Support Thread for 2-1 Nap Transition cont'd pt 3

[Mama2C]

Lulunut - how was yesterday and today? Any better?
We had a 2hr NWing two nights ago, a great 2.5hr nap yesterday, early bed and a 5:20am WU! Sigh. Oh well. This morning he took a 2.5hr+nap from 9:15-11:55 and a catnap from 4:15-4:45 (I woke him). Put him down at 7:30 and he is still awake chatting to himself (it's past 8!). I guess the catnap gave him more energy than I hope! I think we'll be doing some alternating of 1 and 2 nap days for a bit...molars cutting more this morning. Since he is going to bed so late I am keeping fingers crossed that he isn't up as early as this morning!

[lulunut]

Well two days ago I went for 1 nap with him.  I wanted a nap!  I put DD down at 11:30 and DS at 10:30 (with 6am wake).  I had hoped DD would do 2 hours as she usually does....nope!  DS did 1 hour (as usual) I AP him for another hour which took us to DD's wake time of 1:15.  My plan was foiled but I did get some day sleep.  He of course did PM nap refusal.  So early BT at 6:30.  I had a 2 hour NW as well from 1:30-3:30.  With a 6am wake.  He did perfect 10am and 2pm 1 hour naps yesterday with 7:30 BT.  Today no NW and 5:30 wake.  I took him to a play group today.  He slept for 10 min in the car and tried him at 10:30 when we got home.  He was too OS.  Now he is yawning so I am going to put him down and DD at 12pm.  I will get about 30 min Y time.  Sounds good to me!!

[Mama2C]

Wow - no fun! NW and EW? Sigh...It's amazing how the slightest thing can just get them off track - like OS, OT, short nap..they all mess with sleep! Today DS woke at 6 and I had to go to an appointment at 11, but he was exhausted so I did a 20 min nap at 10:25-10:45 and then put him down again at 1 and he chatted for 10 mins and then HE FELL ASLEEP! I don't know if this is a one-time thing but I'm happy for now. Not sure whethere I should just let him sleep as long as he wants (he can go 2.5+hrs sometimes) or wake him after 1.5hrs to get a 7pm BT...

[lulunut]

Mama2c-Does he not usually fall asleep on his own?  That is great!!  It's always good when they start doing that!  I remember with DD we would complain about when we could stop rocking her.  Now she gets rocked for about 5-10 min and put into bed and she goes on her own.  We miss it now!! How did your night go?

Yesterday nap was 1:15 and 1:15 with me.  BT at 7:30.  There was a poo and he peed on me and all over his jammies, Ahhh!  NW at 2:30am and EW at 5am with AP until 5:45!  Even with a 2.5 nap yesterday, don't get it!!!

[Mama2C]

I seriously don't get their sleep either!!!

DS always falls asleep on his own... I was just surprised that he fell asleep so easily after a short A (but I guess it was due to the short nap)...

Yesterday I put him down at 10:30am after a 4.5h A time and he sleep for 2h45 min and then had a 5hr A time with BT at 7:15 and slept for 12hrs - until 7:20am!! He was a bit restless and woke up a little at 4am but fell back asleep with only a few back rubs. He has a new molar so perhaps he had a better night as it has pushed through? Trying the same A times today and same BT... yesterday we were out a lot walking by the beach so he may just need more activity and fresh air to get a good sleep?

I got over 9hrs of sleep myself last night which is sooooo great. Maybe it was a little Mother's Day gift from him?

How was last night for you??? Do you think that his NWing is due to teeth? Or perhaps UT? How is he during his NWings? When DS has NWs, he is always wide awake but happy to just lie down and rest while I rub his back, no crying unless I don't go to him...

[lulunut]

Mama2c-Wow!  That is great!  Now if you could just get him to do the 2.45 at 12pm, life would be great!!!  Today at Grannies he did something similar, he did 2 hours at 9:30am after 3 hours A time. (5:45am wake)  Then 30 min in car and home after 4.5 A time.  I did BT at 8pm. Usually if I get 2 naps I get a good night.  I just wish his times would go closer together rather than further apart!!!  9 hours straight sleep!  Good for you!!  You deserve it!!

I had a NW 2 night s ago at 3:30.  He is good if I hold him and then put him back in crib.  He tends to be quite restless for about 30-40 min sometimes.  Kicking, playing with his hands, but his eyes are closed.  Not sure???  No crying unless I let go of him!!  So sometimes I am rubbing his back for a while if I don't pick him up.  It's good for the hamstrings!!!

