Impossible to extend naps- 8 month old

[slumberbaby]

Ds was following a really good routine until recently- I was trying to extend his A times very gently (5/10 mins every few days) to get him to drop his catnap and was tweaking things slightly to try fix the EW (5/5.30 am) and suddenly everything has gone out the window. First a new tooth popped out which disrupted his night sleep then he started to master crawling and kept waking up on his hands and knees. He then started to wake early from naps and I have tried everything to get him to go back but he just won't, not even when I rocked him for an hour!

He's settled on having three 30 minute naps each day and is waking up 4/5 times each night. I don't even know where to begin to fix this and am exhausted- can anyone help?

[lashwish]

Sorry I can't really help, just wanted to let u know you're not alone!
My DD is almost 8.5 months & things started to go whacky again

Im usually kinda strict about my schedule but was feeling like I needed to loosen up, just by chance DD decided to start waking early from nap, sleep later in am but then refuse naps & last nite she wouldn't go to bed!! Of course Im blaming the fact that I decided not to be a slave to schedule.

How long are your son's A times? Usually my DD can only handle 2.5 hrs during the day with a longer stretch before bed. Does he fight naps?

[slumberbaby]

Sorry to hear you're going through the same thing    ((hugs))

I extended A times from 2 hrs 30 mins to 2hrs 40/45 mins. Maybe it was too much but he seemed to be handling it ok...until it all went pear shaped! He goes down ok for naps but wakes way too soon and is clearly still tired but just won't sleep!!

Some lo's need a tight routine more than others I guess... I have posted before about being a slave to ours! I read somewhere that they have a sleep regression around 8 months if that's any comfort for you??

x

[brenda2]

hi

have you read this post?  it explains about A times and how to adjust with short naps.

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=128419.0

at 8 mo he should be able to tolerate about 3 hours A time, so i think you were on the right track to extend them a bit.  definitely for the first A time aim for 3 hours (extend only 10 min every 3 days though), but if he does a short nap then you have to reduce the following A time so he's not OT for the next nap or for bedtime.  most LOs are on 2 long naps by 8 mo for a total of about 3.5 to 4 hours day sleep - your LO with his 3 short naps is getting way less than this.  but i don't think he's ready to extend them yet...maybe you did too much too quick and he got OT.  i think the short naps and NWs are likely due to OT (30 min naps mean OT), EWs also usually mean OT.  i would shorten all A times for a few days and see if this helps his naps, then if you're getting better naps and he's over the OT you can extend the first A time only and see if you still get a long nap, if you do then great but if not then shorten the rest of the A times and squeeze in more naps.

does he have any props to go to sleep?  does he fall asleep independently?  this can be another reason for short naps or NWs.  teeth are also difficult and our wonderful sleeper (sttn every night) had many screaming NWs when she teethed so this is normal and you just have to wait it out.

[slumberbaby]

Hi Brenda,

Thanks for your reply, to answer your questions, DS falls asleep independently, does have a dummy (is getting the hang of putting it back in himself). Today and yesterday he woke at 7 (yay!) and his first A time was 2 hrs 45 mins both days and both times he had an hour nap and woke chatty. Yesterday the rest of the day got a bit screwed up as we had to go out -his second A time ended up being closer to 3 hours and he napped for about 40 mins. Am trying to get back on track today- what A time would you suggest after an hour for the first nap as it's not too short but not really long enough either?

We're still having NW-3 or 4 last night.

[brenda2]

i would try 3 hours first thing and see if he'll do a longer nap there and then 2 hours 45 min or 3 hours again.

what does he wake in the night for?  food?  paci? cuddle?  shh pat?  or just to chat?

[slumberbaby]

Thanks I will try that tomorrow.

NW were because of the crawling and teething I think and now seem to be for the dummy (I know, I know...) but as he's learning to put it back in himself do you think it's worth the trauma of weaning right now?

[brenda2]

if he can and will put it back in himself then i guess it's ok to leave it.  but paci addiction can cause short naps and NWs so if that's why he's waking i would wean.  but it's up to you.  we weaned at 5 mo and it really wasn't that traumatic.