Toddler Support Thread for 2-1 Nap Transition Continued

[Tao]

Hi MarlowsMom and MstrBoo,

It has been intriguing reading your posts as I am going through the same thing! DD started refusing p.m. nap even after 20 minute a.m. nap, so I bit the bullet a few days ago and today we are on day 3 of a 1 nap day. It's so tempting to go to 1 nap because she goes down so easily for her nap and BT, it's pure bliss =).

However, I didn't realize that the naps get shorter due to OT, but I'm thinking the same is happening now after reading your post.

Day 1 of 1 Nap: 2:10 nap
Day 2 of 1 Nap: 1:30 nap
Day 3 of 1 Nap: 1:15 nap

Have you experienced the naps getting shorter and shorter as we continue 1 nap, when they aren't ready for it?

Also, another thing I was toying with is the fact that she seems to get so much more sleep on a 1 nap day because I will put her down early for BT and therefore she will have a 12-13 hour night as opposed to 10-11 hour night because I put her down so late for BT. Have you guys noticed that the days get longer and then the night sleep gets shorter?

Thanks!

[marlowsmom]

I would say if your LO hasn't settled into the new schedule after about 3-5 days then your LO isn't ready.     I can't give Marlow a one nap a day schedule and then a late day PM CN because it will disrupt her night sleep which interferes with my night sleep and that is not cool.     I also have to keep the 20min AM nap for as long as can.    From what I understand, you need to have the same amount of A time before the nap and after the nap.    I had DD1 one nap set at 1230pm and she slept 1.5 hours.   She woke at 630am and went to bed at 730pm.   I think she went to one nap at 15 months.   She's 4 now.

What is your LO's schedule with the one nap?     How much A time is she getting before and after the nap?   

[Tao]

Hi MarlowsMom,

This is her current schedule on 1 nap:

630 a.m. Wake
11:00-12:30/1:00
5:30 BT

We did this schedule yesterday. After I put her down at 5:30, she did wake at 6:00 for and intermittently cried and rolled around for about 15 minutes and then went back. I'm assuming this was from OT. However, she slept really well for the rest of the night and didn't wake until 6:30 a.m. this morning. The difference that I notice, is that when she wakes after a 13 hour night like last night, she woke up happy this morning playing in her crib for another 30 minutes while mommy got her beauty rest. On the days she only has a 10-11 hour night she wakes up crying...

I'll try it for one more day and see how the nights go. Does it sometimes take them a few days to get used to the new schedule?

Thanks!

[marlowsmom]

Christine-
Yes, it takes 3-5 days for them to adjust.     I'm jealous of your 13 hour nights!   If your LO is waking happy then she is well rested but if she wakes crying then she is still tired.    On the days she wakes crying do your best to make sure she gets all the naps in that she needs or else she will start building OT which will result in NW and/or EW.

Today I thought about Marlow's schedule and I'm going to do...
awake 615
AM nap 1020-1040
PM nap 2-330 (hoping)
bed 730pm

   

[Tao]

Hi MarlowsMom,

I know, regarding the 13 hour nights! We didn't have those until I went to one nap..We'll see what happens today with her daytime OTness. Hopefully, she'll nap a bit longer!

That is so good that Marlow will go down for her p.m. nap. Does she go down pretty easily for BT after waking at 330? You are right, hold onto that 20 min nap as long as you can!

Have you ever heard of any other LOs' who transitioned as early as 11.5 months? I know Sophie is young for this switch, but she also had a huge jump in A times lately!

Good luck today on her sleep!

[marlowsmom]

Christine,
Well I went to put Marlow down at 2pm (after 3.20min A) and she laid in bed talking, sitting, walking, and fussing.    After 20 minutes I went up there and laid her down, said sleepy time, stood there for about one minute and left.    She was OT and needed someone to make her lay down and be still.     After I walked out she fussed for another minute then fell asleep at 230pm.     So that's a 4 hour A in all and I'm hoping for a nap that lasts until 4pm.    Here's to hoping.   

If Marlow wakes at 330pm she goes right down for her BT.   If she wakes at 4pm she rolls around in her crib at bedtime but eventually falls asleep.    It just takes her a bit longer.

I'm sure Sophie isn't the first baby to transition to one nap at 11.5 months so if it works for her than great!    Keep a log of her sleep times the next couple of days and see how she does.    I'd log all nap times, bed times,wake times and any NW or EW just so you can see a pattern.     You know how that sleep deprivation will take a hold on us too and then its difficult to see a pattern or any warning signs that what your are doing isn't working. 

[~Jen~]

Marlowsmom, Interesting development on your PM nap the past few days.  Did she make it to 4pm today? I'll be following your posts to see how things develop for you given slightly shorter PM naps.  We had a 11.5hr last night (rarely happens) and tried the 1 nap to see what happened.  Put him down after 4hr A and he chatted and walked around his cot for 30mins before falling asleep for 1.5hr nap. Tried to squeeze in catnap with no luck and gave up for an early bedtime.  Not sure what tonight will bring but hopefully he has a decent night despite tough day.

Tao - I've learned the past few weeks that when your 1 nap gets shorter and shorter that OT is building up (at least for DS).  We hit a nasty loop with NWs and EWs and I think just came out of it after several days of 2 nap days.  We tried and learned he can only handle just over 4hrs A both before and after.  I'll try again once he pushes his A again.  I definitely have read of other babies moving to 1 nap by 12months.  If she is doing well with it then go for it!

[marlowsmom]

Mstrboo,
She didn't make it until 4pm.   She short napped again, 40 minutes.    I may post a thread and see what I get back.    I'm going to give it another try tomorrow.   She seems to be teething but in the past that hasn't every really effected her sleep.   She's cut teeth without much warning before.    

