So I think we need a routine tweak!

[sianie]

Hi!

So DS is now 13 mo...we've been doing set nap times with him since he was around 8 mo & these have worked pretty well (bar illness/teething etc).

Our current routine is something like the below:

WU: Between 6am-7am (it had been around 6.30/6.45am but WU's are starting to get earlier...)
Nap: 10am - 11.30am (1.5hrs pretty consistently)
Nap: 2.45-3.45pm (1hr usually)
BT: Around 7pm

So I'm thinking that he's now maybe getting too much DT sleep (usually 2.5hrs total). He's still going down ok for naps but he's taking longer to settle at BT (babbles away) & his WU's are getting earlier (around 6am or a bit earlier). At the moment that's still between 10.45/11hr night which I know isn't a disaster but I want to stop it from becoming earlier & earlier to so avoid getting back into an UT/OT loop which always takes him ages to get out of  ! We haven't been hearing a peep out of him once he settles at BT until he wakes so I'm thinking he's UT.

I'm trying to get my head around cutting his nap &/or later BT. Maybe cut the PM nap back to 45mins but not sure what do do with BT?

Any new eyes would be appreciated!   

[deckchariot]

It sounds like he's ready for the 2 to 1 nap switch.  Have you checked out this thread:  http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=95670.0 ?  You can also find help here:  http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=173945.0

hth
michelle

[sianie]

Yeah, thanks Michelle have read those links & am on the support thread!

He kind of started 2:1 at around 11 mo, but we cut his naps back a bit too much & ended up in a bit of an OT loop that was a nightmare to get out of.

We've been doing long AM/short PM but I think the PM nap might need to be made shorter still?

[Buntybear]

I would cut the shorter nap back hun. Keeps your nice BT of 7pm for a bit longer  . You might have to stick that 15 mins (or whatever you cut off) somewhere else though? Wherever you think he can handle it best.

[sianie]

Hmmm.....I think so too.

He's already thrown a bit of a spanner in the works as he only slept for an hour this AM, woke up crying which usually means OT for him (he was awake at 6.10am), so will have to do a longer PM nap to catch-up  . Typical, this is what I was trying to avoid as when this happens it usually throws things for a few days  !

[Buntybear]

Oh dear  Would you cut his next A time although you do set naps?

[sianie]

Yep, will move it a bit earlier & FX he makes up a bit of sleep!

[Mom to M&M]

Have you considered short AM (like 45 minutes) and longer PM nap? So if he woke at 6:30 do first nap from 10-10:45 and then PM nap 1:30-3, with bedtime then 6:45/7?

[sianie]

Thanks Karen....yep have considered it but the thing that makes it tricky is that DD is at nursery 2 to 3 days a week & I have to pick her up at 2pm which would clash with DS's long PM nap. So ATM, long AM/short PM is the only option (that I know of, lol!).

Well he seems to have gone down ok for his PM nap (went down at 2.30pm) so we'll see how long he sleeps, 'tho it will effect BT as this is usually his short nap & I need him to sleep a bit longer to make up for the AM nap....

[Mom to M&M]

Ah, I see (and totally understand - we had a similar issue for the first year of DS's life). Given that I might try to extend his morning nap a bit - maybe push it from 10 until 10:15/10:30. Then wake him after 1.5 hours if not up and aim for 30-45 minutes PM nap? So like nap 10:30-12, then nap 3:30-4, then bedtime 6:45/7?

[sianie]

It is a PITA...!

I think that's what we need to work towards Karen....'tho until he's waking a bit later we're a bit stuck I think!

FW he does a longer night tonight (but who knows as his naps were a bit messed up!)

[sianie]

Ugh, what an awful night!!

E took over 40 mins to settle at BT, so didn't go to sleep until around 8pm, was a bit unsettled during the evening then he woke at 4am and babbled away on & off until around 5am then went quiet for about half an hour, babbled, when quiet again so I have no idea whether he went back to sleep or not (I didn't!!) he was awake when I went in just before 7am & he was smiling away like he'd had a good nights sleep 

He must have been OT after y'days naps but it's unusual for him to wake babbling in the night from OT as usually he cries out!

Hoping we'll have a better day today!

[sianie]

Luckily he did a 1.5hr nap this morning (woke him at 11.30am), was worried we'd get a short OT nap that would throw things even more.

Just not sure what to do with his PM nap....do I keep it at an hour so he has caught up a bit from last night or cut back to 45 mins?? He usually goes down at 2.45pm (has been doing 1 hr) with BT around 7pm....any thoughts?

[Mom to M&M]

I'd probably cut it to 45 minutes - so from 2:45-3:30 and still do bedtime at 7. Hope it all works out and you have a better night!

[sianie]

Thanks Karen...do you think that 3.5hrs A after a 45 min nap is too much? 'Tho I don't want to do BT much early really & risk an early WU tomorrow which puts us back in the OT loop  !  I've always found that A before BT tricky to work out!