9.5 mo AM nap split in two

[lyndsy_p]

Hi I have a 9.5 mo who is puzzling me with her naps. For 2 days in a row now she has taken a 30 min AM nap. Then is ready for another nap 1hr after she wakes. She then sleeps for 1hr. She is hard to put down for that 1st nap, so we usually start the winddown 20-25 mins before she actually falls asleep.  She is teething and has started standing for a few seconds unassisted. How can I make her sleep longer straight away? Here's our regular routine:

E 7 bf
E 8 solids
S 1015-1115

E 1115
E 1215
S 245-345/4

E 4
E 5 solids
E 7 bf
S 715/730

our routine the last 2 days

E 7 bf
E 8 solids
S 10-1030

E 1030
S 1130-1230

E 1230 solids
E 330 bf
S 345-445/5

E 5 solids

E 715 bf
S 730

Thanks
Lyndsy

[deckchariot]

Lynds - I thought you had mastered naps?!  Say it isn't so......I look to you and Grae for my routine 

Have you tried extending her morning A time?  I know some lo's are doing more than 3 hrs, so maybe thats why shes so hard to get down for the first nap. 

[Sarah - Enfys' Mum]

Good idea, Michelle.  I agree.  (But I don't know if ANYONE should be accepting sleep advice from me these days  )

[lyndsy_p]

Lynds - I thought you had mastered naps?!  Say it isn't so......I look to you and Grae for my routine 

Sorry to dissapoint . She is being soooooo inconsistant! Can you post YOUR routine?

Have you tried extending her morning A time?  I know some lo's are doing more than 3 hrs, so maybe thats why shes so hard to get down for the first nap. 

Michelle...I of course I had thought of that , as I am on a constant mission to extend A times. It seems like she's tired even before 3 hours now. A while ago this same thing happened with the A time before bed. She started to get tired earlier, and I attributed it to her being more active and exhausting herself.

I wonder if this has something to do with the long nights she's been having? She never used to sleep more than 11 hours, now she has been known to pull a 12 or 12.5 hr now and again. She is sleeping around 2hrs for naps usually so it just works out that she gets more nightsleep than she used to. Is this an example of the "sleep begets sleep" theory? Is this making her tired early? At like 930? Then maybe by 10am I've missed the window and she has a 30min OT nap as a result?
Has anyone had experience with this?

Sarah...I appreciate your imput anyway!

Lyndsy

[Aly Mac]

Hi Lyndsy

given she is sleeping alot at night too, maybe a growth spurt? I'm just guessing here........

Also, have you tried putting her down 5mins earlier than what you are now - i find fussing normally means I've missed the window...  I know the A time is short anyway, but just a thought.  L was always a low A time bub.

just thinking out loud really!!

[deckchariot]

ooh...growth spurt, I didn't think of that one.  Could that be it Lynds?  Abby went through a freakish growth spurt last week, and is still working through it a bit, and she started sleeping more and eating more too.  For what it's worth, here's her routine:

E - 7:30 (wakes usually around 7:15ish)
A - solids at 8:30
S - 10:30 (at 10 or so we go up to her room and have quiet play time, I start the official wind down about 10:20)

E - 12/12:30 (lately she's been taking a 2 hr nap here)
A - solids around 1
S - 3/3:30 (again, the last 20ish min are low key wind down, I'm never sure how long she'll go here, at least 3 hrs usually - though yesterday only 2 hr 45)

E - 4:30/5 (I almost always have to wake her from this nap - I never let her go past 5)
A - solids around 5 (no later than 5:30, unless Lindsay's visiting and we get home late  )
 start bedtime routine at 7/7:15 (depends on whether it's bath night or not), feed around 7:30 then to bed when I'm tired of dealing with a screaming fussy baby who won't eat.

So that's our deal....don't know if that helps or not!

[lyndsy_p]

given she is sleeping alot at night too, maybe a growth spurt? I'm just guessing here........

just thinking out loud really!!

Aly, thanks . She did go through a growth spurt last week or so, where she was eating like a freakin maniac, so I don't think this is it.

Michelle...thanks for posting your routine. Abby gets a lot of sleep! I can't believe she sleeps through the night with all that napping going on. With the luxury of that 2hr nap, you can't complain about Crabby Abby anymore!


Well, I think I may have figured it out after some examination in the faq's section. A few things might be going on:

1.Crankiness=teething, even when she's not really tired. It's no surprise really, I remember this from when she was 5 months old. She was a bear back then for a while, I guess it's running it's course again. 

