12.5 month old - Short AM ok - fights Long PM

[marlowsmom]

I guess I'm looking for a the perfect night's sleep every night.   I didn't want to admit it but that's just not going to be possible during this transition.

Here was Marlow the last 24 hours:
Awake 630am (after a NW)
nap 1130-1
bed 645pm
STTN
Awake 5am  (Booooo)

Clearly, she cannot handle one nap today on a consistent basis.   She's going to need two so I guess I'll go for short AM/ Long PM and keep my fingers crosses.   In the past, if she has a long AM too early in the morning then she has a EW the next day.

[*Becky*]

it is rocky towards the end of 2:1 but you will get there
I would def suggest short am /long pm if she she gets EW's from a longer am nap. My DS is exactly the same and I found that once I cut the am nap quite a bit we had a good month or two before problems began again!

[marlowsmom]

Hi Ladies,
Its been quiet here for a while because Marlow has been doing well with a 20min or 30min AM nap and 1.5 hour PM nap.   The past few days the EW monster has reared its ugly head.    She's been waking at 5am and I get her back to sleep after she has a bottle.   
She usually wakes at 545am which is too early but now she waking even earlier.

Her usual schedule
Awake 545am 
AM Nap 10 - 1030am
30 min AM nap = 4 hr A     
PM Nap 230-4pm (1.5 hr)
Bed 730pm

I thought that since she was waking at 545am that maybe her afternoon A before bed wasn't long enough so I tweaked her schedule.

awake 545am
AM nap 1015 to 1035am (20min)
3.5 hr A
PM nap 2 to 330pm (1.5hr)
Bed 730pm

She's been on this schedule for a week now and has started waking at 5am the past two days.   The 4 hr A before bedtime shouldn't be an issue with her.       She also shows that she's sleeping in the morning before her AM nap.    I don't think she ready to make the plunge to one nap fully.     I'm really hoping to tweak her schedule and try to keep her on two naps.    She can handle about 4 maybe 4.5 hr A max.    What do you think?

[Mom to M&M]

If you want to keep her on two naps, I'd actually make the short AM nap earlier - so she's not overtired from staying up a full A in the morning and getting a short nap. So maybe make the AM nap at 9:30/9:45 even and still cut it at 30 minutes and then shoot for 1.5 hour PM nap?

[marlowsmom]

That's what I was thinking.    Try to move the AM nap to as early as possible.   Today she woke at 5am, fell asleep, and woke at 630am.    I put her back in bed by 10am and she took 20 min  to fall asleep.     She laid there and rolled around quietly.    So she slept from 1020 to 1040am and then went back down at 150pm and fell right asleep.    

Should I give this about 3 days and see if it fixes it or go ahead and do W2S as well?

Thanks!

[Mom to M&M]

I'd try this only for a few days before adding in W2S. Good luck!

[marlowsmom]

Well after two days of waking at 5am, she woke at 415am.    I gave her a bottle and she went back to sleep and woke at 6am.     I have to take DD1 to a bday party today so DH is in charge for the day.   This is highly unusual so I have to leave explicit instructions and impress upon him how important it is to follow them to the letter.     Oh boy.

[marlowsmom]

She's not a fan of an earlier nap.    I tried to get her down after 3.5 hr A today and she fought it for 20 min and fell asleep after I gave her a bottle.    She slept 20 min.   Fast forward to the afternoon and a full 3.5 hr A, I put her down.    She cried and put up a fight for 45 min.   I finally had to APOP with a bottle to get her back to sleep.     

I think if I let her she could handle as much as 4.5 hr A but not any longer.       I'm going to try again tomorrow with the same schedule and see if it happens again or if it was a fluke.

[Tao]

Hi Sharon,

I can see how an earlier nap would be difficult for her. Sophie is fighting her a.m. nap too after 4 hours of A time as well! I'm wondering if she can handle 4.5 hrs of A, won't she been undertired for a much earlier nap?

Let us know what happens tomorrow. Best wishes!

[Mom to M&M]

Hmmm maybe then I'd shoot for a 10-15 minute nap only after 4 hours A time? And do it in the car or stroller so she's not in as deep a sleep? Then shoot for a good PM nap maybe 3-3.5 hours later?

[marlowsmom]

Thanks Mom to M&M.   I'll give it a try.

[brenda2]

i think 3 hours A after a 15 min nap is too long...she may have been fighting it because hse was ot. my kids both can only handle really short A time after such a short nap like that.

[marlowsmom]

I stuck with her normal schedule today to see if yesterday was a fluke or the start of something new.    She slept 20 min this morning.    I put her down after 3.5 hr A and she rolled around for 10 min and fell asleep.   She woke after 1 hour crying.   

She's still waking at 430am which I guess can be considered a EW?    If she wakes tonight then I'll have to go to W2S. 

Brenda2 - should I try the 15 min nap?

[Mom to M&M]

Actually Brenda has a really good point with the OT. If only a 20 minute AM nap, I'd try the PM nap after 3 hours A time tops...

[brenda2]

if you do a 15 min am nap you could try 2 hours A time after it.

it's hard with limiting the first nap because it really is trial and error to find the best A time after it to get a second long nap.  i'm not very good at it with my own kids so i do the other way around (long am, short pm, easier to guess the A times...)

if she can do 4.5 hours and will do a long nap (2 or 3 hours) she could probably do a 1 nap day and then do a 2 nap day to catch up every once in a while.  but hard with the ews to do that.

did you get her back down after the 1 hour nap?