2-to-1 nap switch cold turkey?

[brenda2]

i agree with a bottle, snack or lunch before a morning nap that is that late...helps them sleep longer.

if we get a major fight for the catnap sometimes i do a little AP and let her have a short one in the sling - will she nap in the stroller or car??  also you could do the catnap a bit later but just do 15 min and see if that helps get her to bedtime a bit later.

[impish07]

Lindsay and Brenda, thanks for the ideas. Yes, I fed her lunch before nap and she ate well so that wasn't it. And it's so funny you mention putting her back down because when she woke she was still acting tired so I put her back in her bed and told her to go back to sleep. There was a bit of protest crying but then quiet. Then the phone rang and that was it. ugh. I would love to do some AP for the late catnap but I have a 4 year old who likes to have his TV time before supper and I'm busy in the kitchen too. I guess I could try the sling.

Anyway, since yesterday was a total mess she was was in bed at 5:35 pm with a couple of NWs but she quickly put herself back to sleep. Awake at 4:22 am. (11 hours, as I predicted.) I did WI/WO and she went back to sleep at 5 until 6 am. So my question, do I try for a one nap day? I know she is in OT territory but she did end up getting 12 hours last night. My other question- I've been aiming for a 11:30 am nap but is that too late? Would 11 am be better? I would like to get her to a noon nap so that is why I have been pushing her a bit.

Thanks guys.

Jen

[kohnheads]

Help me out here...what is AP?

I have two sick boys (and I'm on my way) so sleep training is off for now.  Today they had two very long naps (for two very crabby boys) so I'm a bit worried about an EW tomorrow morning.  But you never know - those sick little bodies might need the sleep. 

Jen, congrats on getting Maddie back to sleep!  That's great!  Did you end up trying for a one nap day?  My cut-off is 6:30am.  If they wake before it's a 2 nap day.  If they wake after, it's a 1 nap day.  There are always exceptions though, depending on how they're acting.  Is she seeming OT by 11:30?  Honestly, I've put mine down anywhere from 11am-2pm for their 1 nap days and it totally depends on how they're acting.  If she seems completely out of sorts by 11:30, try 11 for a few days and then move it back by 15 mins every 3-4 days or so.  I know having that one nap at 11 makes for a long afternoon, but a nap in the sling or stroller is a great way to break up that time.  Good luck!

Lindsay

[brenda2]

AP=accidental parenting

when they're sick they need their sleep  hope you're all better soon!

[impish07]

Lindsay- oh yeah, sick boys mean two naps. Last week Maddie was sick too so I was putting her down in the morning and afternoon to help her catch up. Anyway, I did end up doing one nap and she slept 1.5 hours, so not bad. She does seem TIRED by 11:30, for sure, but not OT. Today I pushed her to 11:45 am. I want to see what happens. I would really love to get these EWs under control and I'm hoping a bit of a later bedtime would help (>6:30).

Mimi- how is your family visit going with naps and such?

Jen

[lilmonkey]

The good news is that ds is waking after 7 am (used to be 5 am) bedtime is around 7:30-8pm but all the running around with the cousins is wearing him down so we end up with one nap and a short catnap (15min at around 4:30-5p.  Any later and he won't sleep till 9 pm like Monday night.

Which in a way is not too bad as he gets to stay up late with the family.

[impish07]

That's great! I think a wake up of 7 sounds like heaven and the catnap is good too, as long as he is  still going to sleep at a decent hour, whcih it sounds like he is. Congratulations! It sounds like you've succeeded

[kohnheads]

Oh Mimi, I'm so jealous!  I'd give anything to sleep until 7am!!!  Congratulations!!!

[lilmonkey]

Thanks ladies.  We will see how long this last, so don't be too jealous. 

[ishkin]

Hello ladies,
I guess we all are in the same boat. Just saw this thread, after already posting to a separate thread.
Same story here - my LO (17 months old) is switching to 1 nap due to: 1)multiple refusing of pm nap 2)going to childcare in a month which has schedule is 1 nap a day.

