15 month old with nap issues?

[Evilmena]

I think I'd like to, we were almost there until we decided to stick with the schedule and then he went all over the place again.

Well, I tried to put him down for a catnap at 4pm and nothing, he was quiet for like 15 minutes and then started babbling again.  At 5pm I brought him down, did dinner (he's SUPER fussy about food the last few days more than normal) and did bath and at 6:30pm/7pm I tried to put him down.  Wanted to put him down at 6pm but he was taking forever to eat.  Well, he screamed for like 10 minutes, I went in and did my usual - brought him out for a few minutes, thought  he might be hot so I took a layer off, then redid the routine and back in the room.  He started flailing almost immediately.  Left him for another good 10 minutes, maybe more and he just kept freaking so I went into his room and didn't take him out this time, just held him and put him down in the room, again instantly he was in play mode.  Whenever I tried to stop him for grabbing something, he'd meltdown and then go about his business.  Finally I'd had enough so I put him down and left and again he freaked.

Finally his dad got home and I was going to use reinforcements to see if it would work but as soon as we walked up the steps he stopped.  It was almost 8pm.  An hour of freaking basically...he has never done this.  He just cried again after almost an hour asleep (but I'm primed to think it could have been because the phone rang)...cried for a few minutes but seems to have fallen asleep.  I'd better see 4 molars erupt within the next few days because this is getting beyond ridiculous!! 

[Evilmena]

No more wakeups after that one, I heard him at 7:30am and thought he was "up" up but then suddenly my hubby's telling me it's 8:30am and shortly thereafter Jack starts to mumble...I think he fell back asleep after 7:30am.  So we got him up and I put him to bed at 1pm (4.5 hours A time) and it's 3pm and he's still sleeping!!   

Woke up at 3:10pm, so 2 hours 10 minutes of sleep!

[JBsMommy]

Wow, CONGRATS on getting to sleep in and the long nap! That's great! 

[Evilmena]

Thanks, it was pretty good after yesterday...we make progress then get worse, and so on!

After his nap though he became a bit of a terror...I'm still figuring teeth although I don't feel anything poking through yet, just a lot of bumps.

So I put him down at 7:30pm and he seems to be quieting down - certainly no freakouts from yesterday, thank goodness!

[Evilmena]

So he went down without incident at 7:30pm last night and woke up at 7:30am this morning.  I put him down for his nap at 12:15pm and he slept until 1:30pm...just a little over an hour.  Ugh...he had visitors so he may have been woken up by them.  Anyhow, I'm putting him to bed for 6pm because of it.

[becky1969]

You're getting closer! Don't get too frustrated.  7:30-7:30 is fantastic!  Now we just need a little longer nap and you'll be good! 

[Evilmena]

Thanks, we're plugging on!

He didn't actually fall asleep at the time I put him down...I still heard him chatting on and off until 7:30pm...that seems to be the time he falls asleep at regardless of when he's put down until he's had a hellish day.  But I also know if he had been "up" until 7:30pm it would be worse so at least he gets rest and quiet and he doesn't complain.  Hoping for no EW's tomorrow!

[Evilmena]

Well, he woke up at 6:50am this morning, not too bad.  Told mom to put him down at 11:30am-12pm.  She said she put him down at noon and he was awake at 1pm.  So, 1 hour...oy.

I told her not to bother with a second nap as it would be too late...early bedtime?  I'm sticking with one nap right - unless he wakes at 6/6:30am or earlier?  I just don't think he'll sleep at anything earlier than 5pm and then it's too late.  Thing is I'll put him to bed at 6pm and he may still fight sleep until later.  I hope these naps lengthen soon.  I really worry about this trip as well messing things up - at least for the first couple of days.

Our flight is at 3pm and since we have to drive 2 hours to get there and have to be there an hour before the flight we'll be leaving right when he should be napping, or in the middle of a nap.  And I know my child, he WON'T sleep in the car, I highly doubt he'll sleep on the plane, and by the time we arrive it will be in an around 6:30/7pm so bedtime and i'll have to try and adjust him to new surroundings.  If I haven't mentioned it in this thread he's VERY particular about where and how he sleeps - dark room, white noise, crib.

Would you recommend at all waking him a little earlier that day to get him down to a nap at 11am - and what time - 6am'ish??  Think that would backfire?  Even if he just naps for an hour, I'd rather he have some sleep...he's had one day when he hasn't napped at all and it was pretty brutal.  A long car ride and our first plane ride I really need him to be a least a bit rested.  Thoughts??

