Help needed with A times and naps UPDATED We're in a mess :(

[Shiv52]

Things seem to be evening out which is good!  She is a wee star isn't she?  Maeve always had a long A time to bed if she skipped the CN and managed it well.

Hope tonight goes well.  Keep me posted.  I read on your other thread she's hit a growth spurt?  You may find in a week when its over she'll be ready for a bit more A time and then you will beable to just consider the CN gone if she's managing the longer A time to bed ok. 

Well done to you both!!!

[cuckoochick]

Thanks! She STTN 6:35-6:25 so I am very happy! She has STTN on nights where we haven't had the catnap but I realise it will be important to offer it depending upon the 2nd nap. That seems to be the crunch point to the day.

Not sure if it is the GS or not but she's just having a few hungry days so it could be. She really seems to be starting to enjoy her solids more now and seems to be having big developmental leaps at the moment too: trying to sit, blowing raspberries and just playing with toys a lot better. She is lovely!

[Shiv52]

She has STTN on nights where we haven't had the catnap but I realise it will be important to offer it depending upon the 2nd nap. That seems to be the crunch point to the day.

I think this is a good way to approach it!   and hopefully in a couples of weeks her A time will stretch again and the CN will be gone.  I think she will do much better on 2 naps and longer A times and it really does take the guessing out of it which is lovely!

There is a big developmental leap at 6 months.  Sitting up is such an exciting phase.  Rosa can do it by herself now with no cushions and she loves it!  I didn't appreciate the sitting stage enough with Maeve.  It was lovely as she was content to sit and play and amuse herself for a bit but not able to move around so you could run to the loo and she'd still be in the same spot when you got back.  Once she started moving....well thats was fun!!!

[cuckoochick]

Thanks! We're running a bit behind today with counselling session so hope the day won't get too screwed up!

[Shiv52]

Fingers crossed. 

Hope counselling goes ok xx

[cuckoochick]

Urgh, I am ready to run away.

We are definitely in a mess with this CN malarkey. Last two days she has refused it but then has also fought bedtime, massively and ended up with ridiculous last A times. I am at my wits end today. She is NOT crying, fussing, anything- just won't go to sleep. She has been awake since 2:50pm today and it is now 7:10pm and DH is up there trying to get her to go to sleep: rocking, patting the whole kit and kaboodle but is she crying NO! Just awake, awake, awake. Mega OT- so here's to a great night.

I don't think I can take this for the next few months. I just wish she would be at 3hrs A time already and then we might not be anywhere near this bad.

[cuckoochick]

DH has just come down.

[Shiv52]

{{{{HUGS}}}

Is that her asleep now?

How is she handling the 2.30 A time?  Is she wrecked by the end of it or do you time she could manage more? 

I don't think I can take this for the next few months.

We'll make sure it won't be months!  I'd say she'll have it dropped and onto 2 naps before she's 7 months if not before.

When we were on 2 naps our routine was something like:
8am Wake up
11am Nap
12.30pm Wake up
3.30pm Nap
5pm Wake up
8.30pm Bed (she always liked her last A time to be the longest)

So you need C's A times to up a bit but also her naps to be consistently 1.5 hours to get you closer to bedtime if she skips that CN.  Do you think she would tolerate another 10 minutes A time?  Might get you a slightly longer nap and then push the day out a bit too so if she refuses the CN its a slightly shorter A time to bed (even though its a long A time).

What do you think?

[cuckoochick]

Hi, thanks Shiv. You really are an angel.

I think I will try to stretch out her A times. Today she did a 2nd A of 2hr 35 as she has been resisting the 2nd nap a bit more and we got 1 hr 25 min nap. 2nd nap has been 1hr 30ish for the last few days and I think if she would take a catnap it would be on a longer A time and that is obviously going to push the day back. We had an 11hr night last night so I know things need tweaking again. She is never unhappy really so will try to push by 10 minutes tomorrow as when it is usually OT I can extend.

Bedtime has been weird the last 2 nigjts as she has had long a times, got very drowsy on the boob but as soon as I took her off, she got a 2nd wind. It took over an hour to settle her the last two nights so know I will have to bring it even earlier. I'm just worried our days are going to get earlier and earlier.

So will shoot for 2hr 40 mins tomorrow and see how we go. Thank you x

[Shiv52]

Yeah i think she will manage the extra A time ok.  I think you are right that things are needing tweaking.  You read her very well! 

