11 month old - nap issues

[blueberry7]

Hello,

My LO is 11 months old and has always slept with a paci.  About two weeks ago, I removed the paci cold turkey and had to sleep train him.  We did the PU/PD method because we could not bear to hear him cry for very long.  The first two days were bad (lots of crying and took him 2 hours to fall asleep), but it got better, then bad (with more crying) for another couple days, then good again.  When I started to think he was sleep trained, at the start of this week, he began to resist his nap times (especially the morning nap).  He cried every time I put him near his crib.  He arched his back and looked at the door or out in the hallway (if the door was open), etc.  He seemed distracted so I let him play until he was calm.  After attempting to put him down for two hours, he finally looked so overtired that he just fell asleep in my arms and I put him down in the crib and he napped for an hour or so.  As a result, his morning naps are pushed later and later - they used to start at around 9am and now they start at 10am or 11am.  He used to only be able to stay awake for 2 to 2 hours and 15 minutes before taking his 1st nap and then 3.5 hours before his 2nd nap.

His afternoon naps are a bit better.  Sometimes there would be no crying or half an hour of PU/PD.

I am nervous because I am going back to work in a month and have no idea what to tell his caregivers about his routine since his routine is all over the place.  I also worry that he is not getting enough day sleep.  He has always been a good night sleeper (11-12 hours).

What is happening here?  Is he ready for 1 nap?  Is it just because he's teething or going through a developmental stage?  Any advice, tips?

Thanks in advance!

[amayzie]

Bumping this one for you!

[Kellyjs]

Hi, it may be the start of the 2-1 transition hun. Could you post your current easy to see what we can tweak for you?

2-2.5 hrs before the first nap is a vvvv short first A for an 11mo. Most are doing between 3.5-4.5hrs at this point.

I would look at moving out that first A gradually. Adding on 15-20 mins every 3 days to increase that first A then the day might get better spaced out for you. Will post a link about the 2-1 as well in a min x

From 2 to 1 nap transition (10-12m and older)

[blueberry7]

Thanks!

Our current (before he started getting fussy at naptime) EASY looks like this:

7am - wake up, Eat breakfast
Activity
9:15am - Sleep
10:30am - wake up, Eat snack
Activity
12:30pm - Eat lunch
Activity
2pm - Sleep
3:15pm - wake up, Eat snack
Activity
6pm - Eat dinner
Bedtime routine
7pm - Sleep

His naps last anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hrs.  He sleeps through the night.  Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night crying and I just attend to him and soothe him to sleep (without feeding him).  He has always been happy with his morning A time although I have been told that it is too short, but he has always showed signs of tiredness at 2hrs and I have been able to get a good nap from him so I have not changed it. 

This morning, he showed signs of tiredness at 2hrs, but again resisted sleeping.  I let him play and each time he fussed I would try to put him to sleep, but he would resist.  Finally, after 3 hrs, he was super fussy and didn't want to play so I did PU/PD and after 5 minutes of that he started falling asleep in my arms.  I put him down and with some fussing he fell asleep. 

I am not sure what to do because if his 1st nap is so late, his 2nd one gets pushed later too along with bedtime.  I also don't know whether he's ready for just 1 nap because he seems so tired at 3hrs.

[Kellyjs]

I think you've done brilliantly getting this far! With that short of an A first thing my DD would be emw at 4am!!

You've got room to make the day a bit longer if needs be. During the transition many lo's can do a 13hr day quite easily. I too don't think he's ready for one nap, the transition takes time, but he's on his way so to speak.

Many lo's show tired signs that aren't very reliable at this age compared to when they are babies. The 2hr A time could be learned behaviour. Are you still getting a 45mins nap at 3hr A?

I would keep the 45mins nap, but look at possibly pd at around 2hrs 45mins perhaps. Then it would just mean your day moves 45mins later.

Then I would try and keep those times for as long as possible. If you start to get problems with that second nap, then it would look at chopping 10-15mins off that first nap to stop the day getting too long. The idea is to preserve that second long nap.

How does that sound? X

[blueberry7]

Thank you for your help!  I will definitely try that tomorrow.  I took him to daycare for transitioning today and the caregiver put him to sleep/nap at 2hrs and 25 minutes after waking by patting him.  He only napped for 40 minutes.  I put him down for a 2nd nap after 3hrs and 30 minutes and he only napped for 40 minutes.  Tomorrow, I will try for the 2hrs and 45 minutes and see what happens. 

Thanks again!

[Kellyjs]

I'd up the time gradually hun as you don't want to risk OT. I think lo's do struggle to sleep as well at daycare so it may not be a true reflection as to the right A times too xx