2. She is transitioning to one nap. Doesn't mean she necessarily only needs one nap, but her little body is shifting the sleep to her night cycles, thus making it harder to go to sleep in the AM. Her morning nap needs to progress later so that she can still take advantage of this naptime.

3. I am letting her sleep in too much . Like today when I let her sleep in until 730am. I am gonna keep doin' it too. Why should I set a habit of waking at 7am when I'd rather her sleep until 730! If I succeed with shifting her AM nap, bedtime will get later anyway.

So my action plan is as follows (if you care ):
Keep her up as close as possible to 3hr15/3hr30 before her 1st nap, so she is truely tired for it. Although they say a 30min nap is OT, I don't see how that's possible in this case. She just slept at least 11hr30 (or 12hr20 today) and she's OT   I instructed DH to do whatever is necessary to keep her awake and distracted. It reminds me of the good ol' days when I had to push hard to break past the 1hr30 A time in the AM <sigh>. The PM nap is never a problem for her so if we do still get a 30min nap, she will be able to catch up in the afternoon a bit.

Am I crazy or determined? Who knows.....

Lyndsy

[Sarah - Enfys' Mum]

 

[deckchariot]

sounds good to me Lynds - and nope...no more Crabby ABby (if I just jinxed myself......)

[lyndsy_p]

okay I'm totally confused now.

DH said he couldn't bear to keep her up this morn, so she went down for her 1st nap after 2.5hrs....AND SLEPT FOR 1HR30! I just don't get it

Maybe you were right about the A times Aleesa. She is going regressing for the amount of time to be awake! I tried to put her down for bed after 3hrs A time, so she'd be asleep at 3hr15...she was sooo hard to settle. Dh was convinced it was because I waited too long. She didn't fall asleep until 745pm (3hr45).

I'll keep you updated.
Lyndsy

[Aly Mac]

Lynds, maybe she is awake before she wakes you.  so she is really up longer than you think.  could that happen??  If not, well I'm just glad she slept 

[lyndsy_p]

That could happen on other days, but yesterday I was up at 7am for work, and was downstairs with the monitor on. So I heard her stir immediately.
Maybe that's why it was so precise, cause today the opposite happened:

She woke at 6am and was hungry. I fed her, and somehow she knows that it's not time to get up for the day yet. So I put her back in the crib and she drifts off around 640. I didn't hear a peep from her until 745. So in preparation for the 2.5hr A time, I start doing quiet activities around 10am. I started to wind her down at 1015 and in bed at 1020.....she wasn't having it. She didn't finally fall asleep until 1050.  With some major AP from me. It's 1125 now and she's not awake, so I guess she wasn't OT.

I really think she's trying to shift her daytime naps to nightsleep. One of the classic signs of the 2-1 transition is resisting the AM nap. What was your experience with this Aleesa? Lilly is still on 2 naps right?

Lyndsy

[Aly Mac]

Yep L is still on 2 naps.  I swear by going by the clock 9am and 1pm naps.  regardless of wake up time.  I haven't had to pt/sh her to sleep all week. except fo the day she woke at 4 back to sleep at 5 and wake at 7.45. stuffed the whole day. only 45min nap and would not go back to sleep. so of course yesterday she was up at 5, but I got her back on track and today up at 6.30, went beautiful for 9 and 1 sleep (where she still is).  Just what is working now.  the trouble we had was that she was taking ages for the second nap - sticking toa time helped here instead of A time.   she has 1 nap mabye once a week now. Instead of A time lyndsy maybe try a set time for the first nap - regardless. it may mean waking her up at a set time if she goes over it next time  or maybe a longer windown?  I guess we are a bit dif here as L has an early start to the day 6.30 - i thnk that makes the switch happen later, but also makes it a lttle easier on teh 2naps. 

[lyndsy_p]

Okay...I am digging the set time for naps thing, that may work. No matter what time she wakes, 10am seems to work for her. Maybe that's why she went down at 2hr30 mins on Thurs (it was 10am) and was soooo hard to go down today (I STARTED the winddown at 1015am) maybe I missed the window.

 I can't believe that L will take a nap at 1 . How long is that nap and what time does she go to bed?

[lyndsy_p]

Okay, rereading your post now, I realize that I can't let her sleep in any later than 730am. I guess the wake up time can get later when she pushes harder for one nap hey?