Early bedtimes are a tough one.  Maeve never tacked on lost day sleep to her night sleep, just woke 11/11.5 hours later leading to another early start.  I tended to stick to a fairly set bedtime regardless of waking but early bedtimes can work for lots of babies.

If you thought she would take the CN it is ok for your day to be 12.5/13 hours and 11.5/11 hours at night until her A time is high enough for her to manage without it.  But she'd need to take the CN!!!!

[cuckoochick]

Yep, I said to DH we need her to take the catnap. This time of day has always been her most lively and happy time of day. I think we'd be good for a half 6 bedtime (she will sometimes do 12.5 hr nights) if I could get that last nap to end nearer to 3:30pm.

Well, off to bed as predicting a rubbish night and need to be ready for tomorrow!! Thanks x

[Shiv52]

Hope the night and today are as bad as you thought x

[TashArnall]

My 7 week old has started a trend of 30-45 min naps this last 2 weeks. At first I didn't think anything of it, but not it's happening all the time.
we are on a 3 hr easy starting at 630-7am
I don't know what to do with her when she wakes up way way early until her E time. I've tried putting her back to sleep, sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. I spend up to an hour trying to get her back to sleep, then it's time for her next feed so I give up. It's exhausting!! I've tried WTS a few times. But it's hard because it looks like to me like she's hardly ever in deep sleep. I don't try it unless she looks like she's in deep sleep, or else there's no point I think.
Please help.

[cuckoochick]

Thanks for thinking of us Shiv. It wasn't too bad in the end. I just get myself in such a panic because I just want the right sleep for her, for us all.

So she woke at 11:30pm and DH resettled her fairly easily within about 5 minutes. Then awake for a NF at 4:50 and up for the day at 6:30am so an 11.5hour night ish.

Today....she refused the catnap again. I just knew she would not sleep. She was on top form, laughing, playing etc etc. So I tried for 15 minutes. Knew I would fail so just put her straight in the bath for the bedtime routine. How long should I try? I mean if I kept going, she would eventually go to sleep but I don't know when??? Then the day gets longer and longer and I am terrified that she will be up at 9pm from being up at 6:30am.

So here is today. Let me know what you think/what I need to do.

I went for 2hr 40. Nap 2 was weird. Let me know what you think!

Awake and E 6:25
A 2hr 40 mins
S 9:05- 10:30 (1hr 25 mins)
E 10:30
A 2hr 40 mins
S 1:10 – 1:45 (woke at 35 mins- didn’t seem OT at all as she always wakes at 30 mins on the nose if OT, no crying- just very still and awake, sucking on hands.  Took 15 mins to resettle 2-3:05pm (1hr 5 mins) TOTAL= 1hr 40 mins
E 3:10pm
A
S Tried for 15 mins but was obvious she wouldn’t sleep for catnap (see above)
A Bath and bedtime routine
E 6:05pm
A (3 hrs 35 mins)
S 6:40pm
NF 2:30am
Wake up: 6:50am

So....where do I go from here? Do I stick with 2hr 40 tomorrow?

Thank you ever so much!

ETA: How the night went.

[cuckoochick]

Ok so here was today. Nap 2 was weird again as she was resisting going to sleep so her A time was 2hr 50 minutes. Maybe I need to increase her A times again? I am still getting a good 1st nap on 2hr 40 but she seems to hang on to her old A times for the first nap for ages but it's the 2nd nap that will blow us out of the water.

Awake and E 6:50
A 2hr 40
S 9:30-11am (1hr 30 mins)
E 11
A 2hr50 (would not go down easily)
S 1:50-3:15 (1hr 25 mins)
E 3:15
A
E 6:05 (loooong feed- ½ hour)
S 6:50 (A time= 3hrs 35 mins)
Woke up 7:05-7:15 back to sleep (I think the neighbours woke her)

We decided not to go for the catnap as her 2nd A had been 2hr 50 so then bedtime would have been ridiculously late although I was aiming for her to be asleep at BT slightly earlier but she fed for so long. Again very happy at BT, cooing, laughing, blowing raspberries right up until she went to sleep.

Not sure whether to go with 2hr 50 A time tomorrow or stretch a bit more? Any ideas?

Thank'n'you!