Naps gone wonky???

[monkey g]

Hi my lo is nearly 8mths and always been pretty good on EASY and has slept through the night since 3mths, her nights are still the same but naps are not, she use to have 2hr am nap, 1.40ish 2nd nap an dnow they ve both like 40mins and rubbish, she wakes as happy as larry, but i want her to nap properly, what should i do?
her A time differs from 2.5hr to 3hr should i increase, shes pretty easy going and knid of easy to read her signs,this morning she was getting grumpy around 2.45mins so took her up and went off pretty easily, but why only 40 mins, i would say shes always been a little ahead for her age, please help, LeeAnn, also her other A times are 3-3.30MINS

[monkey g]

sorry just bumping this up, awaiting some replies 

[deckchariot]

sorry you've not gotten any replies - I'll see if I can help.  At 8 mos, most lo's are doing anywhere between 3-4 hrs of A time, so I'm guessing she is ready to extend a bit more.  Most likely, you'll get one longer nap and one shorter nap (and that's really what you're aiming for at this point), and then in a couple months it will all go wonky again as she approaches the 2 to 1 switch.  I would indeed extend her A time and see if that helps.

michelle

[monkey g]

Thanks Michelle, il give it ago tomorrow, today not been too bad, was up at 6am and had 1st nap at 8:50am and only had 40mins, 2nd nap her A time was 3hr and had 1hr and 40mins, so we'll see what happens tomorrow, thank you x

[monkey g]

Just an update, Holly woke at 6am as normal and went down for her first nap at 9:35am,so gonna see how it goes up to yet she still asleep so fingers crossed,shes up to an hr at the mo this is better then her 40mins,so i think you were right to extend her A time il try an extra 10mins tomorrow and see how that goes, thanks again Michelle il let you know more later on in the day
LeeAnn

[monkey g]

Still asleep, its now 1hr 30mins OMG
its now 11:12am and shes just woke up shes had 1hr 42mins yay

[deckchariot]

YAY!!!!  Isn't it amazing what a little A time extension will do?  Good for you!!!!  And good for her!!!

[dmwochele]

similar story w/my, just turned 8 mos, lo.  Except 8 days ago stopped using miracle swaddle blanket since she consistently was getting completely out of it.  Her night sleep sorted out fairly well w/ pu pd.  but her naps have jumped from typically 110-145 to just 30 minutes maybe 40.  BOTH NAPS!  I would try pupd until the time reached an hour but I just can't do any more, I get so discouraged that it's not working.  So for the most part I've had to put her to bed around 615pm because she's so tired and she doesn't' wake until 630-45 or so.  I'm so desperate,  I've been desperate before but I've just about had it.  I have no clue what to do.  Please, somebody help me!  She usually can stay awake from 3-4 hours, it varies.  I've always had to work very hard for her successful sleep she's very active.  I'll hear her at 30 minutes, standing up banging on the railing of her crib.  Any advice will be welcome.
-dmwochele

[deckchariot]

can you post your "typical" EASY routine  - as best you can?  Or post what the last few days have looked like? 

[dmwochele]

630-45 wake up
7am bf
830-fruit,cereal
930-10 nap
11-1130 bf
1230 meat/veg
2 nap
3-330 bf
430-5 fruit, cereal
615 bf
out by 630

but... to my great surprise, after a 40 minute morning nap today, I kept her up 4 hrs plus a few minutes past, and she slept for an hour.  I couldn't believe it.  Do you think the pu pd finally kicked in or is she just adjusting?  Or is it a fluke that won't happen again?  I'm still very much open to observations and advice.
thanks,
dmwochele

[deckchariot]

I'm guessing that 4 hr plus A time helped a bit (and I'm sure the effort at pu/pd is paying off as well).  I'd keep pushing that A time out a bit if she can handle 4 hrs and a wee more, for the first nap even, put her down a bit later.  If she handled 4 hrs after only a 30 min nap, I'm guessing she can handle more than 3 hrs in the morning.  Other than that, your routine looks pretty good.

[dmwochele]

thanks!  I definitely see your point.  I'll give it a try tomorrow.  But if she does start going 4 hrs + between naps how would that affect her EASY?  It would mean she goes 5 hrs btw feeds.  And that's only if her naps keep to an hour.  So how do you think I should adjust?

[deckchariot]

once our bubs are on 3 solid meals a day, EASY gets a bit off - so you may want to check out some other EASY routines here:  http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=10386.0

I think my dd's routine was a bit like this at 8 mos:

7:30 - wake and bf
8:30 - breakfast
11:00/11:30 - bf (before her nap, just made sure I did feed to sleep)
12:30/1 - wake and lunch
4ish - bf (again, before her nap, and this one was usually a catnap)
6:00 - dinner (I always made sure she was up no later than 5)
7:30 - bf and bedtime

Then, as her A time got even longer, I dropped the 4ish bf and replaced it with a snack either before or after her nap.  When she hit 10 mos, we started the 2 to 1 switch, so that am nap got pushed further out, and the pm nap got shorter.  Then then pre-nap bf turned into a snack around a year, and the other 2 she gave up over the next 4 mos (I was sad to see them go)  This is also the time when things for Abby suddenly switched and her morning A time became her longest of the day (which made it easy to navigate the 2 to 1 switch) - but that may not be the case for your dd, so that first nap will be earlier - and you can then either feed her before or after.  For awhile, I was splitting that feed - one boob before the nap, 1 boob when she woke, and that worked too.

hth
michelle

[dmwochele]

well things haven't improved around here.  She's back to 30 minute naps and now even bedtime seems affected.  She wouldn't fall asleep until 8pm two nights ago and again last night.  It's like she's all wound up and slap happy but clearly tired.  I've been keeping her up longer but it doesn't seem to be working.  Is there anything else to be done?  I feel like completely giving up and just picking up all my old pre baby activities and schlepping her along, since she's not getting any decent sleep anyway...I don't really want that.  I want her to sleep well and be happy and healthy. Help?

[deckchariot]

I'm so sorry you're still having such a rough time!!!  how long is her A time now?  If you're seeing all 30 min naps, it's possible that she wasn't really ready for the longer A time, and I"d cut it back.  I'd especially cut back the A time between naps - if she's only napping 30 min, she's not going to be able to handle close to 4 hrs of A time.  Is she sttn even when she's tougher to get down?

hang in there!!!!