13 mo old - 10.5 hour nights - why?

[Mjaz]

Hi!
Elijah is..
   -in the 2-1
   -battling some sniffles
   -always on the lower side of A times
   -super sensitive to OT

We've had a pretty solid long am/short pm nap routine going for about a month now - with sleep totals of 13-14 hours.  All was good!

But over the past couple nights we've been getting 10.5 hour nights - and I'm wondering - are these OT?  He doesn't wake happy and he seems to have a hard time making it through the same A time vs when he gets 11:15 hours (his normal night) 

After a 10.5 hour night I did the same routine with him today and got:

wake: 5:30 (usually 6:15)
A: 3:55
S: total 1:10 (normally 1:25-1:30) woke screaming - I picked him up and he put his head on my shoulder and went back to sleep - I let him go another 45 minutes, fearing he was starting to get OT

A: 3:45
S: total: 33 - (normally 45) woke screaming - had a hard time falling asleep, definitely seemed OT - but after a 2 hour nap, I thought he'd be OK here

A: 3:15
asleep: 7pm - had a very hard time falling asleep

Should I chock this all up to the sniffles?  If so, do I reduce A times to keep him from becoming OT?  By how much, do you think?  15 minutes?

Thank you!
Melinda

[*Becky*]

Hi there,
yes it does sound like he is struggling with the cold. Do you think he has any teeth coming? My DS always gets a cold with teeth, does shorter naps and nights too! I would try cutting the A time by 15 mins like you said and see if it helps at all.
It does sound like he may have some pain so you may want to try some medicine to see if it helps with the settling.
Keep us posted
Becky x

[Mjaz]

Thanks Becky.  10 hour night last night - up at 5:15.  UGH.  Yes, I think he could have teeth coming but my only indication is drooling (which he doesn't normally do)...but I don't see any other signs and can't feel anything.  Just when things are running smoothly!  Ha ha. 

I tried cutting his A time a bit.  Fingers crossed.

[*Becky*]

oh no! Yes def cut the A time back and may be time for some early nights x

[Mjaz]

Yeah.  I know.  He did 2 naps of 1:15 and 1:00 today - with A times cut back by about 15 minutes.  Should I cut back more?  He woke pretty OK from both.  My plan is for a 6:30 BT.   Thanks.

[babybarr]

EWs indicate teeth here too - unfortunately!!  I think Becky's plan sounds good.

[Mjaz]

Hey ladies,
So I was hoping we were getting back on track when Elijah did a normal 6:45-6 sleep last night.  Put him in his crib at 3:40 A time; he's usually asleep in 15 min.  Well...he fought the nap for 30 min - not crying, but just sort of having fun in his crib.  He then did a one hour nap, A time was ~4:10.  So I tried an A of 3:30 for nap 2 and got the same resistance- wouldn't even lie down.  35 min later he stopped playing and started SCREAMING.  He's currently sleeping on me in the rocking chair, as it was all I could do to stop the hysterics. A time ended up being about 4:15 which is about 30 longer than usual.  What do you think??!! Thanks!

[Mjaz]

Help!  I don't know what I'm doing wrong here :/  E is back to doing 11 hour nights for the past 2 days - but now our naps are off!  This is what today has looked like (and is IDENTICAL to yesterday) -

wake: 5:45
A: 3:50
S: 1:05 total - 9:35-10:40
A: 4:10
S: ? - DH is currently rocking him to sleep  we had him in the crib at an A time of 3:30 and he just played and played, and then, like yesterday, started screaming bloody murder around the 4 hour mark

Is this UT?  How long should he be able to go after an hour's nap?  UGHHHH.

The tweaking never ends does it?

Thanks,
Melinda

[Tweakster]

It looks a bit UT from his longer nights.  It doesn't usually take them long to catch up from OT at this age.  Playing in the crib is always UT for us, and then if we leave him too long in there the screaming starts.  Screaming and clingy off the bat is OT.

Still tweaking here at 18 mths lol  I am not sure I signed up for this kind of sleep boot camp but I seem to be stuck in it hehe

Melinda have you ever tried 1 nap with Elijah?  Like at 4.5 hrs or so?

(((hugs))) Melinda

[Mjaz]

Hey Wendy!  So you think both A times are UT?  Wow.  I never imagined E doing so much A time!  Ha.  Tomorrow I'll try a 4 hour first A?  I DEFINITELY didn't sign up for this sleep boot camp - sigh.  After that resistance at nap #2, he woke at exactly 30 minutes and was SCREAMING even though DH was holding him :/  So he obviously can't handle 4+ after the one hour nap...so was nap 1 UT and nap 2 OT?  (((((sigh)))))

I have not tried one nap with E b/c he wakes at 5:45-6am...Even if I got him to 10:30 and he did 2 hours, I don't think he'd made 12:30-6.  So I've been very hesitant, also b/c I'm so wary of OT with this kid! 

Thanks, W.

[*Becky*]

Hi,
It was at this age that we found the second nap became very tricky. 4 hours after a 1 hour nap is fine tbh. If you don't think he can handle one nap you may want to cut that first nap a little and make the second A a bit shorter.
What do you think?

[Mjaz]

OK, tried an A of 4:02 this morning - WE SHALL SEE.  Sigh.  My gut is telling me he can't handle one nap.  I tried the short am/long pm and NEVER got a long pm - so we were spiraling into OT quickly.  For some reason the long am/short pm had been working - but that's with a solid am nap.  Fingers crossed.

Thanks!
M.

[Mjaz]

one hour - woke screaming.  UGHHHHH.  how does this kid's A times regress?  we were steadily getting good naps with an A time of 3:45 and now he seems to want even less.  maybe teeth I don't know about?  his sniffles are gone and he did a 11.5 hour night last night.  HELP!

[Tweakster]

His screaming could just be his way of communicating.  He wants out of the crib, he's done sleeping, he needs more activity.  Is that possible?  Don't know, I know Elijah's always been a question mark!  I would most often say that a 1 hr nap is UT at this age.

[Mjaz]

Ahhh!  When did the rules on the one hour nap change???  Ha ha.  As you know, anything is possible with Mr. Elijah.  Should I give 4:15 a go tomorrow or back off?