BTW I found this...
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=41952.0

[Tao]

Hi Marlosmom and Mstrboo,

Sigh....you both were right on track =). She is NOT ready for one nap. My goodness, last night I think we had NWs every hour or so. Luckily she was able to resettle herself but I know she didn't sleep very well--it was a very restless sleep not to mention her one nap was even shorter than previous days (only 55 minutes!). I think you were right Mstrboo about what had happened to your DS, the naps get shorter and OT gets worse and worse.

Today, I decided to head back to 2 nap land. Luckily, she did go down for her p.m. nap after a short a.m. I think the trick is a longer wind down for her. She went down after 3 hours and 20 minutes of afternoon A time.

Marlowsmom- how many days has Marlow short napped her p.m. nap now? I am so jealous that you can go in and lay your adorable LO down when she is having a hard time going down. Sophie is spirited and if I touch her, it will be the end of the world. The only way I have been able to resettle her is by sitting next to her and saying the sleepy phrase. How was her p.m. nap today?

Thanks for your advice guys, you really helped me figure things out =).

[~Jen~]

Glad it helped! It sounds like a 2 nap day was just what she needed. 

DS did a stretch of 5.5hrs before BT yesterday    and had a fantastic 11.5hr night.  I think it was just luck and we are not going to try that again anytime soon.  I think putting him down for a catnap (although he refused it ) and giving him so quiet time in the dark helped keep the OT manageable. 

Today we are back on two naps and for some reason has been taking ages to settle for both naps and bedtime.  Just curious - how long does it take for your LOs to fall asleep once you put them down for naps/bedtime?  He used to be consistently between 15-20mins and now it is becoming more like 30-35mins before falling asleep and that just seems really long to me?

[Tao]

Hi Mstboo,

Very cute picture by the way! 30-35 minutes does seem kind of long to me too. Usually if she is truly ready for sleep she is down within a few minutes, but no more than 15-20 like you mentioned. Usually for us, if it's more than 20 minutes then she won't go down or will refuse the nap. Is he crying during those 30-35 minutes or cranky or is he just playing?

For Sophie, if she's crying she could be OT already or just refusing it altogether, but I've read that for some if their babies are UT (especially textbook babies), it will take them longer to sleep and they will just play in their cot.

Do you think tweaking A time before that nap will help?

Good luck!

[marlowsmom]

So I posted a thread regarding Marlow's refusal (http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=168492.0)
and the response was to go to one nap.    She suggested I do 5 hour A, nap, then 5 hr A, then bedtime.   
Today:
Awake 615am
Nap 11-1pm
bed 630pm ( at the latest)

The question is how will she do tomorrow.   I hope you looked at the link I posted earlier.   There was some advice in there that I'm going to follow.
   
That's what these threads are all about; learning from each others mistakes, trials and errors.


@Tao- I wouldn't push for one nap until she starts giving signs like Marlow did.   

Jen- It takes Marlow about 5 minutes to fall asleep as long as she is truly sleepy.    The past couple of days with Marlow's refusal of her PM nap she was laying in the crib playing.    It sounds to me like your LO is ready for a change.

[Tao]

Hi Marlow's mom,

I'm glad you got some great insight on the threads. If she is refusing p.m. nap, that would truly be wonderful if she really is ready for one nap. I know it will take some transition time, but this 2-1 transition is tough stuff, isn't it!

Today we did two naps and she actually went down for the second nap which was nice. However, I think I tried to put her down for BT too soon because she stood up screaming again and fought it.

600 Wake
1000-1030 Nap
200-320 Nap
700 (tried to put her down at 7 but she was too wound up. She finally went down at 7:30 so I'll just try that tomorrow. It's so much easier when she one naps because she will go down at bed time right away.)

Let us know how your 1 nap transition goes. Hope you don't have any NW's tonight--sending you sleepy vibes =).

Christine

[Tao]

Oh goodness. I need to vent. DD is now in the other room screaming her head off. Husband is in there with her, sitting with her trying to get her to go back down. She started off the night with good sleep and then suddenly at 11:00 p.m. she woke up, stood up screaming at the top of her lungs. I tried going in first to hold her/rock her, but to no avail, she just became more and more worked up, so we resorted to DH sitting with her since she gets more worked up when we touch her. She is now screaming wondering why I am not in there picking her up again, plus it's probably an accumulation of OTness from the previous days. I feel like crying which she cries like this...


She had a two nap day today so I was hoping that night time sleep would be better. Ironically, the previous nights she would wake a lot but not to the point where I would need to go in. Do you guys think it's:

* from being OT from previous 1 nap days
* too much day sleep today? She got a total of 2 hours altogether. Usually it's more like 1.5.

Thanks for the support. This is so hard =(.

[hjrmom01]

Tao, could be OT but any way it could be teething? That's how H is when teething!

So I could use some advice again H has been sick since Sunday night. High fever, sleep all over. We've been getting 2.5-3hr naps, acts crazy tired all evening. Yesterday he napped from 12:55-3:50 and bedtime 8:30. Slept fine until 10:50 when woke screaming. Went in and laid on his floor, he'd fall asleep, jolt up and start crying. Finally left his room at 11;40 thinking he was sleeping, only for him to wake up 10 mins later. WEnt back in with Tylenol (it was almost time!), chamilia and orajel just in case it was teething (waiting on last molar) and I just rocked him to sleep. He was very unsettled, kept jolting and moving about. PUt him down at 12:20 and that was that until he cried out at 6:45 and was up for the day about 7:15.  I leave him in his crib as he does cry, just is awake and rolls around trying to go back to sleep. 

Initially it sounds like OT waking so soon after bed. But the waking early and being content in bed?!  Is it from too long of a nap?  Before this we have been in a 10.5hr night rut, too.