Support Thread for 2-1 Nap Transition cont'd pt 4

[clairebear79]

Oh no Cyndie!  Sounds like maybe he was a tad UT & so he fought settling to sleep & by the time he eventually settled, he was OT.  We've had that happen a few times with Oliver.  Maybe see how he fares over the next few days, if it carries on you may need to just increase his A time before that nap a touch.  O is doing at least 3hrs after a 30min nap now (today almost 4  ).

Just reading the bit about maybe doing long AM/short PM, maybe that would work better for you to fit around school runs   And that way you can work on gradually pushing the AM nap later & later, which stands you in good stead then for switching to 1 nap.  I must say, it really did help us with getting rid of our EW, but I found if I let him sleep more than 1.5hrs I would struggle to get a PM nap out of him at all.  I think if you were going to try jumping straight to 1 nap, it might be difficult if you are still getting the EW as he is going to get VERY OT.  So doing long AM/short PM might be a stepping stone to help you get there IYSWIM?

Could it just be a comfort thing?

Sounds like it could be.  Is there any chance she is becoming dependent on you to help her go back to sleep

I think it will take O quite a while to adjust to nursery & I just have to accept that he's not going to sleep as well there as he does at home.  I think they will also soon realise that they need to put him in the blacked out room to have any chance whatsoever of him taking a nap!  I did warn them!!!

He slept 12hrs last night & has been at MIL's today.  Had 2 naps there, 30min AM nap 10-10.30 & then they finally got him down at 2.20pm for 1.5hrs.  So almost 4hrs A after a 30min nap.  I really can't believe him atm.  I'm actually thinking these huge A times after such a short nap are the cause of these 40min naps & that they are OT.  Hmmm.

[lulunut]

Sabs-I agree, sounds like a comfort thing.  My LO needed to have his hand under my armpit squeezing the skin there.  This has always been his sleep thing!  If he can't get the right skin to hand ratio he cries! Funny but annoying!

New Mama-I hear your frustration.  Hugs for you.  Do what works in order for everyone to be happy.  Car sleep or no car sleep.  You can always adjust things later.  I had to do it with the constant EW.  I just slept with him.  Everyone got more sleep that way.  Now it's time to stop though!

Claire-do what you have to do on daycare days and make the rest better schedule sleep days.  It will work itself out.  My Lo does pre-school 3 half days a week and he is so OT these days.  It takes a few days to get back and then it starts a again but he does make up for it on the at home days.

Last night was the first night in weeks that he had BT at 7:45 and wake at 6:15!!! No NW!!!  Yay!

Today was a school day and then to Grannies so 1 hour nap for him (OS AND OT)  I tried an Early BT but he was squiggly so he didn't go down until 8pm.  I expect a NW or EW or both!!!

[scucci1979]

great job!!

I do think it is a comfort thing. i started to leave her to fuss a little and she normally settles. It is so annoying but cute at the same time.
I think she was too OS before bed last night b/c she had a difficult time settling. She was running around with there sister 10min before bed. Not your ideal wd but they were having so much fun. She did sleep on her own for 2hours.    anyhow, put her down at 7:30pm and she didn't fall asleep closer to 7:45pm( I think). Woke this am at 6:30am. I am used to her sleeping in a later. Oh well.

[clairebear79]

lulunut - yay for no NW!!!

Sabs - sounds like you are doing right to hold back a little while she fusses & self settles.  It must be so hard to calm her down before bed with a big sister to entertain her!

I am used to her sleeping in a later. Oh well.

IKWYM. 

We got 5.50am today (after a 7pm BT).    Me thinks OT has set in.  He's been a horror  today, very over excited, arching his back & throwing himself backwards whenever I try to pick him up, fussing, crying, etc etc.  I held him out til 10am for his nap (trying to be consistent) & I think it was a mistake as I reckon he'd already got his second wind by then.  Very grumpy when I woke him after 30mins, & was rubbing his eyes at 12.30.  Then got all excitable again.  I'd planned to do 3hrs A as I think we went too far with 3.5hrs A after a 30min nap.  Plus if it works it will give him a decent A time before BT.

