1 nap or 2 today

[NZ_Mum]

Hey Sophie, I know it can seem crazy the A times they can do when switching to one nap.
When DS switched, he would get tired earlier in the day than i would have liked around 11am and then have a good long nap (2/2.5/3hrs) and then do a huge A time before bed (because he'd refuse a CN - i gave up on them after a while). Pretty much exactly as you have described!! And the good news (well for us anyway) was then that he would sleep right through the night till the next morning and started doing longer nights as well. He would sleep 12-13hrs at night and do 2hrs during the day.
On the days when he woke up earlier than i would have liked (before 730) then we would do a 2 nap day, which made BT very late but then he would also sleep in the next morning (till 8am) which would then make it a 1 nap day IYKWIM?

We did this day/nap shuffle for quite a few weeks as he got used to it, doing long nights and one nap days and sometimes short nights and 2 nap days.

Hope that helps, let us know how your night went... FX!

[Lola's Mum]

Well, she woke a couple of times before I went to sleep but settled herself and then woke at 12.00 and 2am. They weren't long NWs but I just had to give her bottle of water back and Bubba. Normally she can do this herself. She then woke at 6.20. It makes it a 11:20 night, which I guess isn't an EW . But I thought she might have slept for 12 or 13 hours. I'm thinking it was OT last night but really don't know when would have been the good time as she was so hyper throughout.

Cathy, I have a feeling Lola might also prefer a shorter A in the morning and longer in the PM.

Thinking that with the early WU time I should do 2 naps today. Or would you stick with 1. I just don't want BT and WU to get earlier and earlier.

Thanks....

[sianie]

I'd prob aim for 2 naps today Sophie so she doesn't get too OT!

[Lola's Mum]

Thanks. Think so as she's looking tired and it's only just after 2 hours.

[NZ_Mum]

Yeah I'd go for two naps today too.

Multiple wakings during the night always leave DS tired early the next day, even if they werent for long...

Hope you have a better day today. 

[bug_blues70]

Hey Sophie! Just a thought... is she possibly waking b/c you are in her room and she might hear you moving around or something? I only slept in the same room with Ellen once (no choice) and she woke up all night long...

[Lola's Mum]

Hi Megan, thanks for the thought. It's a good point. We slept in the same room until 1 year and then since moving to new flat, for about 3 weeks when her molars came in. During that time she did a combination of STTN and not, although I've usually slept in there since moving here because she's going through a teething phase and waking a lot. It could be me that's waking her now, although never used to be a problem. In fact, DP has slept in there sometimes and I was initially really worried because he snores like a ship coming in to dock (or several ships together) and I was sure it would wake her . Quite often she STTN. But I guess it could be a case of a noise waking her if she happens to be at at stage of light sleep. I'm going to sleep in there tonight at least as I think DP has tonsillitis.

It's going to be about a 7.40 BT tonight, so I'm hoping for a later WU tomorrow. If it's 6.30 again, I think I'll have to definitely try not sleeping in there.

[sianie]

Maybe try some white noise Sophie?

DD's & DS's bedrooms are next to each other so both have fans on at night (turned away against a far wall), which really helps them not wake each other up but also stops them being woken by other noises like birds early in the AM (we live near the coast so Seagulls are really noisy 1st thing  !)

[Lola's Mum]

 I used to have a hairdryer track play on a loop all night until a few months ago when DP broke my ipod. I have a new one now so could put the docking station in her room and try it again if it is noise. But not sure she needs it all night. Might try tomorrow though. 

As annoying as it might be to live near those noisy seagulls, it sounds quite lovely to me. It's my dream to live by the sea (it's being a cancerian I think!).

Today our day looked like this:

WU: 6.20
Nap 1: 10.13 - 11.45 (after A 3:53 time)
Nap 2: 4.09 - 4.39  (after 4:24 A time)
BT: 7.45 (after just over 3 hour A time)

She resisted Nap 2 a bit but it didn't take too long in the end. I thought I'd tried too late. It seems like a bit of a long day after a 6.20 A time but I guess that's the problem with 2 nap days when they're doing long A times. I'm really hoping for a later WU tomorrow. Might try a 1 nap day if she wakes later and she doesn't seem OT during the night.

[sianie]

lol Sophie...I used to think that but they do drive me mad at 5 AM every morning!

Hows it going today?

[Lola's Mum]

Hi Sian

She woke a few times in the night and then at 6.40 this morning and was crying so I knew she was still tired. Got her to go back to sleep with white noise and she slept till 8am. Went for a 1 nap day. 4:15 for the first A time. She woke after 1:15, which was nearly a nightmare as it was going to be too late for a 2nd nap but not really long enough for 1 nap. She was a bit hysterical so I sat her on me to calm her down and she went back off. Put her back down and she slept for another 1.5 hours, so 2:45 in total. Was going for a 4.5 hour last A as the other day it was too long and she wouldn't settle. She seemed really lively trying to do WD and then she stood up in the cot and yelled and I thought it was going to be a repeat of the other night. But then she decided to lie down and go to sleep, which was great. The A time was 4:40 in the end. Not sure if those A times are long enough for a 1 nap day and if the 2nd A time should have been longer after such a long nap. But we'll see. She looked really tired this morning so must have really needed it. Hopefully she won't wake at 6.30 ish.

[sianie]

It's a tricky balance......ideally they need to be able to handle around 5hrs A time comfortably to manage on 1 nap (i.e. 5hr AM A-time/2hr nap/5hr PM A-time).

The problem you get (which you're finding) is when their A-times are around 4/4.5hrs. If they do a good long nap this can be managable for a 1 nap day.

[Lola's Mum]

Do you think for a 1 nap day, 2:45 mins isn't too long for the nap if the A times are only between 4:15 and 4:40. In fact, is a longer than 2 hour nap preferable while they transition.

[sianie]

To start with I would tend to let them sleep for as long as they need when they first transition....I know some LO's can sleep up to 3hrs!

M used to sleep around 2.5hrs I think, then as she got older we had to cap it.

[NZ_Mum]

Argh I had just written out a post and DS pushed the reset button on my computer!!

Sounds like you are doing well so far, its all about judging them each day and night and every A time after.
I think you made the right call(s) when you put her back to sleep etc rather than going for a 2 nap day at that point in the day.

I think that a 2:45nap is pretty good actually at this point of the transition. She'll need to do some catching up for a while, when getting used to the single nap and longer A's. Then as Megan says they'll either shorten it themselves by just needing less sleep or you'll have to cap it so they dont wake UT in the night. (Just wait for an UT NW and then start capping if you have to)

While she can only manage 4ish hr A times it's ok to have the long nap, and then go with the flow for a while doing one nap and two nap days as the sleep needs cycle round. I started to think more about the total sleep my DS was getting over a period of a few days (and even the week as a whole) rather than the sleep needs of each day individually. (Although these definitely do count as well!)
Then as he was able to handle the longer A's his sleep needs started to level out and so did his routine and then he was consistently on one nap and handling it well.

Keep us posted...