NW, could be both teeth, we have one more molar to pop however they aren't fully through yet.  OT or OS could be the problem, the weather has been great so lots of outside activities!  I think some OT because of the wacky nap times.  It all depends on his wake time.  It's sort of hard because he can go 5.15A time Max but he won't sleep more than 1.5 so that doesn't leave enough time to make BT at 7-8.  I have to get another CN in the afternoon which can sometimes be difficult and this usually causes NW.  I think this whould work out by summer, hopefully!!

How was your day today?

[Mama2C]

NWs are so awful! I find them draining especially if WU is early too!

Well, after the great 12hr night, we did a one nap and he only had 9.5hrs of night sleep from 8-5:40. Sigh. So yesterday I did a 20 min CN in the Am (9:20-9:40) and then his long nap from 12:15-2:15. BT was at 7:15. This morning he woke up at 6:15 (11hrs!!!) and so I did the same nap times...9:20 for CN and 12:15 for nap. BT will be at 7:15. I am going to try to stick with these set times and see if that helps. I think he needs a long mid-day nap but can't manage such a long morning A time so the cat nap seems to help. Can you ever try a short morning CN?? I wake him after 20 mins. I tried 30 mins and it just didn't work for us, so I shortened it to 20 and so far he seems to like it. I usually just pick him up gently and nurse him to get him to wake up. It's a peaceful transition and then he can do 2.5hrs of A before his long nap.

I know what you mean about outside activities. DS can't take a nap right after an outing... he needs a transition so I give lunch or a snack. Seems to help him drift off more easily and stay asleep.

Reading about the NW - eyes closed and kicking etc... DS would do this when he was leaning something new... has there been a new development? Jumping? Kicking a ball? Perhaps he is practising in his sleep!!! DS cries during his NWs unless I am rubbing his back etc... but his eyes are almost always open.

[lulunut]

I did try the short am a while ago.  Things were a bit messy then.  Maybe I could intro it again.  My work schedule is not always the same and I only work PT so sometimes I just let Granny go with the flow.  Also our activity schedule sometimes messes things up.  We just do the best we can!!

Today was 5am wake with AP until 7am.  This got him until 12pm for nap.  We shall see how long he goes.  Right now the neighbour is banging outside so it may not last long, BOOO!   

[Mama2C]

Oh Booooooo! One of our neighbours walks soooo loudly all night long. It drives me crazy. It also wakes DS quite often. She is just a heavy walker and can't help it but booooo.

What do you do to AP for 2 hrs? DS wants to nurse and get up. This morning it was at 5:40...but he went to bed at 7:15 so it was almost 10.5hrs which isn't bad.

I know what you mean about just doing the best you can. Sometimes that is all you can do!! And get to bed early yourself in preparation for another early morning. Thank goodness it's nicer weather though... it'd be awful to wake up that early in the dead of winter.

[lulunut]

Mama 2c- DD sleeps for about 2-2.5 hours so I have that time at pm nap if I am lucky.  I rock him and hold him until he is comfie and then lay down with him next to me.  He doesn't move!  He likes to have his hand on my boob!    In the am I just pick him up and he drops into my arms and we lay down together.  He loves to snuggle next to me.  I have to admit, I love it too!!

I used to fight the EW and spent a lot of time stressing over how to fix it.  It became too much of a waste of energy.  So, now I just go with it.  I am much more relaxed and it won't last forever.  I can't complain, he sleeps most of the night on his own.  It may just mean that when he is out of his crib he will come into my bed in the am until he is 6 years old, but I will miss it when he is older!!

How did your day go?

[Mama2C]

lulunut - I wish DS would lay down with me in the morning... I try but he just wants to get up and play!! He has never really  wanted to sleep in bed with me which isn't a bad thing I suppose. We had a great day yesterday and a great 20 min am and 2hr pm nap and BT at 7:15. He was up at 6 which really isn't so bad. DH took him after he was nursed and I got to sleep an extra hour which I REALLY needed!

Your DD still has such a long nap? Wow! My DD cut out her nap around 2yrs 11 months but she would only really ever do a 1hr or 1hr 15 min nap anyway. WHen she cut her nap out I insisted on some quiet time in her room so I could have a break!