[becky1969]

i don't think I'd sweat it too much.  I took my son on a 12 hour trip -- two 5 hour plane rides and a 2 hour layover -- when he was 20 months old.  He also doesn't sleep in the car.  He ended up having two 30 min naps (one on each flight) and by the time we got to where we were going it was past midnight!  Of COURSE he was OT, so he woke at 8 am the next day.  Which was actually fine as it kept us on a fairly normal routine.  There was a 3 hour time zone difference, so 8 am there was 5 am at home.    But we just went by the local time -- I just kept A time reasonable.

My son is also VERY sensitive to light etc., and he and I shared a room on this trip -- the room was pretty bright, despite me hanging towels on the windows LOL.  But he amazed me by taking 1.5-2 hour naps the whole time we were there.  I think he was just exhausted.  I never got him to bed before 10 pm once that whole trip, and he only got about 10 hours sleep each night, but it worked out in the end.


I guess what I'm saying is DO NOT FRET. Enjoy your trip! Your son will probably do better than you expect, if for no other reason than he'll be exhausted by all the new stuff going on!  The things I found worked great on the plane were a) portable DVD player - my son never watched TV at home, so the DVD player was new and exciting; b) little plastic animals to play with on the airplane tray; c) picture cards with animals on them; d) a couple of new books he hadn't ever seen before; e) some new foods he hadn't eaten -- like juice boxes or foods in fun little packets (goldfish crackers, fruit candies, etc.)  I also used lots of smarties (not choc. candies, but sweetart type canides) to bribe him with in the airport and on the plane.  That worked a treat! suckers worked well too.  Do not underestimate the power of a bribe!


If he has a lovey or uses a paci for sleep, don't forget to bring them on the plane with you.  I forgot to put my son's blankey in our carry-on on the way there, and I think things would have gone better with it.  On the way back I did bring blankey and while he didn't sleep more, the blankey was a nice cuddle companion!

[Evilmena]

Good to hear that your son did well...so the change in schedule (only sleeping 10 hours/night) didn't continue when you got home?  I worry that I'll create a bad habit although I'm pretty sure I'll be getting him to bed before then on a regular basis.

I already have it planned to bring the lovey on the plane and in the car just to calm him.  We'll also bring a new toy and new books to keep him entertained...which reminds me I need to contact the airline to be sure what kind of food I can bring since it will take place between most of his days meals/milk/snacks.

So I put him down just after 6pm last night and less than an hour later he woke up crying.  It was consistent but not freaking like he sometimes does.  I decided to wait this one out since he seemed to pause in between cries - possibly waiting for someone to come in - and after 10-15 minutes he fell back asleep.  Yay!  No other wakeups that night, but he was awake for the day at 6:15am.  I told mom to put him down at just after 10am so it will most likely be a two nap day - hopefully catch up on any OT.

[Evilmena]

Ugh...so she put him down at 10:20pm...he slept for maybe 1/2 hour...guess he's getting used to the one nap!  I could have pushed for 5 hours of A time but that would still put him at just after 11am which I thought would be too early for one nap, maybe I made the wrong call.  Oh well, I told her to try again at 2/2:30pm.

[becky1969]

I was worried about 'bad habits' too, but nope! He totally reverted to normal sleep when we got home. 

I think I would really push for 1 nap here on out.  I think he's ready.  Yes, some days might be hard but on the whole I think he'll do really well that way.

[Evilmena]

Okay, starting tomorrow I will do my best.  So on a day like today when he wakes so early, when you put him down for that one nap...he can do up to 5 hours A time relatively well I think, just needs to get a little more used to it.  So, just after 11am and then hope he sleep long, if not put him to bed early?

[becky1969]

You got it! At this stage of the game, that's waht I did: 1 nap no matter what and then a VERY early bedtime if he woke early or if nap happened too early in the day.  That means we had a LOT of nights where he was in bed by 6 pm.  but every week we had fewer early bedtimes because wakings got better and naps got longer.  It's just time to bite the bullet!

[Evilmena]

I think I'm ready to do this because the two naps don't work.  He did sleep for another hour when she put him down at 2:30pm but then at 7:30pm he was NOT interested in sleeping and was awake and crying until 8pm when he finally fell asleep.  No matter what I'll just have her put him down for one nap and make early bedtimes.  What to do though if he does like other nights where he'll chat a lot?  Most nights though he'll actually just pass out.