Still trying to get my 11hr nights back!

[scucci1979]

We have tried a longer nap with little later bedtime, which works for a couple of days but then Madi is back to waking between 6:20-6:35am.  Her nights are between 10.5-10.75hours.  I have reduced her 2.5hour nap to 2hrs and 15min and now to 2hrs and 10min.  Is it a developmental thing at her age(19.5months)?

Yesterday went like:
wake 6:45am
nap 12:20-2:35pm
bed and asleep by 7:40pm

when I push out her nap she is very difficult to wake. It takes me at least 5min to to wake her.  Her A after nap depending on the length varies between 5-5.5hrs.  With shorter nap she needs a little over 5hours.  Am I not pushing her far enough?  I can see it in her eyes that she wants to go to sleep and am thinking it is because her A in the morning is longer!
Do I take the plunge and try a two hour nap for a few days?  I am afraid that she will get OT and cause an even earlier wakeup. Will shaving that extra 10-15min off her nap really extend her night a little? Maybe I just haven't figured out her last A time!
Should I continue with a little later bedtime and accept the 10.5hr nights?

Do I just accept it and hopefully she will go back to her 11hr nights again?

Sorry for all the questions.....just a frustrated pregnant mom trying to figure this girl out. LOL

[babybarr]

Should I continue with a little later bedtime and accept the 10.5hr nights?

A lot of mums have settled for this, *but* they have also found that nap length doesn't matter so tend to let thier bubs nap as long as they want.

[clazzat]

Is she essentially high sleep needs or low sleep needs?  And also, what type of child is she?  My touchy lo will take 1h off her nighttime sleep after a nap that is too long, so it is actually possible that 10-15 mins will be the final touch that will sort her nights out.

Having said that, my angel lo is very high sleep needs, and often what she really needs is an extra 10-15 mins nap to get her back on track so that her nights work again.

Do you think she is OT at the moment, or are you leaning towards UT?

[scucci1979]

She was high in sleep needs but I think she is in the middle ATM.  She is a textbook/angel baby.   I know she can do an 11-11.5hour night as she has done this in the past.  As soon as she hit 18months, her wakings gradually moved from 7am to 6:30am.   I do know if I push her nap out she needs a little over two hours of sleep to make it to bedtime.  I also know that with a consistent 10 hour night she gets very tired in the mornings and needs to be put down earlier.

In the past, pushing her nap out has always worked. She easily goes down 5.5hours after waking. Not sure if I should try to push it further or just cut her nap to two hours and see how that goes. 

If I do let her sleep three hours for her nap, she would definitely lose some nighttime sleep. 
It seems like after a few days of cutting her nap, she gets a little OT and then begins to wake up earlier.  I am stuck with her A after her nap-I am not sure how much she can handle with a two hour nap. I normally just follow her cues.

TBH I don't know if these wakings are OT or UT-I can never figure it out.  All I know is that she is not extending her nights when I reduce her nap.

[alohahellokitty]

Oh I'm so sorry!!!!   (((((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))))))))))

I don't have any advice to offer but I sure hope you get it sorted out. It is very frustrating! She's such a cutie!

[clazzat]

With my lo if she is not extending nights after cutting the nap then I lean towards OT - so I let her nap a little more (maybe 10-15 mins longer) to catch up, or possibly try a slightly earlier bedtime (again only 10-15 mins max).  A 3h nap is way too long - I would say by 18 months you should be capping it at 2h, almost no matter what.  If she is struggling to get to bedtime, I would bring bedtime forward a bit.  If you think that she needs a catch-up nap every few days then that's fine too - it is often the case that their sleep needs and A time needs don't quite match up so you need catch-ups to keep things on an even keel.

FWIW, our day looked like this: 7am wake, sleep 12.30-2.30, bed 6.45/7 - perhaps your lo's day is a fraction too long if she is fundamentally high sleep needs?

One other thing to bear in mind is that there are some really big changes that happen at 18 months - some los drop a lot of sleep, others are a bit unsettled for a while and then go back to normal.  If you want to tweak things, try to make sure that you make small adjustments and give them a reasonable chance to work.

[scucci1979]

thanks. I do know she works better on a 13hour day.  Today she woke up at 6:45am, so we got an 11hr night last night after a two hour nap, which she woke up on her own. I do believe that she does need a catch up day after a few days as she seems to get OT.  Maybe her body is not used to the nap reduction??  I doubt she will give me an 11.5hour night if bedtime is 7:30pm.  She did prior to turning 18months.
My plan for today is to put her down at 12:15pm and let her sleep for two hours. Now I am a little scared to put her down for the night at 7:30pm as I am not sure what type of wake up I will get.