lost our way a bit

[debvn243]

Im hoping someone can help us get back on track........

my ds is 16 wo and up until a couple of weeks ago was following a 3hr easy to the letter. He then started with 45 min naps and not wanting his catnap, no tired signs at all (night times where unaffected) I thought maybe he was ready to start moving towards a 3.5-4 hr easy so i watched him for a couple of days to see what he did. He easily went the 4 hours between food but clearly wasnt able to do the A time that goes with that routine.

Now we seem to not know where to go, he manages about 1hr 45min of A time first thing and will then sleep for 2 hours, he then seems to sleep for half hour over lunch and is then so overtired by 2:30 that we have a screaming melt down till he finally falls asleep at about 3pm for an hour ish(while i walk him round the park), then no catnap but no tired signs either?! We have no problem with bath and bed and no problems with night time.

This is how our EASY seems to be going at the moment
E7AM
A7-8:45
S8:45- 10:30/11am

E10:30/11am
A10:30/11am - 12:00/12:30
S12/12:30- 1PM

This is where we go wrong and struggle for the rest of the day, he is awake and happy after this half hour so he stays awake.
E1:30/2pm
A been awake since 1pm after only a half hour sleep so will then be screaming by 2:30.
S3-4PM usually out in the pram

E4:30
A4 -5:15
S attempt to put down at 5:15 but no tired signs and just lays shouting

bath 6pm
E6:30
S7pm

dream feed 10pm
NF 4:30 ISH

Any ideas? I feel like the 2 hour nap first thing throws off our times?

thanks Deb x

[Sudg17]

My 6wk old is doing the exact same thing. Very long morning nap, if I let her, resulting in 45 min catnaps the rest of the day.

I have tried limiting the morning nap to 1.5 hours but this results in her being very tired during the next feeding and wanting to sleep on the bottle for the rest of the day's feedings.  Unfortunately, this over tiredness carries into bedtime resulting in waking up 45 minutes after being put down to sleep.

Maybe your baby is ready for a 3.5 hour schedule if he can't handle a 4-hr one?

[Ima shel Alon]

It seems like you got the first A right, so that's good.
Your second nap is usually 30min? That would be for most babies an OT nap, but it sounds like he is UT for it of he wakes up all happy and chatty. So I actually think it's not your first nap that throws off your day, it's the second, and if you get the second A right then the rest of day will fall into place.
IIWY I would try and increase the second A to 1:40h for now, so almost like the first A, and see what you are getting for the next 3-4 days. Only on the third day you can make conclusions WRT the new A. If you'll get 30-35min naps then it might have been too much for him, but if he is napping 45min-1:20h long naps then he might actually be ready for more A time. What you are aiming for is for him to nap 1.5-2h.
What do you think?

[debvn243]

Thanks Ima

I was hunting around the forum last night and found a 3hr 15min routine to try, i'm a bit of a planner and it really helps me to see the day we are trying to achieve written down! This is what I found and attempted today.....

E7AM
S8:45
E10:15
S12:00
E1:30
S3:15
E4:45
Bath 6pm
E6:30

and this is how ours went.....

E7am although i woke at 7am and he was already cooing in his cot so I think when i put him down at 8:45 he was OT hence the next nap
S8:45 - 9:15 we were out at this time and although he looked really tired he stayed quiet in his pram.
E10:15
S11:15 - 1:10 put down early due to short nap previously
E1:30
S3:00-4:45
bath 6pm
E6:30

How does this look? If he sleeps 2 hours for the first nap how does that affect the rest of our day? Should I let him sleep the 2 hours or wake at 1.5hours? Am i aiming for 2 long naps and 1 short one? This routine has 3 long naps but no catnap? It was very nice to have a very happy smiley baby back! I was really pleased with today, do you think we should be working towards a 4hour EASY over the next couple of weeks?

Thanks for your help

[Ima shel Alon]

do you think we should be working towards a 4hour EASY over the next couple of weeks?

I wouldn't get so stuck on that . Every baby is different and the best, IMO, is to find a good A, get good naps and that would be the length of his cycle, ykwim?
It does look like a good plan and also looks like you had a good day! What most babies are doing at his age is 2x1.5-2h naps + 1xCN (45min), so looks like you are heading the right way. 3 full naps can't fit anymore in the day, unless he is a very high sleep needs baby.
I would only cap a nap after 2h at this age. Sure, if you see after a few days that the 2h naps are too much for him then you can cap it at 1.5h, but I'd try and avoid that IIWY.