Support for dropping the nap age 2-3 part 2..

[andysmom0614]

I assume all his teeth are in by this point?  He's not ill?  Is throwing up normal for him when upset?

No, he is not ill and all his teeth have been in since he was 2. He has never thrown up before that night. He never really had a tummy that got sick that way. It was very odd for him. My DH and I thought nerves, but perhaps it was just a little tummy flu.

I worry about capping the sleep an an hour as well. OT seems to be an issue. Yesterday's day was as follows:

6am wake
1-2:15pm nap
Bath 7:30
8:20 asleep
5:50am awake and happy. No NW

When I add the number of hours, he is about 11 with a nap. 11.5 when he didn't have a nap. This seems right on target to me.

Today my mom is waking him at 45 minutes. I am hoping 1 sleep cycle at the nap will lengthen his night a little bit, but I am very scared he will be OT and NW.

Backing up the bedtime seemed to have helped some as his did not NW. I wonder if this is a gradual process of backing up the bedtime as you shorten the nap? Maybe my mistake was never making his bedtime earlier so OT became a problem?

I can see how OT/UT just keeps looping around and around. My mom keeps telling me she never worried about my sleep like I worry about my DS. I wish I was more like her.

Is it hard to wake up your LO's? Mine is horrible to wake up and he is so unhappy when I do.

[Tweakster]

Hugs hon.  My kid is a bear to wake, I dread it.  He wakes totally miserable whether he is well slept or not.  If he wakes on his own, he's fine.  Happy even.  He also takes a long time to fully 'wake up' these days.  He just hangs out in his crib and rolls around until he's good and ready to get up, even after a nap.  If we try to take him out before he's ready, forget it. 

It absolutely is about backing up bedtime, I have made that mistake many a time.  You need an earlier bedtime for your LO.  So instead of a bath can you have him in bed by 7:30 to start?  What's the earliest you can get him to sleep?  With your day posted there, I would make a 7 bedtime.  If you can get him regularly doing 11 hrs at night, you can then start to work to shift your day where you need it to be.  At 3 it is still likely he needs 12 hrs overall in a day.  He may fluctuate while you drop the nap totally though.  And that is where you give them the option to tack on at night.

Becky, it's going to be near impossible to stick to something 100%, that is what I am learning.  I need to act and respond to the cues and signs and the fact that he tells us he's tired.  We can't push too hard or we get a VERY cranky and inconsolable kid.  I think you will have to be prepared for some flexibility here. 

[*Becky*]

I need to act and respond to the cues and signs and the fact that he tells us he's tired.

there very rarely are any - everyone comments on it. He never really looks tired but on no nap days he is emotional and stroppy the next day.

[babybarr]

It absolutely is about backing up bedtime

Totally agree with this.  O didn't want a shower tonight - told me he was too tired and wanted jammies and bed!

Becky I think as they get older and take less and less naps they become more aware of when they need to sleep - or that's what I've found anyway.  However with H as he is a touchy thing I'd try an hr nap and see what happens.

[andysmom0614]

You need an earlier bedtime for your LO.  So instead of a bath can you have him in bed by 7:30 to start?  What's the earliest you can get him to sleep?

Thank you for the advice! I haven't tried earlier because he always maxed out at 10.5 hours at night, even when he was younger. So, I didn't want him to start getting 5am wake ups. So, the earliest bedtime I've done with a nap is 8pm. He takes about 20 minutes to settle down to sleep. But, maybe that is what needs to be done. I think I will experiment with 8pm bedtime this week to see if he STTN all week. If he does, I'll try backing it up to 7:45pm next week and then 7:30 by the following week.

there very rarely are any - everyone comments on it. He never really looks tired but on no nap days he is emotional and stroppy the next day

Sometimes the only sign of tired that I get is poor behavior. No eye rubs or yawns anymore. Just the inability to transition from one activity to the next without massive meltdowns. I thought it was just him due to the PDD/SPD though.

