I can't win....

[babybarr]

So this is what is happening..... we have a good nap (2hrs) we have an EW 5am,  we get a bad nap we have a later wake up.  DS will only do a long nap after ages of A time and this means that there is less A time before bed and then I think this is what is causing the EW.  So after ages of trying to get a longer nap I'm sometimes getting it but I really can't cope with EW, he still has issues at night too.

I'll post yesterday's routine to give you insight although every day is a bit different at the mo.  Fixing nap times has really worked in the past for us in getting DS to sleep for longer naps.

(asleep the previous night at 6.20pm)
Awake 5.45am (although had been restless in night for 1.5hrs - he has molars coming in)
Nap 12.15 - 2.15 (woke himself happy)
bed and fast asleep 6.30pm

Bed really needs to be around 6.30pm as we have to be up for work at 6.30am  He was regularly sleeping till 6.15 every morning for ages...

Not sure what to do, do you think as he gets used to having a longer nap and only the one of them the EWs will disappear or should I be bringing his nap earlier (when I've done this before he generally only sleeps an hour!)
He's just shy of 16mths BTW and has always needed less sleep than average.  He's typically done shorter naps and longer nights.

Any help appreciated.
Laura

[Colin Macs Mom]

bump

[mmom]

Can you let him sleep less during the day if you need an early bedtime?  That is a really short A before bed.  We do a really long A in the morning and a shorter A before bed, but it is still between 4.5 hours and 4 hours 45 minutes.

[babybarr]

TBH everything is to pot at the mo but this EW just is the icing on the cake!  He had less sleep overall yesterday and still woke at 5am.  So maybe the 2hr naps have had nothing to do with it!  I would rather he was having bad naps and better nights but things never go how you want do they?!

[*Liz*]

TBH that isn't an EW as he slept from 6.20pm until 5.45am, so basically 11.5 hrs sleep.

So it is more a case of an early bedtime leading to an early wake-up.

Has he always had 12 hr night - 11 hr nights are quite normal round here.

[mmom]

Speaking to what Liz said, our early bed times just solidified the early wake up times.  We needed a later bed time (consistently), to get a later wake up.  My LO only sleeps 10 hours at night and we have to plan accordingly.  I know it is hard though when nothing is consistent and you can't plan your naps accordingly.  But I am sure your LO could handle longer A before bed, which would give you a later bed time and hopefully (eventually) a later wake up.

[babybarr]

That day I appreciate it was 11.5hrs at night but he was up for best part of 1.5hrs in that time.
He has always had 6.15 - 6.30pm bedtime usually with a wake up time of between 6 and 6.15am.  It's now 5am or this morning 4.50am.....

If he consistently starts napping better I'm happy to do a later bedtime but we have to be up at 6.30am anyway...

[sherry lynn]

As they get older their sleep needs go down. So I think that is what has happened to your little man.

Also for us, if the A time is too short before bedtime we get those long night wakings. So I think if you put him to bed even just a little bit later it will take care of the long NW and the EW.

So I would move it up by 15 min for three or so days, and then probably move it up again by 15 min a few days later.

[babybarr]

I'll give that a whirl in the next few days, thanks.  He actually went down marginally later today anyway, it becomes difficult if he has a short nap - what to do then?  He's a bad napper at the best of times!

[sherry lynn]

The days that he doesn't sleep two hours, then that is ok. The A time will be longer just by that fact alone. So if he's up at 1/1:30 and he goes to bed at 6/6:30 that's still 5 hours A time. But the days that he does sleep two hours I would definitely move bedtime later.

Just realize that if he goes to bed early than it will be an early morning, but hopefully he will be rested.