Just went to 1 nap - what am I shooting for now?

[aimeeL]

K just turned 1 at the end of August... she'd been on short a.m./long p.m. nap forever and was starting to have EWs, nap refusal, etc, so we started doing 1 nap days... and are mostly on that now. 

But I feel like we're totally spiraling out of control.  The last wk has been miserable due to a skinned nose (fell off a step...poor thing couldn't settle the way she normally does - rubbing her face in a blanket) and molars on the move.  Long, screaming NWs, etc.  Her nose is better now, and while there are still no sign of molars, she doesn't seem bothered during the day by them.  I do medicate at night when she wakes (still on one NF...I don't want to talk about it...)

So her last few nights have been better.  Just the 1 NF, and right back down to finish a 12 hr night. 

But I just feel I don't know what I should be aiming for as far as day sleep and just keep missing... and eventually, it comes back to bite us.  Like tonight. 

Today was:

6:40 a.m. - wakeup
12-2:10 p.m. - nap
7:15 p.m. - asleep

She had a NF at 2:30 a.m. and then woke at 4:10 a.m.. and - I think - is still awake now, an hr later.

Yesterday, she had a 2.5 hr nap (which I capped) and a much better night.

Sorry - I know this is rambling and disjointed... but I think my question is - what do you aim for for a LO who's newly on one nap?  5 hrs A time pre nap?  What about nap length?  post nap?

I feel like I've lost the plot...

[sianie]

Hi there...

It can take a while for LO's to adjust to one nap.....I would say up to a few weeks in some cases.

As you know, all LO's are different so it's hard to give exact A-times/ nap lengths etc but I would say that generally LO's at around 1yr old can handle around 4.5hrs A-time. Most LO's need to be able to handle 4.5/5rs A-time in order to be able to comfortable handle 1 nap days. Naps can start out short but generally lengthen as LO's adjust. The below link might be useful:

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=164031.0

TBH, I would say your routine looks pretty good which does possible point towards teething, although it could be that the NW's are making her OT so you could try pulling the nap a bit earlier to see if this helps. Don't forget that 1st year molars are one of the worst teeth for LO's to teethe as they can take ages to come through. Teething is a lot worse at night when LO's are lying down. If it is teeth then unfortunately, all you can do is give meds & ride it out the best you can.

HTH?

[clairebear79]

Aimee - can I follow along?  We are in the process of switching, but I too am a bit baffled by what A times I should be doing with my LO.  Yesterday he actually did 5.5hrs A followed by 2.5hr nap & 5hrs A to BT, & slept 11hrs overnight.  But was very tired today & I had to do 2 naps.

I'm thinking maybe I might have pushed too far with that & should maybe do a shorter A in the AM, but he wakes fairly early 6am ish & so doing a shorter A means nap starts 11am or earlier which makes it nearly impossible to get to BT if he doesnt nap well.  Its so tricky!!!! 

Agree with Sara your routine looks good, esp if you are generally getting 12hr nights too.

[aimeeL]

Claire - Of course! - the more the merrier!    I, too, think that perhaps nap could be earlier, but am terrified that she'll do less than 2 hrs which will set us up for an impossibly early bedtime...

Sara - Thank you... I think I just needed some calm, reassuring words...    We think she fell back asleep this morning - but not positive when - and woke at 7:20 a.m.  Did 2 hr 10 min again... today - and yesterday - she's wiggling - but resettling - at the 45 min and 1.25 hr mark, which was always OT with L...

Maybe I'll try bumping the nap up just a tad and see what happens...

[sianie]

Maybe I'll try bumping the nap up just a tad and see what happens...

You could give it a go & see what happens, although some OT is inevitable as LO's go through the 2:1 whilst they adjust to longer A-times. At least she is re-settling which is great.

[clairebear79]

she's wiggling - but resettling - at the 45 min and 1.25 hr mark, which was always OT with L...

Aimee - we did 1 nap again today & guess what we got:  stir & resettle at 40mins, crying at 1h 15min.  It went wake: 5.55am, nap 11.25 - 1.15 (woke after 1h 50 as he'd done a poo), tried for BT at 6.30pm, took him until 6.55pm to go to sleep.  I think we've hit major OT so I'm going to have to pull that nap back a tad.  Think I'm going to do 5hrs & hope for the best.  Still, that makes nap time 11am which is early & like you say if nap goes badly it makes for a hellishly EBT!

