New to BW and need help with naps!

[amayzie]

i don't think it will mess everything up- I think the general suggestion is that if you are having a busy couple of days- or day-( especially while you are organising stuff) that you should aim to stay home for a day or 2 so that they can have their normal routine again. I usually do the same- stay in for the morning nap and get it right- then if other naps are out of kilter then it doesn't matter... You need to get out for your on sanity!!

[Keep Smiling!]

We've just had a 30 minute nap but I knew it would be as she was crying going down. The thing is that she's whiny before I get her out of the cot so I know she's still tired but she won't go back to sleep! I think I'm struggling with how long to keep her up after a 30 or 45 minute nap? I know her ideal is 1hr 45 minute (that's what gave me the 1.75hr nap the other morning) but can't seem to find the right time if she doesn't sleep that long!

[Keep Smiling!]

Well we've had an ok day!! I managed to extend the lunchtime nap and she had 1hr 20 mins and then she went down at 3.40pm and I had to wake her at 5.10pm (I did have to go in twice to resettle but that's not too bad!) She managed 1.5 hours after that last nap and I've just put her to bed! Is it normal to have a slightly shorter A time as it's nearing bed time? Thanks for all your support, it's so good to know there's someone to bounce ideas off!

[amayzie]

No Probs!! Glad i could help!! On the A times through the day- my little guy would vary- sometimes seemed to need less, sometimes needed more... I've found he's been pretty good with not getting too OT before bedtime so could manage more... but we try to keep bed time pretty close to the same time each night- ideally 7pm (that works with him).. but a bit later if he's had a late nap, and a bit earlier if he's been up since before 3:30pm (we're dropping the cat nap ) ....

[amayzie]

oh- and on the time after a short nap.. i'm pretty hopless with this.. I guess what i usually do is if my LO had a 45 minute nap- so was undertired- i keep him up for as close to the A time i'm going with as possible. If he's had a 30 minute nap- OT (I've had very little success resettling him) i'll try to pick his tired signs and get him down when he's tired. Is hard though. I think that depends on ho sensitive your LO is to being overtired. I think others shorten the A time a lot more after a 45 min nap. So at the moment you are gong with 1hr 45min A time. The 'ideal' base for a good nap is 1.5 hours. So if your LO does 45 minutes only you should aim for an up time of 1 hour (take the rest of the time to the good nap time off your up time). Does that make sense? Again- i rarely did this but others swear by it. Again- depends on your LO...

[Keep Smiling!]

Well we've had a mixed few days, she's not slept on her own for 1.75 hours like she did that one time (I think just to prove she can!) but I've managed to extend a couple of naps which was good (mainly in the morning though, I find it harder to extend naps later on). We're also dealing with EW which probably has something to do with being overtired at end of the day but I'll keep persevering!

[Keep Smiling!]

I obviously spoke too soon as we've just had a 10 minute nap?? She was awake 1.5 hours and was rubbing her eyes and whining so she was tired. What is a 10 minute nap all about??

[amayzie]

Oh no!! I'd say a 10 minute nap means she wasn't really asleep.. or she was still settling.... If it was 10 minutes i'd definitely resettle. Do you swaddle her? It could be that she still jolts as she settles into deep sleep and woke herself up.

Also i find that my LO will have longer naps in the morning and shorter in the afternoon.

I might see if i can get this moved to the EASY board to see if anyone on there has any other tips- It still seems like a routine/A time issue... Can you post your easy? (As in your typical times through the day for E: A: S: ) Then we can see the whole day and where tweaks could help!

[ZacsMumme]

Hi keepsmiling, I have split off your last post and moved it to the EASY board.

To continue helping keep smiling here is the link to EASY. I will lock this thread.
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=221421.msg2374054#msg2374054