EASY tweak...what do you do when your day consistently starts at 5 a.m.?

[sherry lynn]

Jen - I totally agree, naps do seem to get better once the catnap is gone for good. But getting there is definitely a struggle for some of us.

Wendy - that sounds like a good plan. Just pushing the nap closer to 9 might help out. I would say do it for the interim to see if it helps you stretch out the naps to be able to start dropping the catnap. I'm not sure about just dropping the catnap, that's a hard one, I'll leave the other girls to give their opinions on that one. If your LO does 11.5 at night that is good, and that should help you be able to get that later wake up. So maybe just by pushing up that nap time you will be able to get to a slightly later bedtime. Work on that then and see if it helps your wake up. It's better to error on the side of not having an OT night.

[mirabels mom]

wendy - i'm so glad you are getting some good advice here.  just realizing you have options makes it a bit easier to deal with.

i agree that dropping the CN DOES make night sleep much better...but sometimes the CN is dropped before baby is ready, so it is a hard transition.  hang in there!

[Tweakster]

Well we got 8:50 - 10:15 - not tooo bad but I suspect slightly OT for him because he was still kind of grumpy after he got up. An extension wasn't possible on that one of course.  I know my limitations with this kid.

DH and I kept him very busy and then he started getting fussy at about 12:15 - sounds about right.  He went absolutely off the wall by 12:30 and DH swaddled him (lower half) to get him down for this one.  I have been trying to put him down without it lately but it's our old standby.  Asleep by 12:45 so let's see...

If he will give us until 2:30 then I think we might make it to bed without a CN and without too much trauma.

Thanks so much for all the help!  I had no idea that phasing out the CN was going to create such havoc with our lovely system lol.

[sherry lynn]

When phasing out the catnap I think most moms made up a rough rule that if their little ones went to 3 they could make it without a catnap and got down for bed about 6/6:30. If you're worried about ot that might be a really long stretch for him.

Without a doubt he was OT for that first nap, that's going to happen, unfortunately   But a 1h25m OT nap is a whole lot better than a 30 min OT nap   I wouldn't have been able to extend that nap either

I hope he did well for you on that second nap. It might take awhile to drop that catnap. If he's touchy I wouldn't rush it. Especially if it helps you get to a later bedtime. I would offer it any day that he is up before 3pm from the pm nap. If he doesn't take it though that's ok. You did the best you could

[Tweakster]

I like that rule, because I think it's going to be tough otherwise.  He did go until 2:30 wake from last nap, we had him in bed by 6 but he was absolutely screaming by 6:15.  So he was way OT.  DH had to do a bit of rocking to calm him and then he went down ok, asleep by 6:30.

Nothing until 5 a.m. and then got him up around 6:15 for the day.  So getting there I guess.

This morning was tough because he was really tired and the weather is absolute pants (wind warning and rain every which way) so I could not take him out.  I did some jumperoo, Jolly Jumper, solids, changing rooms a few times, singing, pretty much standing on my head.  For the last little bit I had to put Baby Einstein on because it is the only thing that calms him.  So could only push him to 8:35 today because he was up at 5.

But I think the plan is in place.  Might just have to pop back in here for moral support lol.

[sherry lynn]

Is there anyways you can AP a catnap?

Good luck

[Tweakster]

It's the only way to get one regardless.  I have been trying to AP the CN for over a month now...he just fights and fights and fights it.  So we have no choice but early bedtime.  But that was before I was pushing his morning out...that would have been something I should have done a while ago...it was just so hard because he was so tired so soon after waking.

I have occasionally gotten lucky with a CN during a drive...however it takes him like at least half hour to fall asleep in the car so I have to plan a good 1.5 hours of 'just driving' because if the car stops for any length of time he's awake again.  The same occasional success in the stroller...and again it has to be a looong walk.  Other than that...all I can do is try to rock him in his room.  Usually by the time I have rocked him for an hour...there is no point to the CN. 

How long of a CN do you think is sufficient?  I mean when phasing it out do you still aim for 30 mins or much less just to take the edge off?

[sherry lynn]

Wendy - Finn sound just like Lyle!! Except not even the stroller worked. And DH would go on and on about gas prices But sometimes it was a desperate enough situation that even DH would give in sometimes.

At hat age it's hard to say if anything less than 30 min for a catnap would be ok. When they are older I've known of some moms who would do a 20 min catnap in the afternoon just to take the edge off and get to a regular bedtime.