[Tweakster]

When nap dropping the early bedtime is the key.  They do seem to have their sleep more developed at this point and can tack on to their nights.  I would never have believed it with my LO after 24 mths of not doing so...but alas he has been.  So at 3 I think your LO would manage it.  We NEVER got more than 10 at night, and then one day, BAM we had to start waking him in the mornings.  It was bewildering but also exciting lol  But then of course LO gets too slept and the UT loops begin...arrgh, ack.

When it's taking too long to go off at night, I have found that a lot of the time it's a second wind.  The inability to transition as you mention is a huge key.  When F starts falling over on the ground, head hung over and crying his heart out because his Lego fell apart, we know it's time to whisk to bed!

Becky hugs, I know the transition is not going to be easy with Henry but as you mention, he's older and you haven't tried a cap for 5 mths.  Give it a try, we're here to help you.

[~*Nicole*~]

How come my kid is the only one who never tells me she is tired and wants to go to bed. Nap or no nap she'll NEVER admit she needs sleep! LOL

AND what is this tacking on sleep to their night thing you speak of? (I MIGHT be able to get that if I could actually get the girl to fall asleep at the time I PLAN on her being asleep hehehe )

[Tweakster]

LOL Nicole, some kids are trickier hey

Finn always says 'no' when we ask him straight out.  But then tonight when we were getting ready for bed he said 'bed please' so there's hope for all kids!!!

The tacking is only new so hard to say whether it's just a phase or something we can count on.  I'm not actually holding out for anything with this final nap transition.  If it goes smoothly then I'll be a monkey's uncle.

7ish wake up, 1 hr 20 nap today and I pulled bedtime back to 7:30 - he asked for his bed and he was out in minutes.  My theory is that if we can get on top of any OT at the start of the week that it might help keep the rest of the week more balanced and hopefully kibosh the night chopping which normally inevitably happens...

[babybarr]

Finn always says 'no' when we ask him straight out.

O's the same!! 

Nicole we only get night tacking at the beginning of the night.  No waking in the morning for us!

[*Becky*]

How come my kid is the only one who never tells me she is tired and wants to go to bed. Nap or no nap she'll NEVER admit she needs sleep! LOL

No you are not alone - same here although I can remember saying I was not tired as a kid when clearly I was

Thanks Laura and Wendy - 

[~*Nicole*~]

Truthfully we DO get sleep tacked on at the beginning IF I can get her into bed early enough AND she falls asleep early enough. So there is that.

[babybarr]

What you whinging about then Nicole?

[andysmom0614]

Andy never told us he was tired before this week. He would just run wild. He is finally coming out with he is cold/hot or if he has a rock in his shoe. He couldn't communicate that before at all. As he approaches 3, he seems to becoming aware of a lot of things in relation to his body.  

He STTN again last night. Seems like capping the nap at an hour and earlier bedtime has done the trick for now. I'm sure this won't last.

Yesterday:
5:45a wake
12:35-1:40 nap
8:20 alsleep
6:20am woke this morning

Seems about perfect for him. He's never slept more than 11.5 hours total even as a newborn. Seems like I can only get 11.5 now if he has no nap and he can't handle it every day.[

When it's taking too long to go off at night, I have found that a lot of the time it's a second wind.

This makes perfect sense. Can't believe it has taken me 3 years to understand this! 

[~*Nicole*~]

What you whinging about then Nicole? Wink Tongue

Well, b/c I use "tacking on" for just an 11.5 to 12 hour night AND that that rarely happens as I can have her in bed at 6:45/7 (on a 7:30 wake up) and she'll still stay awake until after 8! LOL

[mmom]

We don't get any additional sleep here.  M will just wake up earlier if I put him down earlier.  The other issue is that he is impossible to get to bed at 6, because DH gets home at 5 and M gets wound up. But on the rare nights that we have gotten him down that early, he wakes at 5.  I really think he only needs 11 hours in a 24 hour period.