Support for dropping the last nap age 2-3 yrs

[sherry lynn]

good luck

[sianie]

Hi ladies, just joining....

DD is nearly 31 mths old & I think she's starting the no nap transition  ! She's been taking ages to settle at BT over the last month &/or waking early in the AM so only getting around 10hrs sleep some nights & then she's like a bear with a sore head during the day! We recently cut her nap back to 1hr (from 1.5hrs) which seems to be helping a bit but also think we've been caught in a bit of an UT/OT rut as a result!

[*Liz*]

I think we are heading into disaster now the sleepy teething phase is over.

J has always been lower sleep needs, but his nap is getting too late, his bedtimes too late and his night too short. He is getting OT on short nights and I can't get a nap early enough to rest him and make a difference.

Yesterday he got a 1h 15 nap, a slightly shorter A to bed and he fell asleep quite fast at bedtime. Only to sleep a 9.5hr night and wake singing postman pat at 5.20am  .

I don't know what to do really - I think with 1 hr naps he just remains OT - and the nights are just too dammed short!!

Plus I can't alter bedtime too much as he needs to match DDs routine.

Also how on earth will I do quiet time with a 28 mth old who is still in a cot??? And have him quiet enough to not wake DD?? Grrrrr. I'm sick of dealing with kiddie sleep  .

[sherry lynn]

Liz - I sooooo hear you on being sick of dealing with Kiddie sleep. I only half a$$ it with Emory because I'm just so tired of worrying about it.
Actually regarding the cot  - most of the moms that I chat with on here with LO Lyle's age have had much much more luck with quite time in the cot. It's even harder when they are in a BBB. The bedtime thing is an issue, but to be honest - When DH is home - Lyle is so tired that he doesn't put up too much of a fuss. But, that is with no nap. The short naps are killers here as well. They seem to almost do NOTHING!!! Having said that Lyle will need a nap today because he was up at 4am.
I have never found the hour nap to be of much help (Lyle has been taking these on his own) but 45 min seems to just be better all around.  I think it has to do with the sleep cycle.
What is your current routine looking like?

[*Liz*]

Oh I am most definately half a$$'d with Megan as well  . I don't think she has done a proper EASY day in her short life. I doubt she will until she is on one nap as it is just too difficult with the 2 of them to deal with.

What J has been doing is
Awake 6.30-7am ish
Nap 1.30/2pm - 3pm (I wake him)
Bedtime 7.30pm (usually asleep 7.45-8pm)

But that was through the molars and he has been sick twice. I assume the latest trouble is due to a drop in sleep needs again - but even the above routine is only 12-12.5hrs sleep/ day and he has been there for a while really.

Today he woke at 5.20am, he was asleep at 1.10pm for his nap and I will let him have 1.5hrs. That should reverse OT from all these EWs, and then I can see what happens tonight.

[sianie]

{{Hugs}} Liz!

As a fellow mum of 2 I totally get the whole sleep frustration...it does start to drive you nuts!

I have 1 LO ging through the 2:1 transition & the other going through 1:0, arrhh!!

Since DD turned 2 her sleep needs seem to have changed quite a lot, whereas things had been really consistent before that (apart from teething, illness) since she went to 1 nap at 14/15mo.

I think a big bit of this is down to quite big developmental milestones that she has reached in the last 6mths. Her level of understanding has increased drastically along with her speech. We are using a Gro-clock to help with understanding time to get up etc & that is helping a bit.

Interesting point about the 1hr nap Sherry.....M seems worse after it (we recently cut her nap from 1.5hrs to 1hr)....

[babybarr]

We don't have a problem with the waking after the hour - just he's now waking himself after 30mins and still taking *forever* to go to sleep at bed (plus all our usual NWs antics )

Part of me wants to just bite the bullet and just get rid of the damn nap and see what happens...

[Oslo Mummy]

Hi there

My little one has always been a great sleeper (actually asking to go to bed some nights) and falls asleep within 10 minutes.  He has until recently been sleeping 11.5 - 12 hours at night and 1.5 - 2 hours for his lunch time nap.  But the last couple of nights he just hasn't been able to fall asleep until well after 9 (it is 8.45 now and he is still stiring).  He isn't playing up - just can't sleep.  Lies in his cot and occasssionally asks for us (and tells us that he can't sleep - so we stroke his head, tell him to just try and then leave the room again).

Is this a bit early to drop the nap?  He is 25 months.  We did travel at Christmas and have had friends visiting (no change to his habits at the time - but I suppose this could have affected him somehow?)

Thanks for any advice......

[sianie]

Laura, I've been thinking along similar lines about just dropping it (not been brave enough to do it yet!!). I don't think cutting M's nap back any more is really going to help us (she only slept for 30 mins at nursery today & has been in a horrible mood all PM!)

Oslo Mummy - could be that your travels etc have thrown him off track a bit? It can take a few days or so to get back on track? What time is his nap & BT?

[babybarr]

Oslo's mummy - have you tried capping the nap at all?  Say at 1.5hrs to begin with?

Sian... I'm yet to be brave enough either, plus we just seem to be hit with illness at every turn and then I think I should probably wait and that's how's it's been going for ages now.

[sianie]

Ditto Laura!! We seem to be caught up in a illness cycle too, seems to have been going on for months! Also DD is still in her cotbed (we haven't taken the sides off yet, partly because I'm pretty sure that for naps especially I wouldn't get her to stay in it!

[*Liz*]

DS is still in a cot bed as well. I don't have the energy to deal with that ATM. He slept in a toddler bed on holiday in September and we did deal with a lot of getting out. But he is 4 mths older now and much better at communicating with us.

J WAS OT after those short nights - I let him nap 1.5hrs yesterday and kept bedtime the same and he slept until I woke him at 7.15 (to go to preschool).

So I guess the issue is that those 1hr naps are not restoring sleep. So I guess I will have to allow 1.5hrs and see what happens to his night sleep - and if it starts getting too short again then start to throw in no nap days on days without EWs??

I will struggle for a nap at a decent time today TBH. He just won't be tired enough. That is how these silly short, late naps started. What should I do though? Put him down at the usual time and just let him refuse it if he needs too??

[babybarr]

So do we think 1hr naps are just not a great plan?  45mins better???

[sianie]

Liz we're in the same boat....1 hr naps just don't seem to work that great! I always have to wake her & she's generally in a foul mood for the rest of the day! It seems to be either 1.5hr nap but then deal with a short night or go for bust & do no nap with early BT & hope the nights extend??!!

Not sure if this is too late Liz but maybe put him down & see what he does? Have you done any no nap days?

I kinda don't want to cut M's nap back any further, I think I probably need to summon up some courage to try a no nap day & see what she does (as long as it's a quiet-ish day at home so she doesn't get too OT!)

[*Liz*]

Yeah - I put him down and he is still chattering 1 hour later. Don't really know what to do when this happens as if he IS asleep when I go up, what then? I am going to get him now  .

Then how early should bedtime be?? Looks like a no nap day round here.

I wonder if I have been misjudging how long his final A should be on a 1 hour nap  .

This is so confusing