The meaning of nap lengths

[Nauvoo]

PM naps are usually a struggle around here and whenever we get a short one (which is common) then the bedtime is definitely moved up.  I got rid of the CN at 7 months and never went back to it.  I tired a couple of times with short pm naps but a CN only makes things harder for us.  I usually don't get EW with and earlier bedtime but once in awhile I do and then I just adjust, like usual.   

[Flightmommy]

Nauvoo06, you're lucky you don't get EW with an earlier bedtime...if my LO was like that, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to skip the CN and do early bedtime...I really hate the CN!! lol! Anyways, our day was going rather well until the pm nap....just don't know where I went wrong, but here it is so far:
6:15 Awake
9:30 Asleep (so 3.15 A time, which is our new a time for 2 days now, no fussing, so looks like it's working)
10:45 Awake
1:15 already fussing and grizzly, so start the winddown
1:30pm in bed, 1:30 to 2:30 !!!! fussing, tossing and turning, gave pain meds in case the vaccine is bothering him, tried repeatedly to settle...no luck, he was hysterical!! At 2:30, I took him out of his room and we played with the cat quietly, then returned to his room, did our winddown routine again and he fell asleep on his own at 2:45. That is a  RIDICULOUS 4 hour A time, which is for sure going to result in a 45 minute nap. But I am sitting here, scratching my head and wondering what the heck just happened. I have never seen him take sooo long to settle and it seems that he was already OT when I took him up to his room the first time at 1:30, barely 2:45 A time since the am nap?? At 9 months, he should be able to handle that...but then again, maybe I should factor in yesterday's vaccine that even has me a little sleepy today...I never thought of this until after, when it was too late and he had already boarded the OT train!!
  Also, the am A time of 3.15 gave us a 1h15 nap, two days in a row....i've noticed last week that if I cut the A time to 3 hours, that nap is a little longer, around 1h25 to even 1h40. Does that mean that the 3.15 A time is slightly too long for him, would it be optimal to keep him at the 3 hour for just a little while longer?
 Anyways, at least I don't have to struggle with the CN today, as it will be around 3:30pm when he wakes from this short nap, but he will still be OT and I'm afraid of the EW with an earlier bedtime.
 One last question, does W2S work when you anticipate a short OT nap...would it extend it if I were to go in around the 20 minute mark and rub his cheek, etc?
  Thanks for your advice!

[Nauvoo]

Don't know about the A times because I'm trying to figure it all out.  But with my LO when I know she is OT for a nap and that she is sure to wake at 30 minutes the I got in a little early and hold her legs and arms or what not to try and keep her still.  I've noticed that this helps her transition.  Otherwise she's wake up for good but when I do this she will squirm a little but because I'm holding her still she doesn't wake herself up completely, is what I'm guessing.  Anyways, it works most of the time.
Right now we are having some SERIOUS issues with the afternoon nap in that she just does not want to take it and will cry no matter what I do.  Nothing works to get her to sleep until she's cried tons and is really tired.  Poor thing.

[Flightmommy]

  Nauvoo06, I feel your pain. You and I seem to be having similar days......DS finally had a pm nap from 2:45 until 3:15, so definitely OT...I tried to resettle, even gave a bottle, rocked, jumped up and down..LOL!! Nothing worked..i finally put him in the stroller and walked for almost an hour!! He would look glazed and drowsy, but wouldn't give in...so I've just done dinner and we're going up for the night..aiming for a 7pm bedtime. I can just imagine what time he'll wake tomorrow am...he is notorious for extreme EW when OT!!
  I feel like a basically spent the entire afternoon trying to nap him...it is mentally and physically draining, especially that DH was working all day, so i've been doing all this on my own. Hope both of us have better days tomorrow!

[Mommy_to_a_Monkey]

Ugh I am also in the same boat with my almost 8mos old and I am still struggling to even figure out the awake time...since a month ago.  He is all over the map and I am thinking we are in a bit of a cycle as well.  We have great nap days and then WHAM he has an EW the next morning.  Like this AM he was up at 5am - yuck!!! I tired for a nap at his normal A time but nope he gave me a CN!  I thought I had it figured out yesterday with 2.75hrs in the AM (gave me 1.5hr nap) and same thing in the afternoon - about 3hr 10min A time and another 1.5hr nap.  I was sooo happy and thought ok the night will be great...he was sleeping by 6pm but then we had a NW at 9pm until 10:15pm and then up at 3:30am to eat (which I am slowly trying to wean him off of).
I am starting to think he only needs 10hrs sleep at night and when he gets more he naps less and vice versa.

[missyb]

Oh I am so pleased I have found this thread!!!!

J is 9mths too and we have had some serious sleep issues over the last 6 weeks, and the advice in here just puts it all into prospective and makes so much sense.  I feel a little more confident that we can get back on track now.

It is refreshing to know that we are not alone!!!

[Flightmommy]

Seems like there's quite a few of us in the 7-9 month nap issue....things here aren't getting much better. This week, DS is doing 1 hour naps only, 1.10 max and so by bedtime he is soooo OT, even with an early bedtime. His pm nap never seems to go past 2:30 and so it makes for a loooong A time afterwards. He's even starting to cry and fuss at bedtime, which he never does..in fact, i think the last time he cried at bedtime was over 2 months ago and he was sick at the time!! I've been posting in the EASY forum as I think I need some help extending my A times and tweaking my EASY.