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

[*Becky*]

Hi there,
Wow - poor you! You have had some great advice from the girls already. just thought I would take a look and see if I can be of any help.

So it seems he is a good night sleeper which is great but he must be really quite OT with the short naps. While you try and help him to catch up on sleep I would shorten that first A time as Laura has suggested. As soon as he shows tired signs I would put him into bed. I agree about getting him to sleep in his cot but I also know how stressful it can be (I have a short napper)
I used to focus on getting one nap in the cot and the other out and about so in the car or the buggy. Ideally choose when you would like to get a longer nap and do that at home.

As hard as it is and I have been there you do need to be consistent with whatever you choose so if you are doing WIWO then you need to stick with it. Yes they are crying BUT you are not leaving them alone and you are teaching them a very important skill which they need. My lo was the same. Great at night and terrible at napping but he has got better and I do put that down to working hard at the cot sleeping and being consistent with WIWO.

For some strange reason my lo is very sensitive with his naps so if he is teething they are the first thing to fall apart, even when nights can be ok. It does not necessarily mean that because they are sleeping well at night that there is not a teeth issue so just to put it out of the mix I would medicate before the next nap. If it makes no difference then no worries but it is something to cross off the list.

I agree about the early bedtimes. I really do think that if we can get him more rested then you have a much better chance of pushing his routine back with regular A times for his age. At the moment I think he needs to get as much sleep as is possible.

Hope that helps

becky x

[laura034]

Well last night I was hoping for an early night for Ethan, but he had a second wind at at about 5.30pm and was really happy so he ended up asleep for 6.45pm. Today he woke at 6am so a bit better I can't put him in his cot for a nap until 9.15 as I have to take my older son to school although its only 8.15am now and hes really cranky already. Also if I do a nap then and its short and then he has his second nap and thats also short do I just have a really long A time before bedtime or do I try for a 3rd nap? I went to see a lady at our childrens centre yesterday and she said
try for 1 nap, but I think he's to OT for that. thanks Ladies

[babybarr]

or do I try for a 3rd nap?

I would do this.  I agree with you I don't think one nap will work if you can't even get him to nap more than 30mins.

Good luck today.

[*Becky*]

I agree. 1 nap is not going to work at the moment. x

[laura034]

Well today went well, he went in his cot at 9.15 and was asleep in 5mins with just a bit of wimpering, he woke as normal after 20min screaming, but when I looked round the door he was still laying on his tummy crying with his eyes part closed so I held back and in about 2mins he was asleep again for another 30mins. I do feel a bit bad that I didn't go straight in to him, but I know if he saw me he would try to climb out. His mood has been much better and he didn't get tired again until 1.45pm, he only had 30mins but at least he had one good nap will aim for an earlier night tonight. Thanks Laura

[babybarr]

Really pleased about the slightly longer nap and it sounds like you did the right thing.  TBH though I would really be aiming for a MAX A time of 3hrs after that first nap.  If that nap is like 30mins I would cut it down even more.  I really feel that you need to cut those A times to help him catch up and def. do 3 naps if nec.  I know it seems backwards but as soon as he is better rested we can push things a bit.

[laura034]

Will do that. Tomorrow will be a bit all over the place as we are out for the day, but that is the one good thing about the short naps he can sleep on the go. Will let you know how we get on. Thanks again its so nice to have people who understand. Laura x

[laura034]

Hi all yesterday was great, we had a 12hr night so Ethan woke at 6.45 then he fell asleep in the car after only 2hr 45min A time when we arrived we just parked up and waited for him to wake up which he did after 35mins. On the way home he fell asleep again after 2hr 45min A time and even though we stopped the car he slept for 1hr!! I don't know if I dare put him in his cot after such a short A time I'm not sure if he would sleep without the movement of the car to rock him to sleep. What do you Thinl? Thanks Laura

[babybarr]

I think at this point it's DEFINTELY worth a shot.  We know he's OT, we know he short naps so let's work with what he seems to do naturally.  So aim for a first A of 2hrs 45mins and see what happens.  If you get a short nap aim for the same or maybe even a tad shorter, if he does a long nap aim for 3hrs.

Great night though!!!  I def. think he's getting there and it won't be long before things are looking up.

[laura034]

Hi thanks for your advice I ended up with a 3hr 20 first A time as he didn't seem tired before then. He slept for 20mins woke screaming, but by the time he got upstairs he had settled down and then slept for another 50min his second nap was short 25mins, but I was happy to get 1 long nap. We have had an early waking this morning so will try for 3 naps if they are short. I think Ethan is getting a cold so I will see how we go today. Thanks laura

[babybarr]

I really think you need to try cutting that A time just to see if that helps - you almost need to catch them just before they seem tired, cos often by then it's too late!  Esp. if you think he's getting a cold too.

Great that you're getting some resettling though.

[laura034]

Hi well I'm really fed up now yesterday was awful! After his early waking I aimed to get him asleep in his cot for a 3hr A time he seemed tired, but I put him in and he just chatted to himself for ages he fell asleep after 30mins then slept 20mins did his screaming thing for a few seconds then went back to chatting. I waited 10mins to see if he would go back to sleep but he was awake and jolly. So for his second nap I aimed for a 2hr 30min A time. I tried for 30mins to get him to sleep, but he wouldn't sleep, by the time I did get him to take his nap he had been awake 4hrs and then he slept 35mins and wouldn't go back to sleep. By this time it was too late to get a 3rd nap in so I went with an early bed time of 6.20pm, because he was a total mess and ended up this morning with a 5.45am wake up. I don't know what to do I am really down, I just want my little boy to be happy and I don't know what else to do. Thanks Laura

[babybarr]

(((hugs)))

Essentially he did an 11.5hr night which I know is no consolation but we need to look at the whole picture.  Did his cold develop?  If so things are likely to be out of whack.  I guess we have 2 options.... we can try persevering with a short A time or we bite the bullet and try and push him out.  What do you think?  I mean clearly something is amiss but we are struggling to find it.

Now forgive me if this is what you were previously doing but what about trying 4hrs A time before the first nap BUT adjust the 2nd A time if he short naps - so like you did yesterday.  Try this for a few days and see what happens.

Have you completely stopped rocking him or are you still doing this?  Only ask cos we don't want to confuse him

[laura034]

He has got a cold, but its not bothering him too much. Rocking him stopped working so I don't think that is the problem anymore and I've been trying to concentrate on naps in the cot I went for a 3hr 20 A time this morning as thats when he seemed tired, he was asleep in 5mins and slept 30mins, but woke happy which was so much nicer I didn't go and get him because I wanted to see if he would go back to sleep, but he didnt. How long A time would you do before next nap. I think I will wait until he is better before pushing his A time anymore, Thanks Laura

[babybarr]

I would do 2.5hrs - we would normally suggest 3hrs on a 1.5hr nap.

As he went to sleep quickly and woke happy at that time I would give the longer A time a shot - only in the first A time though.