Is a jump to 4 hour A time possible at 7.5 months?

[sparrow]

Hi, I'm curious to see if yesterday was a fluke or not but my lo did a 1h45 min nap after 3h55 A time (2nd nap).  She's been doing 1h30 - 1h45 in the morning after 3h10.  But for almost 3 weeks her afternoon nap has been around 30 minutes no matter what A time I experiment with.  Then yesterday she fell asleep after nearly 4 hours and like I said, 1h45 min nap (that gave us 2 x 1h45 naps yesterday).

If this is her new pattern, problem is her day is way too long!  I know I should cut her naps at 1.5 hours but even with that, she did 3h10 before bed to make for a 14 hour day.  Then she had an EW after 9.5 hrs sleep.

-can she have such different morning and afternoon A's? (3h10 and 3h55)
-if so how do I keep the day a reasonable length?

Thanks!

[Chicane]

Hi I had to respond to this because we are in exactly the same position. Same age same nap issue. I have been testing an A time of 3 hr and 45 mins! And it seems to be working...although I need a few more days to be sure.

We have always had a short am A time and a longer afternoon A time...just the way he is wired. So I think if that's working for you then there's no prob with it. As far as keeping the day a reasonable length...maybe best if you post up the day in an EAS format for us to have a look. But at first guess I would say bring BT earlier but without knowing you exact times its hard to say. Lets stay in touch because seems like we have very similar issues! x

[sparrow]

Thanks so much, this is very helpful to hear.  Routine has been all over the place because of struggling with this 2nd nap but here's what yesterday looked like.

Up 6:20
A 3h10
Nap 9:30 - 11:15
A 3h55
Nap 3:10 - 5:00
A 3h10
BT 8:10

I think the last A time was too long because there were a few NW's that weren't hunger related, plus a 5:30 wake up.  She rarely shows tired signs so it's tough to know when to put her down.  Thanks again! I'm so curious how today will go.

[*Liz*]

Some LOs just don't obey the 'rules' with their A times  .

My DS is the exact opposite and does a long am A and a shorter pm A. In the days of 2 naps they got shorter as the day wore on rather than longer.

They just like to confuse us I think  .

[Chicane]

Hi Sparrow

Sorry for being neglectful I just don't know what happens to the hours in the day...I think my son secretly eats them.

OK - so where are you at now? I've been looking through the sample routines here http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=164030.0

And I think my DS is heading more towards a routine for a 8-9 month old. Just in the last two days I have extended his am A time and shortened his afternoon A time to see what would happen - I can't really report results yet but I think it may be better. We also extended the A time to 3hr 45 mins and I got a 1.5 hour nap from him which is great because he always did 1 hour naps. The afternoon A time was 3 hours and I got a 1 hour nap. So total nap time of 2.5 hours which is pretty good for us and he was in a pretty good mood too.

Looking at your routine I agree that the day is too long which could be making her NWs and EW. You could try bringing BT earlier so that the last A time is say only 2 to 2.5 hours and see how that effects nights? I think it could be worth a try. I will keep you updated on our progress with extending morning A times too and maybe that could be an option for you as well. But at the moment I would make an earlier BT and see what you get. Keep me posted

xxx

[kaynay]

chicane we seem to be in the same boat hope you dont mind if i tack on here too to see progress thanks

[stevesmum]

WOW - we're on that boat heading to who-knows-where too! At least we've got company!!! We are 7.5months and I've been trying to get a good sleep -for the bub who used to sleep great! - ever since grandparents came to visit. At night he started to cry out, though wasn't really awake and if left would really wind up! Yesterday after 3hr30a time I got  1 x 1hr30 sleep, and a 1 x 1hr15 sleep. Last night, he only stirred the once and that was at 3am. He did wake at 5.30 - but then so had everyone else in the house which is understandable - dad IS noisy! I had been trying anything from 2hr - 3hr with no luck. Today, i put him down at 3hr10 and 2hr50 and got a 30min both times, so i'm going to try 3hr30 again! Oh, and background info - we're loving solids, and still on breastmilk and crawling and teething on and off. he was going back to sleep a few days ago, after i fed him at 5.30am and going til 7 - which was super, but that hasn't worked the last two days.
Who knows - but little people are only little for a little while, so I'm enjoying it as best I can. After all, he doesn't seem to get grumpy regardless - probably me being selfish and wanting just a little more me time!

