1 yr old crying before naps, chronic short napper and early waking. Please Help

[babybarr]

Have you checked he isn't poorly anymore?

One thing that I always go back to is something that worked before.  I know I suggested pushing that A time but it clearly isn't working.  Can you remember the "magic" A time you were getting good naps on?

[laura034]

It was 3hr 20, but with the EW in the morning that is in the middle of the school run, plus now he is used to longer A times I don't think he would go down early anymore. I guess I'm just stuck with it. I don't think he is poorly afterall, just teething as he has no temperature or anything like that. Laurax

[babybarr]

(((hugs))) why don't you play it by ear for the next few days and then post what has happened and we'll see if we can see any patterns.

[laura034]

Hi, well things go from bad to worse we had an amazing night 12hr 15mins which is great. Then a 4hr 15min A time and got a 30min nap and then he just wouldn't have a second nap at all I tried twice even APOP in the pushchair, but he wouldn't have any of it and now its 3.45pm and he's crying constantly. I just wondered how long do you guys try and get them to nap before you give up. Thanks Laura

[babybarr]

Do you know what?  I really think you may need to consider going to one nap now and see what happens.  We had this - DS would have say a 30min nap in the morning and then refuse sleep for the rest of the day and this went on for weeks!!  In the end I just pushed him through cold turkey to one nap.

So you could try a set nap time of 11am every day no matter what wake up and see what happens.  If he short naps you can aim for another catnap 3hrs later.

[Brock~Tahlia~Mummy]

I agree with Pp sweetie, try one nap at a set time in his cot. I allow 1 1/2 hours if I have to do WIWO. B is good most of the time
but when he has an off day I cap the WIWO at 1 1/2 hours (enough time for a decent nap) in saying this Bs noal sleep is around 2 hours once a day at 11.30/11.45am.
HTH

I asked in one of my previous posts... Does DS have seperation anxiety? This played a HUGE role in not settling-in my experience with my DS anyway

[laura034]

Thanks for your answers, after I posted my last reply I took him for a walk and he finally went to sleep at 4.10pm so I only let him have 20min nap. I'm a bit worried about going to one nap as yesterday we did an 11am nap and only got 30mins and the thought of just 1 30min nap a day is horrible. I think I will stick with 2 naps for the next few days and if he is still fighting that pm nap I will have to go to 1 nap then. I don't think Ethan has seperation anxiety as he settles fine at night without me in the room, Thank Goodness! You are so strong sticking to WIWO for 1.5hrs I only last 30mins of screaming maybe thats the problem. Thanks Laura

[babybarr]

What time did he wake this morning?  Did he sleep well last night?

[laura034]

He slept from 7pm to 6.30am so a good night. This morning I did a 4hr 10min Atime and got 20mins nap I don't know if thats UT or OT this is so annoying I hope he'll have his pm nap today. Thanks Laura

[babybarr]

I really wonder now if you need to bite the bullet and after a good night do a 5hr A and see what you get if he short naps then you do another nap but I'm wondering if we really push him he may crash...

[laura034]

I think maybe your right he's only had 20min nap so far today and 3hrs later he is still quite happy. Its so hard to tell, because he doesn't show any tired signs now other than being a bit whiny. The only thing I am worried about is if I push him to 5hrs and he short naps even after a tiny nap it takes a while before he will nap again and then we will be close to bedtime IYKWIM so we might struggle. Its so strange how just a month ago he was doing a 3.25hr A time and doing 1hr naps do they really jump in A time so fast? Thanks Laura

[babybarr]

do they really jump in A time so fast?

My DS would jump an hour overnight - it always caught me out.  Also one day he was on 2 naps and then the next refusing the 2nd one - it really came out of nowhere. 

I'm really hoping this'll work for you

[Brock~Tahlia~Mummy]

B gets irritable and rubs his eyes a lot when he's tired.
For us UT takes a while to go to sleep and he chats away for 15-20 mins then will only sleep 30 mins and wake happy
and when I get him up he'll tire really quickly from a short nap. OT/OS are the same deal, he'll wake after 1 sleep cycle approx 40 minutes and he will cry. So this is what I've learnt from my DS so I know when to tweek his routine.
I'm sorry I can't offer anymore advice! This is a tough one for you. I hope it resolves soon for you guys. I had to use WIWO after DS last illness and needed him to sleep longer, yes he cried a lot but otherwise he'd be exhausted if I didn't push with WIWO to extend the naps and he's back to one 2 hour nap again.
Hugs sweetie I've offered you all my ideas and thoughts and I really can't think of anything else! Sorry xxx

[laura034]

Thanks, going from what you say in PP Ethan seems OT he is asleep within 5mins and then wakes screaming, but then again he is quite happy for quite a while after he's stopped crying. After his first 20min nap yesterday he wasn't tired again until 3hrs 30min A time and then we got a 40min nap which is quite good for Ethan. I can't figure this out, and I feel worn out from trying. Thanks again Laura

[laura034]

Well I did the 5hr A time today and got a 30min nap and a lot of crying before. I was really hoping that it would work, but I guess thats it. at least I know I've tried all the different A times now, I hope he has a second nap today. Laura x