Remember also that as the afternoon wears on and if the catnap is later you can always push out bedtime just a tiny bit. Also I've found if it took a really long time to go down for the catnap he would often be tired enough for a regular bedtime because that A time before the catnap was so long.

I hope this catnap drop nonsense goes quickly for you.

Did he do ok on his first nap?

[Tweakster]

He did really well...so far we have:
Awake 5 a.m. ish - in crib until 6:15
A
E 7:15
A
S 8:45 - 10:25
A
E 12:15 (tried at 11 but he wasn't hungry at all)
A
S 12:45 - still sleeping at 2:15

The occupational therapist is coming at 3 so I will try for a CN after she has left...it might work because she tends to tire him out.

I see what you mean about the late CN and then bedtime after a shorter A.  I might try that.  If I can get him to take a CN at around 4:45 or so...he then might go back down at 6:30.  It's worth a shot too. 

[jess, lukeys_mom]

hey wendy, saw your link to this thread so just dropping by to say hello and see how finn is doing. looks like a great first and second nap so far. following along to hear how you get on further...

i will also suggest something crazy that worked for luke, but you know finn and whether it will work or not. i had luck a couple of times when he was around finn's age (slightly older) by turning his early bedtime into a nap.  in other words, i was putting him to bed around 6 and he was always OT at that point, and we felt like we just couldn't make it any earlier with our schedules. so i tried a couple of times putting him to bed around 5.30, letting him sleep 45 min to an hour, then waking him (hard to do ), keeping him up for about 2 hours more, and putting him to bed. so let's say his bedtime would then be around 8.30 or 9. usually that could get him to make it till about 6.30 or 7. (granted, he would not have had a big, full night's sleep which is why i would only do this on occasion)
from 6.30 or 7 we were able to kind of re-start and re-set his routine, pushing everything back a little and allowing the bedtime to be 7 or 7.30 without him getting too ot and then sleeping a little later.

i also did this sort of thing for daylight saving time.  don't know if it would work for finn but maybe an idea??? luke was/is a spirited/touchy refluxer 
 

[sherry lynn]

Jess - that's brilliant. I wish you would have suggested that to me sooo long ago   It would have worked for us because Lyle always woke up screaming about 45min-1hr after going to bed for the night. I'll try to remember that this time around   If I should need it, although you know I'm crossing my fingers that I won't

[Tweakster]

Jess it's a great idea.  Thanks I threw that out there at the start of the post and Liz had said it may work.  I haven't gotten to that yet but just might.  So did you do the bedtime routine and put him down then get him up??  Or just put him down as if a nap i.e. without bedtime activities such as bath, massage?  I just wonder if you cued him that it was night sleep or if you just late napped him.  It sounds like just a late nap but I want to be sure I do it right lol.

So here was our day - let me know what you think and I will tell you what time we get up tomorrow lol:
Awake 5 a.m. ish - in crib until 6:15
A
E 7:15
A
S 8:45 - 10:25
A
E 12:15 (tried at 11 but he wasn't hungry at all)
A
S 12:45 - 2:20
A
E 4:45
S 5:03 - 5:45 (kind of fed to sleep and then rocked - total disgusting display of the worst AP lol)
A
Bedtime - in bed by 7:10, asleep by 7:30 (we went with his cues - he was tired as the CN was not enough after the 'workout' with the occupational therapist)

[sherry lynn]

Looks good. good luck for your wake up

[jess, lukeys_mom]

lol i don't know about brilliant - it was more like desperate but it worked for the most part! wendy we did it like a late nap. then, for daylight saving time in october,when ds was almost 10 months old and a long time from doing a catnap, i took him in the stroller at his bedtime and walked around continuously for an hour. i remember feeling like such a looney tunes walking around a baby in circles in the park when it was already dark out.

[Tweakster]

OK gals...hellllpp!!!!

NW 1:50 a.m. - he was awake until almost 3:45!  I tried shush/hold in crib, no go.  The tried rocking...it seemed to calm him enough to put back in crib but then I went back to bed and heard him again at 3:22 so I don't think he ever went back to sleep.  Went in again and tried rocking straight away...what was that word you mentioned Jess...ah yes desperate lol.  That was me at 3:22.  So he totally kicked up when I went in, screaming the house down.  I went downstairs to get a bottle ready (it was my last resort) and then DH got up and took over and said let's not feed him.  He had him back down by 3:45 I think.  It's a big blur. 

He made it to 7 this morning. 

Should I count that as part of the plan moving forward or will this throw everything off???  Where do I go from here?  Keep pushing the day?  Or was that a total OT night??