Can't get 11 mo old to nap long

[Charlene.b]

I just had to stop breastfeeding recently (right around xmas). Since my LO has been sleeping in more - sleeping sometimes almost 13 hrs.  He wakes around midnight and then again around 6am for milk, and then falls back asleep.  He has never been a good napper, but lately it's been even harder.  He sometimes wants to stay awake 4 hrs before getting tired enough to sleep.  The other morning he slept until 9a and then wouldn't take a nap until 1p.  We hoped for a good nap, but he slept 30 min and woke up.  We tried to get him back to sleep but only got another 10 min out of him.  Then he didn't want another nap until 4:30p when he turned incredibly cranky.  He's a happy child, so it's quite a change when he gets tired.  We let him sleep about 30-45 min because if he sleeps past 4p or so, it's hard to get him to sleep at night.  Then we couldn't get him to sleep until 9:15 at night. 

I think it's another 6 mo until the 2-1 transition.  And even when we tried the 1 nap thing when he sleeps in, he won't nap long enough and he's losing his mind by bedtime.  It was recommended to let him sleep as long as he wants, and then if he wants to nap after 4p, to only let him sleep 8-10 min - but that didn't seem to work either.  Our babysitter usually gets better napping out of him of course, but usually only 2 hours total still on average.

Should we wake him up at 7a even if he wants to sleep longer?  Any other ideas?

 

[Charlene.b]

I  read a bunch of posts on the 2-1 transition, and it appears our LO is one of those early transitioners it sounds like.  I'm going to try to hold on to the 2 naps as long as possible and follow all the tricks on the posts.

Yesterday, he woke up at 8:20 and wouldn't sleep again until 12:30.   He was literally just laughing until then.  Amazingly, this time he slept 2 hrs.  So we put him to bed a little early.  He woke at 11:30p for milk and then woke again at 3:30a.  He kept trying to go back to sleep but couldn't for an hour - he wouldn't lie down, change positions, sit up, lie down, etc etc.  Then he woke at 6:45a for milk and slept until 8a.

So I guess my big question in all this is should I wake him at 7a to try to keep room for 2 naps, or let him sleep as long as he needs/wants and just do a late afternoon catnap/early bedtime?

[Layla]

Hi and sorry your post has been missed,

I agree that at 11months, your LO is probably in the early stages of 2-1 transition, although having said that some 11mo's do better on 1 nap. But before you make that leap, I would try and hold onto 2 naps as much as possible and in your case, that may mean starting the day at the same time and not letting him sleep in as it may be too hard to fit both naps in. If you do let him sleep in, you would probably be better off stretching him to around 4hrs A and offering 1 nap for the day and doing an earlier bedtime. Just watch out for OT signs, such as frequent night wakings or nap getting shorter.

We did the short am/long pm option and with us, the am nap was 45 mins with the afternoon nap around 3.25-3.5hrs later and it was around 1.5-2hrs long. Some prefer the other option (longer am/shorter pm) but I would probably wake him 1.5hrs into the morning nap so that he doesn't fight the afternoon nap and maybe cap the afternoon nap to 30mins so that he goes to bed for the night at a reasonable time.

I'm not sure what posts you have read but I've attached some that may help. Oh and there is also the support thread, where you can bounce off ideas with those that are either going through it or have been through it. Some of the wording will be repetitive but I gave you links to all 3 so that you don't miss out on any info 

From 2 to 1 nap transition (10-12m and older)
from 2 to 1 nap - how, when and the bumps
10/ 11mo sleep gone wonky? Read this first! (2-1 switch)
Support Thread for 2-1 Nap Transition cont'd pt 6

Let me know if you have any questions, more than happy to help. We're in the very early stages at the moment with dd3 (shortening the morning nap again) and although its going ok at the moment, I am not looking forward to the next couple of months