[lulunut]

MAM2c-Yes, not sleeping with you is a good thing.  There is a mattress in his room so we sleep on that.  My DH hasn't woken up with me next to him in a long time!! Sounds like your day went well!  6am is better than 5am!!

Yes, my DD has a long nap still.  She needs it maybe not that much but it has been working in my favour so I am not complaining!  She will have to change it by next fall when she goes to pre-school full time.  I am not sure they still nap.  They may for a bit.  Just when I get him on one nap, she will have no nap!!!

Today was 4:40am, he couldn't get comfie and dozed off for about 20 min and then got the hic-ups.  So we were up at 5:30!!!  We had an activity at 9am.  He fell asleep in the car for about 10 min and then went down at 11:30.  For about 1.25hr. He refused afternoon nap so BT is at 7pm tonight. I expect some NW and EW for sure!!  But I can always hope!!  DD did this about this age, so we just pushed her and kept early BT.  It eventually worked out. We went through lots of NW at that time but by about 20mts she was sleeping through and doing 2 hr naps.

[abaker89]

I could use some help here, just beginning the 2-1 with an 18 mth old.  She had been doing this schedule till the last week or so:

Wake-7:15
Nap one-10:30/11 am-12 pm
Nap two-2:30/3 pm-4 pm, sometimes 3:30-4:30
Bed-8 pm

Problem started that she wouldn't always take the 2nd nap and when she did, she was falling asleep at 4 which is much too late.  My goal is to have her and DD1 napping at the same time.  DD1 is 4 and has been falling asleep around 2:30 so it was working great as they were both in bed for about 2 hrs in the afternoon.  So today, I let DD2 sleep in till 8 am and put her down at 1 pm and DD1 down at 1:45.  DD2 woke crying at 1:40, probably after 30 min sleep and still is not back asleep an hour later.  I plan to leave her there till 4:30 or so.  So was it just too long A time?  We have done a few one nap days when we had stuff to do and she had gone to bed around noon and slept for 2-3 hrs.  That would have been about 4 hrs A time and today was 5 hrs A time.  I just cannot put her down at noon, DD1 has morning activities and that is lunch time and then they would not be sleeping at the same time.  Any suggestions??

Thanks!

Aileen

[*Ali*]

DD2 woke crying at 1:40, probably after 30 min sleep and still is not back asleep an hour later.  I plan to leave her there till 4:30 or so.

Do you mean leave her in the cot? What is she doing all this time? Not crying is she?
If your DD2 us used to having a nap at 10.30/11 I think it is a huge jump to expect her to wait until 1pm for her nap even with a later WU. If you want her to have a long nap in the afternoon when your DD1 is sleeping the I would suggest letting her have a CN in the morning to help her get through the morning A time. So maybe something like:
WU 7.15
Nap one 10.30-11.00
Nap two 2.30 - 4.00
BT 8

I don't think you can expect an 18mo to be able to do anywhere near the same A time as a 4yr especially if she is only used to doing 3hr15 A times in the morning. It is too much, too soon ya know?

And can I just say I hope I am so lucky to have a 4yo who still naps for 2hrs!!! That would be nice.

[abaker89]

She does stay in bed, not crying, I wouldn't leave her crying.  She cried out for a minute or two and then was quiet.  We have a video monitor so I know she wasn't sleeping and I got her around 4 pm.  Just to clarify, she has been doing about 4 hrs A time and I jumped it to 5 hrs.  Maybe a bit long but the last two times we tried one nap days, we did about 4.5 hrs (wake at 7, nap at 11:30) and it was fine.  We went from a 7ish wake up to an 8 am wake up and then pushed her a bit.  I don't expect her to go down exactly the same but I just can't get her down much before 1 pm as DD1 has morning activities.  I put DD2 down at 1, then read with DD1 and got her to bed 45 min earlier than normal so she slept from 2:15-4:15 so DD1 did fine with an earlier time.  So 5 hrs A time is too long, she does 4 hrs usually so it seems 5 would be ok.  What should I do tomorrow??

Also, we have tried the CN for 30 min and that still did not force the pm nap.  It worked once but never again.  Also, the CN has gotten so late that it cuts into playdates etc.  It seems at 18 mths, she really should change.

Just wanted to add that a napping 4 yr old does come at a price, a short night.  She is in bed by 9, not asleep till 9:30, and usually up by 7:30.  I take cause I work part-time at home and need that afternoon time.  I know it is on the way out.

Thanks!
Aileen