day is getting so long with 2 naps, but wakes so early!

[Khalam's Mama]

Good luck. Even though he woke at 5 did he get more sleep with the early bt?

[mmom]

Yes, he is getting 11 hours now with an early BT. But he really is unable to make it to  a decent nap time,  Last night I woke at 2 and decided to give a dream med to see if it would help.  Like Wendy's experience, we got another 30 minutes.

I am inclined to have the sitter put him down for 15 minutes at 10 and then a proper nap at 12:30 after the school run.  But all of you seem to agree that I should just push through.  The problem is, he isn't making it.   I guess I could have her try.

If your LO wasn't making it until nap time, would you just keep trying?

[~Emma~]

Yep, I'd keep trying. The transition is harder for some than others, especially when you throw EW into the loop. The EW can take a bit of breaking and the only way to keep doing that is to keep ploughing on. Some do it better than others though. You could use the W/E for catching up?

 ONly you know whats best hon, you know th wee man the best and you can see what he's coping with or not. Easy for me to say keep going. 

 (((((hugs)))))

[Mom to M&M]

See and I probably would be on the other side. My DS was like yours and pushing didn't help much until he was a bit older still - more like 18 months. Maybe even cut that AM nap to 10 minutes? So do that from 9:20-9:30 and then proper nap from 12-2 with bedtime at 6:30/6:45?

As for the dream meds, we didn't do it unless really necessary - if it's only getting you an extra half an hour I might do regular W2S at that point and see if it gets you the same half hour extra or more?

[Khalam's Mama]

I was thinking the same thing that maybe wake to sleep may work as well. Maybe at 3am? Remember when you say he isn't making a decent nap time he is doing a 5hr a which would be ok if he woke later. I would really try to do one nap whenever you can get it esp at the weekend then worry about reseting him later. How long did he sleep at the wknd? When my friend was transitioning her lo she did up 7am nap 9 to 11am and bed 7pm. Not ideal but it got her there in the end.

[Mom to M&M]

That's another idea depending on your LO - my DS has always done better with a shorter AM A time and a longer PM one. Same with DD actually. So with both when transitioning we'd often do a LONG one nap from 10:30/11-as long as they could (up to three hours but usually closer to 2) and then an earlier bedtime (but in our case never before 6:30 pm).

[Tweakster]

W2S never worked here at all but you never know.  Every kid different.

I thought he was refusing a PM nap when he did an AM nap?  That's the only reason to plow ahead IMO.  If he'll happily do 20 min AM and still take a good 2 hr PM then I'd probably wait before pushing.  But if he's EW or NW and also refusing PM nap then I'd plow ahead.  It's too dangerous at that stage not to be guaranteed a decent PM restorative nap.  We had to push and actually I wasn't that sorry because he was awful on that 20 min wake up and I'd be counting down the minutes to the longer nap.  It really helped his body clock to have one nap at a predictable time.  Some kids respond nicely to this, but some don't.

[mmom]

He is not responding nicely to anything.

This weekend he took at 15 minute CN in the morning and then slept for about 2 hours in the afternoon.  The cat naps weren't planned though.  Both were in the car.

Today the sitter tried for 1 nap and he only slept 1 hour.  He was sleeping by 5:30 tonight.

Honestly, those unintentional CN are great, because he doesn't seem so bothered when he wakes.  When I wake him at home, he is miserable for a while.  He really hates being woken.  He is probably so tired and just wants to sleep.  Also, when he is at day care, I think it is difficult to do the short nap, only because of the process when other children are around.  She is willing to do it though - just thinks that I am crazy.

I just hope he at least makes it up tonight.  This transition is very difficult. 

[Mom to M&M]

What time did the sitter try the one nap?

I really might go the route of trying one long nap starting at 10:30 or 11 and see what that gets you?

Hugs - it definitely is hard!

[Khalam's Mama]

K hates being woken. I avoid it at all costs. He is better tired than on a short sleep. I am too tbh.

[mmom]

Sigh...up at 4:30 screaming.  He did not want to be up either, but I couldn't get him back to sleep.

The sitter put him down at 11:45, when she got back from the school run.  The school runs are really making things complicated tbh.  She can't put him down at 10:30-11, because she will have to wake him at 11:20.  Well, today she doesn't have to wake him until 11:45.

I am thinking that during the week I have to offer a CN.  He just can't make it until 12.  With his wake up time today, he especially needs a CN.

[Mom to M&M]

Ah, yes given the school run issue (and I do remember that well!), I think for now you are going to have to offer at 10 minute car (or stroller) CN and then go for the long nap 2 or 2.5 hours later...

[Khalam's Mama]

Sigh...up at 4:30 screaming.  He did not want to be up either, but I couldn't get him back to sleep.

What did you do and how long did you try? When K was EW one day I resolved to try until he went down and after 45mins he went back to sleep. It wasn't pretty but the late wake up was just what we needed to get to a one nap day.

The sitter put him down at 11:45, when she got back from the school run. 

Then what happened?

Can you write out your weekly schedule with school runs etc so we could make suggestions for the different day depending on your constraints?

[mmom]

I only tried for 45 minutes and no go.  I had to get ready for work at that point.  I tried everything from calming him while screaming, meds (which I realize take a while), then WI/WO.  But he was persistent.

The nap yesterday was from 12-1.

Mon, Wed, Friday, she picks up a LO from pre-school at 11:30.  So from 11:15-11:45 she is tied up.  Tues and Thurs, she drops M off at 12:15, so figure she is tied up from 12-12:30.

Even with 2 naps, today was terrible.  C slept from 9-9:3- and then 1-1:45.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get him to bed until 6.  So I am still going to try a dream med, because I can tell the teeth are at play.  I do think that is why he woke this morning.

KM- I can tell you think I should still push.   Is that what you are thinking?

[Khalam's Mama]

I can only speak from experience that until we pushed it was 5am everyday.