[sparrow]

Hi Chicane, don't worry I didn't feel neglected!  Today we had a great day, managed to keep it at 13 hours which isn't as good as 12 but great compared to our days lately.  Her morning A was 3h10 which gave us a 1h15 nap so I guess we could bump that a bit.  Then 3h35 A in the afternoon gave us 1h20.  I've tried putting her to bed with shorter A times but she just refuses.  Tonight for example I tried for 3h10 and she didn't sleep till the 3h45 mark. (the other night I tried for 2h30 and that was just funny! No chance).  So all in all we're doing well but with all the A time and sleep time she wants I just don't know how to keep the day a reasonable length without waking her up from naps which I really don't want to do!  Anyway, she went down at 7 tonight and I'm really curious to see if we get a good wake up time.  Lots of EW lately.

For 2nd nap and BT she has trouble settling down -- not sure if this is because she's not yet tired enough or if it's still the new love of standing that's preventing her from settling.  She stands up and can't get back down so I think it may be extending her A, especially before bed. 

Keep me posted on how your A experimentation goes! Thanks...

[Chicane]

Hey Sparrow, Kaynay, Stevesmum and any others with wonky 7.5 to 8 mths olds!

Ok so, we are looking better too. 3 days of decent wake up times (between 6.30 and 7am! yay! no more fives in there)

So i've extended first A to between 3.45 and 3.75 hours (4 hours got me a short nap) and second A time to 3.5 hours and last A time between 3 and 3.5. He's also doing a 12.5 to 13 hour day but he's coping with it okay and no NWs...He still only giving me 1 hour to 1.15min naps but he has always done that so maybe i just have to accept..He still waking between 3 and 4am for a feed and I am not sure how I feel about that - I think I'm okay with it for a while longer because he seems so hungry at that time.. am pretty happy with things like this, hope it continues...the difference is amazing to everyones mood when the mama wakes up at 6.30 and not at 5am! Happy mama, happy house! x

[sparrow]

Hi again, so happy you're getting good wake up times!  We had a 5:20 wake up over here. we also had two NW which isn't that uncommon here.  But I know she can get by with only one night feeding.  I actually thought last night was going to go a bit better.... sigh...I'm going to try to extend our first A this morning, see how it goes.  Your message motivates me!  I'm definitely grateful for the good naps we're getting, gotta focus on the positive...

[Chicane]

Hi ya

I actually thought last night was going to go a bit better

No! You made THE MISTAKE! You indulged in HOPE! Abandon all hope ye who enter! (followed by maniacal, witchy  laughter and little bit of pig snorting)

I am about to post a piece on my blog (if DS allows me the time that is) about the positivity of negativity when raising babies. It really does help to be a pessimistic bitch! That way when things go wrong and LO takes four hours to get to sleep then only sleeps for 10 minutes you can say 'I knew it! I knew it would be crap' and when things go right you can do a little jig then run around the living room like a chicken with its head cut off because you have no idea to do with this stolen time you all of a sudden have.

sending hugs x

[sparrow]

I DID! I did indulge in hope, not only hope but POSITIVITY!  What was I thinking! Thank you for bringing me back down to reality, I lost my head there for an evening.  And that chicken running around? That is me to a tee. After 6 months of 10-30 minute naps this newfound time has me twiddling my thumbs, eyes darting around, spritzing my plants every 5 minutes... bok bok bok ... (lo just went down so easily after an extended morning A, not that I'm thinking happy thoughts about this. nope.)

[*Liz*]

Similar happened here when I realised that J's A was about 3.5hrs rather than the 2ish I had been using  .

4hrs A is loooong at 7.5mths - but not impossible - how are you getting on?

I do remember not knowing what to do with myself as well - and I also remember being disappointed that my nights were still not perfect. My nights are still rarely perfect TBH though  .

[Chicane]

Hey Liz - we're doing...good...I am so scared to say its good! but its..not bad! We are getting decent wake ups, not bad naps...I'm happy...fingers crossed!

Sparrow - kill those happy thoughts! Its not healthy!

[*Liz*]

LOL - I must say everytime it gets good here it gets jiinxed as well - and we have never worked out why.

We do know better now though and just say 'its our lucky week' knowing full well it never lasts any longer than that  .

But before I make you both super miserable (seeing the age of DS) I will just add that J almost NEVER busts a nap now, and nights are usually OK. He just still likes 5.30am if he can manage it  .