Now I'm sitting here feeling very anxious b/c he's not sounding like he's going to settle & if he does I'm worried he'll only sleep 40mins again.  

[scucci1979]

hugs Claire. I think we are also OT here.

I put her down at 11:55pm and she woke up 1hr and 10min later. I had to hold her back to sleep. Sigh. She was medicated so it has to be OT. 

I am always anxious when it comes to sleep. 

How did it go?

[clairebear79]

Oh shame.  Hope you managed to get a decent nap in the end?

Surprisingly O's PM nap went really well after the 3hr A.  No wakeups at all, he slept solidly til 3.20pm when I decided I should wake him as he'd been asleep 1h 45 & he wouldn't have enough A to BT otherwise.  We put him down at 6.50pm & I don't think he was tired enough to sleep - he was growling & shouting for quite a while before he went off at 7.10pm ish.  Here's hoping we don't get EW tomorrow. 

[scucci1979]

well, that was a good afternoon.

She officially woke up at 2pm. Overall nap was 2hrs. Put her down for bed at 7:30pm and she chatted for a bit.  Woke up at 4:30am for a cuddle.  Went back down until 6:50am.  Do you think I am missing her window for bed or is it just UT again. I doubt I have to increase her A time.
Anyhow, come 12pm she climbed the stairs and went straight to her room, telling me she wanted to go sleep.

[scucci1979]

ladies, what do I do today. she only napped for about 1hr and 40mins. No desire to go back. Official wu time was 1:45pm.  Do I do a 7pm bt, latest 7pm. or try for a cn.

both kids will have a bt of 7pm tonight. 

[clairebear79]

Sabs - not sure if you'll get this in time, IIWM I'd probably do 7pm BT rather than CN.

How long does she chat for when she goes to bed   Oliver also chatters when I put him down, he rarely goes straight to sleep unless he's absolutely exhausted.  The norm for us is around 10mins chatter before sleep & that's at both naptime & BT.  So I always PD 10mins before I want him asleep. Sometimes he chats for a little longer, but if its any more than 20mins I put it down to UT.  I think if she just chatters for a short while it really is totally fine.  I've learned its better for them to go down like that that pass out the moment their heads hit the pillow, b/c if they fall into a deep sleep too quickly they are more likely to EW, whereas if they chat themselves to sleep & drift off more slowly, they should sleep later in the morning.  How true it is, IDK but it does make sense!

Today we ended up having a 1 nap day.  He just didn't seem tired come naptime.  I PD at 9.50am & I swear he was charging around in his cot like a boy posessed.  Wouldn't let me put on his sleeping bag at all.  We had a bit of that yesterday too although after a bit of shouting he did eventually settle.  This is after 4hrs A time.  So I decided to get him back up & do a 1 nap day.  It went:

Wake: 6.10
Nap:  11.40 - 2.05
BT:    7.05

He napped solidly for 1.5hrs, then cried a little as he was woken by a passing car.  I thought that was nap over but he went back to sleep!  Seems like a good day but I'm not sure if maybe his day was too long & I am just risking OT with day being almost 13hrs.  O also seems to sleep a shorter night if his day is longer.  Its so hard when they are waking as early as 6am though.  I don't really want to do EBT b/c that will just encourage an even earlier WU, though maybe if I tried at 6.30pm he's still sleep to 6am in which case I'd know I could repeat the same & then work on shifting the day forwards.  I guess I will have to see what WU we get tomorrow won't I?

[scucci1979]

LOL Claire. We seem to think alike. 7pm bt is was i did.

she normally chats for 10min sometimes 15min.
good point about the EW. She did pass out quickly this evening due to her short nap.

Claire, your day looks fab! Good luck for tonight.