We tried to do it by the book - pushing the naps by 15 mins increments and implementing early bedtime. He was never a late sleeper (latest wake time 07:00, usually sixish or six thirty). But I guess we were not flexible enough (we did introduce second nap on the days he had a bad night, but that's it).

We now wake up at 05:30 sharp. He naps anywhere between 1:30/2 hours, and his nap is around 11:15 now (very hard to put him later than that). And with early bedtime he is usually in bed by 18:15/18:30. I guess the early bedtime (used to be 19:30) is causing the EW.

After reading this thread, I have decided I need to be more flexible with the 1 nap/2 naps, so here is my plan of action:
Today we are aiming at 2 naps, with normal bedtime (19:30 or 20:00)
Here are 3 scenarios for the days after, depending on morning wake up time:

Scenario1:                          Scenario 2:                                 Scenario3:
========                         =========                                 =======
05:30ish wake                     06:30ish wake                              06:30ish wake
09:30 or 10:00 am nap         11:45 or 12:00 nap                        11:45 or 12:00 nap
11:00ish wake                     13:30 wake (short nap)                  14:00 wake (long nap)
15:30 pm nap                      17:00 try for catnap                      19:30 bedtime
16:30ish wake                     19:00/20:00 bedtime (depends on
20:00 bedtime                                                   catnap) 

This way I am trying to keep his A time max at 5:30 hours, but not enough (I hope) to get him OT and at the same time to get him to normal bedtime

What do you think? I would like to have your opinion before implementing it

[kohnheads]

Ishkin,

I would venture to guess that if you pushed his A time closer to the 5.5 hr mark, he'd take a longer nap.  I bet his short naps (as in scenario 1) are because he's not quite tuckered out enough to get a good, full nap.  I completely understand your situation with the EWs and not being able to do 1 nap on those days.  I think going between 1 and 2 naps based on wake up time is a good answer for your situation and hopefully allowing him to be more rested will help stop those dreaded EWs!

Good luck,
Lindsay

[impish07]

Ishkin- I'd have to agree with Lindsay, especially since your LO is a bit older (17 months). I think he can probaly handle more A time before the nap which will help lengthen it. I totally understand where you are coming from on the EWs and trying to keep him up later than 11:15 and thus having such an early bedtime. My LO is exactly the same. Hopefully you can try to get a late catnap in there to push bedtime back a bit and get rid of those EWs.  Right now your scenario of 11:15 am nap for 1.5 to 2 hours seems to be working except for the EWs. My LO is also on basically the same schedule and it is taking some time but the last 2 days her 5 am wake up has started to become 6 am. Maybe your LO will adjust with time too?

Obviously if there is a super early wake up or illness, two real naps may be warranted but I think you are doing well now and maybe offer a catnap if he'll take it and it will get you a later bedtime.

I've wanted to do the catnap with my Maddie to get he to a later bedtime but she won't take it.: (
She wants the real thing. : )

Jen

[kohnheads]

Hey ladies,

How have things been going for everyone?  I haven't posted in so long because things got a little crazy over here with the transition but I think we're on the other side!  We're pretty much on one nap and every 4-5 days we try to sneak in a 2 nap day but lately they've been protesting and not doing it.  Some days they have really good 2-3 hr naps and other days (like today) they get cut short at 1 hr 20 min and things get a little hairy by the end of the day.

Anyhow, just wanted to see how everyone else was doing. 

Lindsay

[lilmonkey]

Wow! That's great Lindsay!  How did you do it?  Any pointers?  We were doing OK but lately his teething is really messing things up for us.  But I think that we can try again in a few days.

[impish07]

Hi Lindsay- we are successfully on the other side too. There were some serious roller coaster rides with EWs and a few NWs as well as short naps and grouchy suppers but I think we licked it. Maddie takes a catnap in her stroller in the morning every once in awhile to compensate for an EW. The last few days she has slept 2 hours for her naps. (Hope I'm not jinxing it!)  I think it took us about two months to really get things working. There may be some bumps in the road ahead too but I feel I should (gulp!) be able to navigate them.

I was really nervous about doing the switch because daycare did it for me with my older DS and I didn't have a lot of confidence but now that it is over, I'm very pleased with myself! And I'm thankful for all the help and support I received on these boards.

Jen