Hi Kirsten,
I am sorry you havent had any replies yet and that you're having such a hard time.
- So, its very common for sleep to go wonky around this age. It sounds like your lo have started the 2-1 nap switch early, which mine has also done so I can sympathise!
- First off, take a look here:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=95670.0- So, at the moment is he only having one nap? Ideally, you need to try and hold on to 2 for as long as possible. It may seem like one is working for a few days, but the OT will set in and that is an utter nightmare to try and correct at this age.
- I found that things were wonky for a few weeks at this age, then they settled down again. I started off by pushing the morning nap out to 10am and only letting him have 45 mins, therefore making sure he was tired enough for the afternoon nap. In theory, the arvo nap is the one that should be the longest as it helps them sleep better at night. HOWEVER, after 2 weeks of STILL struggling with the arvo nap, I changed tactic.
- I pushed the am nap out even further and let him have a 1.5hr nap here. Then a 45 min catnap later on in the afternoon. So, our day look something like this:
E 7am wake & bf
S 10:30/40 until 12pm
E 12pm
S 3:40 45 mins
Bedtime 7/7:30pm
- It may take a while, but if you experiment you will find what work best. Any changes that you make you need to be consistent with, so try them for 3 days and if still no dice then think again.
- The milestones of standing etc will also play havoc...my goodness, I really could have written this post word for work myself a few weeks ago! Make sure you give him plently of crawling.standing practice during the day.
- I would urge you not to let him cry it out...it breaks the bonds of trust between parent and child. You need to be consistent in how you deal with him or else he will get confused...use pu/pd for example, but dont let him CIO.
- You may also consider Separation Anxiety. This is also an issue with my lo. What we found works is laying lo down in the cot, saying sleepy time etc, then lying down yourself at the side of the cot on your front so you're not making eye contact with lo. He will stand up to look at you/throw toys on top of you etc, but if he starts to cry sit up and reassure him you're still there (no eye contact). You may want to lay him down at this point too. Repeat until he decided he's tired now and falls asleep
It may take some time, but he'll get the message eventually. Try it, you may be plesantly surprised. It took us a while to figure this one out, but it works now!
- If he is OT he will be more difficult to settle to sleep, hence the need to keep 2 naps as long as possible.
I am going to move this to naps btw as I think its better suited there. Hang on in there, it WILL improve
HTH x