[aidenmc]

Hi ladies. Just wanted to pop on and say that since we started sleep training back in mid-August we've been on 1 nap. There was no choice as we knew he would not go down for a second nap on his own, even after a very short am nap. Even though he is sometimes a little tired mid-morning, things are so much better. We are basically on a set nap and bedtime (12:20ish and 6:30). They aren't exactly where I'd like them, and sometimes he's up at 5:30, but the predictability is so nice. Even with that early morning he manages just fine on the one nap and is generally sttn (wakes sometimes for meds as he's teething molars). And S is taking much less time to fall asleep. He has just started daycare and is sleeping short there (1hr or less) but is still happy till bedtime and is asleep in a couple of minutes!

Anyway, all that to say that although he needed a little time to adjust, I no longer have to think about what to do when he is up early, or how long to go from 1st to 2nd nap, not having to fight him to sleep in the pm. So if you are still struggling, you will get there and maybe a set nap time might help.

[clairebear79]

Becky - that's really great to hear!  I did see your thread so I knew he was STTN & you'd dealt with the prop issues - what an achievement!!!!!  Set nap time is the sort of thing I have in mind, as at least it takes away the guesswork & the constant adjusting of A times, AND it gives them more consistency. 

I am struggling to fathom out what naptime to use for a set nap though, as b/c of our 6am starts, he can't make it all the way to 12/12.30 for a PM nap.

Yesterday I did 1 nap, he slept 10h 55 overnight, WU was 6am.  Bit disappointed night sleep was as short as that, I fully accept it on 2 naps but on 1 I'd like to hope he'll sleep a little more.  Anyway he's been super fussy, clingy, crying & rubbing his eyes by 9am this morning.  So rather than being consistent with the 1 nap thing (or even his usual 2 nap day 10am 1st nap) I PD at 9.30am.  He was ready.  He had his MMR & various other shots yesterday so not sure if his tiredness/fussiness is down to that or doing 1 nap.  I probably picked a really bad day to try it TBH. 

Sooo....I'm feeling very torn ATM.  I so want to be consistent for him, but my gut feeling/instinct is that he's still not quite ready for 1 nap, b/c every time I try he is utterly exhausted the following day.  What do you think ladies, would that say to you that he's not ready, or that I just need to persevere until he gets used to it   And am I expecting too much to hope for longer than 11hrs at night on a 1 nap day

[lulunut]

Hay ladies!  DOn't worry Claire-you may have to keep the 1 day and 2 day thing for a while!  Heck, I am sometimes doing it here even now that he is 19mts.  Sound far away, sorry but I think I may do 2 nap days 1x every 2 weeks or so.  So there is hope!!

I understand the anxiety with sleep.  My LO drove me bonkers!!!  I just had to let it be.  It does work out!

Yesterday was 4:15 wake with a quick PD and slept until 5:45.  nap at 1 pm.  At school and Grannies too much OS. Can't do much about that!  slept 1.5 hours.  Bt was 7:30.  It took 30 min to get him to sleep!!

Today was 5am wake with PD for 1 hour.  He went back to sleep at 6:15 until I woke him at 7:30.  Nap at 12:45.  Hopefully this will push him back into a full night sleep with no EW!!!

Good news he is starting to do things on his own.  This is great!  Even at Grannies.

[scucci1979]

Claire, don't worry about switching form 2 to one naps. Madi did that for quiet a while.  Just follow his cues.

Great job Becky. 

Lulunut, it seems you are making some progress there.

I felt bad but had to wake Alyssa from her nap today as it started at 12:15pm. 2hours later she was still sleeping and I didn't want a bt later then 8pm so I woke her up. I feel awful. I want her to nap well but her A times are quite high that there is not enough hours in the day to fit it all. Gee, you think I would be happy!

[lulunut]

It is 6:43am and he is still sleeping!!!!!  I am awake however now that I am on the automatic 5am wake time!  How do I adjust my own sleep now!!!  LOL!

Great job ladies!  Don't worry Sabs sometimes you have to do that in order to save the night sleep.  I will wake LO in a bit to save nap!!