 3h a time? If its been more than 3-4 days then I would increase by 10-15 min if angel/ textbook or 5-10 min if otherwise....hold a time for few days to get lo to adjust and if u get a short 30min OT nap keep the next a time short to compensate for short nap. If you get 45-1h20 min naps then increase a times a little more till u get a restorative 1.5h nap...then you can work on next nap so you'll be aiming for a day like this

Wu 7.30
A 3.5h
Nap 11-12.30
A 3.5h
Nap 4-5.30
A   2h
BT 7.30

Wdyt?

[Nbeidel]

Ok so I implemented your plan yesterday and what I found is that every nap is about 38 minutes. That's convienently directly in the middle of the 30-45 min cues for OT/UT. I can't figure out if its OT/UT. Yesterday's easy:

Wu 7:30
A 2.75 hrs
Nap 38 minutes
A 3 hrs
Nap 38 minutes
A 2 hrs
Nap 36 min
A 2.5 hrs
Bed 8pm


Today so far

Wu 7:30
A 2.75
Nap 38 minutes

Yesterday was a bit late for bed but he wasnt going to sleep. Assuming more wired. Should I try WTS? Methought I've never done it before so I'm not sure exactly how successful I'll be but at this point I'm willing to try it.

[Aishi]

In my last post I mentioned average a times at this age are 3-4hrs your a times for the easy ppsted are 2.75 so are below average! so I would increase that first a to 3hrs and follow the method I described earlier to increase a times. There is also info in the FAQ pages on average a times, day sleep and w2s habitual wakings. I would first increase a times

[Nbeidel]

He goes to sleep independently but when he wakes he stands up and won't lay back down to put himself to sleep. Do you have any tips for that?

[Aishi]

Plenty of practice getting down from standing position during the day.

During naps I would just leave him be as long as he's happy. If not just go in reassure and leave. I wouldn't continuously pd as it will become a game

[Nbeidel]

Ok thank you! This Morning I kept him awake for 3 hrs instead of 2.75 even though he was looking tired so I'm hopeful that it will help! Thanks again and I'll keep you posted!

[Aishi]

Remember to stick to new a time for a few days- OT is inevitable but they need time to adjust and for u to see if there's a diff...good luck

[Nbeidel]

thank you so much! i just wanted to update you. we did 3 hrs for two days for his first nap and the 2nd day he made it to 48 minutes! I'm certain now that he needs to be awake longer but as you said he's just adjusting. Today before his first nap he was awake 3 hrs and 7 minutes and he's been asleep almost an hour! (though he woke up at the 30 min OT mark but actually put himself back to sleep!) thank you again for the advice and encouragement! it has been extremely helpful!

[Aishi]

That's a great update thank you for letting me know. Fx'd that things just get better!!

[Nbeidel]

Ok so it's been a week and I've gotten him from 2.75 hrs to 3.75 hrs but he's still sleeping 35-45 minutes. I haven't had any luck putting him back to sleep thinking its OT but idk how much longer to keep him awake to see if its UT. Any thoughts?

[Aishi]

Looking at your last post id say lo is OT. You've increased a time by an hour in a week? THat will quickly lead to OT. In one of your pp you mentioned 1hr nap at 3h07 min...how long did u stay at that a time? It's rec 3-4 days to give lo time to adjust and then increase a again if you're still not getting 1.5h+ nap...I would shorten to the a time that gave the best nap and hold for a 3 days. Only increase a time if lo is giving short naps and hold each a time increase for at least 3 days...