20mo old-Just not napping no matter what I do. :(

[babybarr]

Try one more day and see, if no progress then you have a choice I guess... work up to a longer A time slowly - i.e. try 5.5hr then 6 etc or just bite the bullet and try a significantly longer A.  I think you were sticking to 6hrs perviously - yes? 

[J+M]

Yes we were at 6 hours A time originally and doing great at it for months and then she just stopped napping.  Perhaps teething caused her to need an earlier A time but once those teeth come in she can go back to a 6 hour A time?

It's just hard because those teeth STILL have not come in.  She just has minimal pain.  She wakes every other night around 4am and asks for Orajel but goes right back to sleep so I know she's in pain, but it's not the kind that wakes her all night long either.

So I'm just not sure, is the pain enough to move her A time earlier or not?

Hmmm....so I'll try to put her down a little after a 5 hour A and if she fusses some perhaps she'll fall asleep closer to a 5.5 hour A time and we'll see what happens from there.

Thanks SO much for your help!

[J+M]

UPDATE: I finally have great news to report!

I put her down at a 5 hour 15 min A time and she talked (not even cried, can you believe it!) in her crib for 15 min and went to sleep at 5 hour 30 min A time.  She slept for 90 minutes!    Now she's awake and talking quietly to herself in her crib so I know she feels good.

I am SOOOO happy! 

I hope this is the trend and at least I know this is the A time I need to shoot for!

I'll try to give more follow-up and see if this is really what is working and then this thread will be complete and out there for other moms reading along, too.

Thank you so much! 

[babybarr]

Yay!!  I think sometimes it is about finding the right time for them.  There are lots of mums who have started with a longer A time and have then cut it back due to teething or whatever.

Long may it continue

[J+M]

Today's update:

Well we went to the Zoo again this morning and got in the car at 5 Hr A time hoping she would sleep later in the car closer to 5h 30 min.  But she was awake the whole way home and said she was still hungry so we feed her more at home, then put her down for her nap at 5hr 50 min A time.  She talked in her crib and sang for 30 min and at 6hour 20 min A time she finally feel asleep.....and slept 2 hours and 10 min! WOW!  I can't believe it!

I'm so happy that it has been 2 great naps in a row....but the A times are so different from yesterday to today, almost a full hour difference.  So I'll try to shoot for the earlier one still but if she's up talking in her crib I'll just hope that we're still in a good window for a good amount of sleep.

What do you think?

(Oh-side note, last night she slept 11.5 hours again, same as usual).

[babybarr]

Great news!!

I would perhaps try the earlier one again and see what happens.  You can always push the time back again.

[J+M]

Well what do you think about today because it was a little off.

She slept the usual 11.5 hours last night.

I tried a 5.5A time but she was just up and down and upset in her crib.  She finally asked for a diaper change and it was needed, so perhaps that was some of it.

She cried and fussed and I had to do WI/WO on and off until she finally feel asleep at a 6.5A time...a whole hour later! 

She just woke after sleeping 55 min only and is crying.

So that's not enough sleep, right?

I'm just confused as to why she cried and fussed for a whole hour, that's a really late A time, but then if it was the right A time for her shouldn't she have slept longer?

Gosh, just not sure how to interpret this one and learn from it to help us get back on track. 

[babybarr]

Ok, why don't we (well you ) bite the bullet and just do a 6.5 hr A time and see what happens...  I think at this stage you have nothing to lose.  Perhaps she woke after only 55mins cos it was "stressful"going to sleep - what do you think?

[J+M]

Thanks...OK...so today's a new day and yesterday we just had to have her sleep in the car since I was out so don't know how much I can trust what happened yesterday.  But that was a 5 hour 50 min A time and she slept 1 hour 5 min....so today I'm going to put her in her crib at a 6 hour A time (what she's been at before so maybe she's just going back to that or nearly?) and if she fusses in her crib for a bit she will hit closer to 6.5 hour A time.   That gives me that range to hit which is about all I can try for anyway at this point since she doesn't always go down right away and I'll just see what happens.

Update to come this afternoon....Thanks!

[J+M]

UPDATE:
So I guess I'm still confused.

So I got her down in her crib at 6hr 10 min A time.  She played quietly until almost 6.5 hr A time when she just started crying and crying.  I had to do WI/WO twice which made her scream even louder...but then she suddenly stopped and went to sleep...at 6 hour 40 min A time.  So that's pretty close to the goal....but then she just woke after only sleeping 55 min and she woke crying again.

Does this seem right?

Do you think I should put her down even later and then maybe she'll just fall right to sleep rather than fighting it for half an hour or more like she is doing now?  I'm so worried of her being overly tired but I swear I've tried about every possible A time, and the 5.5-6.5 A times are what work for her, but why not consistently?  That's what is really confusing me.  Sometimes they work and other times they don't, and on back to back days, so I just don't get it at all.

What am I doing wrong?

[babybarr]

Firstly you are doing *nothing* wrong.  These toddlers are pretty tricky at the best of times.  You are actually giving her every opportunity to sleep we just need to persevere.

If she is still doing an 11.5hr night then push that nap back to 6.5hrs A - put her in the cot at that time.  TBH you may not get much more than about an hour or so if she's doing 11.5hrs at night - always good to aim for more but just something to have at the back of your mind.  Has she always woken crying from naps?

[J+M]

Thank you.  I'm going to try 6.5A time today like you suggested.  No she doesn't usually wake crying.  Honestly, she usually wakes and talks to herself and plays with her lovey in her crib a good 20-30 min and I use that time to lengthen my nap (pregnant woman here!) so waking crying is very odd for her and tells me something is wrong.

We'll see what today brings, Fingers crossed!

[J+M]

UPDATE:

So today wasn't any better.  I just don't get this!

Last night she slept the usual 11.5 hours.

OK, so today I got her in her crib at 6hour 20min.  She talked in there for 20 min until she started crying at 6 hour 40min.  I had to do WI/WO a couple times where she cried hysterically, and then she just stopped and fell asleep at 7 hour 0 min A time.

I mean, 7 hour A time, that's late right?

She slept 37 min and woke screaming.

This is the same result as with the 5 hour A and 6 hour A, and now a 7 hour A....I just don't get it.

If I keep getting the same result how can I even know what A time I should be shooting for?

I seriously think I've tried every possible scenario at this point over these past few weeks and just don't even know where to go from here. 

[babybarr]

Is she teething I can't remember?  It perhaps sounds like some sort of discomfort given A time changing has made no difference.  Give ibuprofen and hour before nap time and see if that helps.  Did she have reflux as a baby?

I think for the next week you stick with a longer A time (be that 6.5 or 7hr - whichever you think best) and do that every day.  Would she go back to sleep with some AP or coaxing when she wakes after such a short time? 

[J+M]

She is teething.  The two days I actually had good naps were days I didn't even give her medicine, if you can believe it!  But the past 2 days she's been especially upset so I gave her Ibuprofen before her lunch which she eats before her nap.  But these past 2 days the naps were still bad.

She DID have very bad reflux as a baby and finally weaned off her reflux meds at 15 months old. 

OK, so I'm going to do this...put her down around or just after a 6 hour A so that if she hangs in her crib talking or I have to do a little WI/WO she'll still be going down around a 6.5 hr A time.

Oh, and she won't go back to sleep after she wakes crying.  I think I had success only one time trying but none of the other times so I just give up on the nap now.

I'll be checking back in later today...thank you!!!!