Have you found your LO is waking later since switching to 1 nap   I live in hope that O's nights will lengthen from their current 11hrs!

[aimeeL]

Sorry - meant to update before now...

So we decided Sunday that we were going to wean her from her 1 NF... Nights 1, 2, and 4 were bad - long, 2 hr NWs that alternated between crying and giggling  , but nights 3 and 5 (last night) were GREAT.  Last night, DH (he's in charge of the NWs  ) said he didn't hear a peep - 7:45 p.m. to 7:20 a.m.  WOO-HOO!!

But I'm still stumped with her nap and what she needs.  2.5 hr naps seem to be too long, as that seems to produce the long, wide awake NWs... but yet, she's still crying out and having to resettle herself at 45 min and 1 hr 15 min during her naps, which says to mean she's OT...  This is the exact same problem I had with her when she was only a few months old... it's like this weird OT for naps, but UT for nights conundrum...

I live in hope that O's nights will lengthen from their current 11hrs!

Honestly, Claire, you might just have to roll with 11 hr nights... L has always been a 10.5-11 hr night sleeper.  I kept trying to get 12 hrs when she was under a yr old..  And I still remember when I posted about some issue back then, a mod was helping me with my EASY and the first question was, "So, is she an 11, 11.5 or 12 hr sleeper?"  And for the first time, it occurred to me that perhaps not all babies are 12 hr sleepers..    Anyways.  Obviously, if he's perpetually OT, you'll have to figure out how to catch him up somehow, but maybe if he's doing 11 hrs consistently, that's all he'll ever do.  Which, frankly, isn't all that bad!! 

[clairebear79]

Thanks for that Aimee.  We've been sticking out the 1 nap at 11am all week & its been tough.  We've been getting the mid nap wu's too, until today.  We're not getting 2.5hr naps though - 2hrs at the start of the week & the last 2 days we had 1h 40 & 1h 50.  DS is poorly now too, so I think this is why things are going a bit wonky.  Having said that, he's back to doing some longer nights or 11.5-12.  Woohoo!!!!

WRT your DD - is she doing a set amount of A time before her nap, or a set nap time??  Just wondering if maybe the A time is a tad too long, making her a touch OT & needing to sleep a huge nap, & therefore she's not so tired at BT/overnight   I know if my DS naps for over 2.25hrs, it affects our night, so maybe she is similar.  So maybe you could pull back the nap say 15mins earlier & see if that nuaturally shortens it a touch, or ride out the OT until she adjusts & cap the nap at say 2h 15.  What do you think?

Oh & FANTASTIC news on the NF wean!!!!!!!!!

[aimeeL]

Just wondering if maybe the A time is a tad too long, making her a touch OT & needing to sleep a huge nap, & therefore she's not so tired at BT/overnight

That made SO much sense!!!  Why is it so clear sometimes when someone else says it?!    I think that's probably quite accurate... just still that same fear of putting her down to early and not getting a good nap...  But I will/should try it..

How about this, though... the last couple of nights, she's been sttn, but having EWs... yesterday was 4:15 a.m. and today was 5:15... Each morning, DH tries to resettle and can usually buy another 30 or so minutes, but not much.  Maybe just teeth?  Her right top molar has one corner cut...

I've cut nap to 2 hr 15 min...

I'm more of a set A time girl... but give or take 30 min?

[sianie]

Maybe just teeth?  Her right top molar has one corner cut...

Yep, this sounds like the culprit....teething is usually responsible for EW's here, especially molars!!

[aimeeL]

Grrr... 2 days in a row now - 1 hr 40 min naps.. what do THOSE mean??  She's been so good about napping until I wake her... this is throwing me for a loop! 

She woke at 6:45 a.m. this morning after a decent night...
11:40 - 1:20 p.m. nap

Better go get her before she wakes DD1....

[sianie]

Have you been giving meds before sleeps to see if it helps?

[aimeeL]

I have - and hasn't seemed to make a difference. 

So i think it was actually more like 1.5 hrs...  Is it possible she was UT??  Maybe pulling her nap back isn't the way to go?

I just went into try nursing her back to sleep; but nope - happy as a clam...

[sianie]

As with all these things it's a process of elimination to figure out what's going on....to see if she is UT then you could try & push her A-times a little to see if this makes a difference?