How do I know when to drop catnap? (3 for 2 switch)?

[ckcole]

Hello,
My (almost) 6mo has been on a pretty good routine... (most days!)... @ 9am - 2 hour nap, @ 1:20 - 1.5 hour nap (which I wake him up from to protect the catnap time & bedtime, but otherwise he would keep sleeping), @ 5pm - 30 min catnap, @ 7:45 - bedtime.
Normally, he is a breeze to get down for naps.  The past week or so, he has been giving me a really hard time with his afternoon nap & catnap (morning nap is still a breeze for now).  Very hard to get him settled.  He also wakes at 5-6 some mornings, and just wants his paci or his head rubbed and falls back asleep until 6:30-7.  But some mornings, he makes it through until 7am. 
I have read that early wakings can be a result of too much daytime sleep.  I'm just trying to put the puzzle pieces together and try to figure out why he's resisting these two naps, and why the early morning wakings?

And if he is ready to drop it, how do I do so? I realize I would have to extend his A time in between each sleep period... but do I keep the catnap and shorten it every day, or go cold turkey?
Thanks!

[jana224]

Hi there! 
I agree, it sounds like your LO is ready to move to 2 naps per day.  Tracy indicated that many - not all - LOs are ready for 2.5 hours of A time  by 6month.  If your LO is waking at 7am in the morning and going back down at 9am, and waking at 3pm from the afternoon nap and going back down at 5pm, maybe he`s not tired yet.  My DD is almost the same age as your DS, and she`s down to two naps per day.

How you transition to two naps might depend on his personality.  Is he easily OT?  Does he go with the flow a lot or need a very consistent routine?  If he's sensitive to change, you may have to increase A time gradually, in ten minute intervals for example.  If he's pretty flexible, you could just try it cold turkey.

Also - if you want him to wake at 7am, you might try implementing the 7pm bedtime...

So, you could try for a day that looks more like this:

7am - wake
9:30 to 11:30 - nap 1
2:00 to 4:00 - nap 2
7pm - bed

I know that leaves 3 hours A time in the late afternoon, and not all babies can handle that without becoming way OT and harder to handle.  My DD does well with more A time just before bed, but we keep it real calm and quiet after her bath.

Let us know what you try!
Jana

[ckcole]

Thanks for your reply!
Unfortunately, I think he may be teething, as today was a bit off for him.  Once we're back on track, I think I'll aim at gradually extending his A time, and gradually shortening his catnap. 
I guess you're a firm believer that earlier bedtime means a later wake time? I'm too scared to try that just yet!
Thanks again... I will post an update in a few days when I re-assess the situation.

[bzerk5]

I guess you're a firm believer that earlier bedtime means a later wake time?

Me too!  Invaribly works for overtired kids, old and young, in our house...  Good luck! 

[jana224]

Yes-- I was scared to go for an earlier bedtime too... afraid my DD would just wake up even earlier, but I am a FIRM believer in it now because it works.  Once I started putting her to bed earlier, she just slept longer.... and seemed even  more happy during the day.  So many books about infant sleep have been written and most, if not all, of them do support the sometimes counterintuitive idea of early bedtime = longer better sleep.
Do keep us posted please so we can see how you make out!
Jana