EASY routines for LS needs 8 mon. old please

[mimi1017]

I have an 8 month old lo who averages 12.5 to 13 hrs. total sleep in a 24 hour period, which has presented many challenges to get her on a consistent routine.  She does 4-4.25 hrs. before BT so that's where we are at the moment...Can some of you please share your EASY to get some ideas? TIA

[<Catherine>]

Hi

This link may help http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=164030.msg1830597#msg1830597

[amayzie]

This is ours:

E: 7:00
A: 7:00-10:30
S: 10:30-12:30

E: 12:30
A: 12:30-3:30
S: 3:30-4:30 (sometimes will sleep till 5- i wake him up then...)

E: 4:30
A: 4:30-7:00
E: 7:00
S: 7:00

That's the ideal!

[mimi1017]

 Catherine thx for the link...I have looked through this but it seems like I have a special breed here 

Katy- thx for sharing such a lovely routine, but if this lo had that much day sleep, she would NW or take forever until BT. Low sleep needs baby is so challenging for me since dd1 was average.

[amayzie]

sorry- Hamish is a high A times boy... i guess that's different to low sleep needs! 

[becj86]

Can she get by on one nap? If so, I'd try something like this:

6 - awake (maybe play in cot for a bit?)
milk, breakfast, milk, lunch
12:30 - nap til 2:30
milk, dinner, BT milk
7 - in bed asleep

Otherwise you could do what we're doing at the moment:
6 - awake
milk, breakfast
10/10:30 - nap for 1.5hr
milk, lunch
3:30 - nap for 30min (this may not be enough A time to BT but it would probably be ok given its not a restorative nap)
milk, dinner, BT milk
7 - in bed asleep

To get that longer nap in the morning, the first A time has to be active and I mean really active, but then your daughter may be different from DS.

Hugs! Its not easy figuring out these tiny humans, is it?

[mimi1017]

Katy it's ok :)J

Becj86- that routine looks great...the problem is that it looks like she still has to do 3 naps, so I'm having a hard time figuring out how without being stuck with a late BT bc of the CN/3rd nap...yes it is very challenging 

[amayzie]

Those are 2 different EASY options above- one with one nap, one with 2... not 3! (THt would make it tricky!!

[mimi1017]

I know...don't know what to do...if it was up to her she would go down after 2 hrs. A and then have a lot of day sleep and then have crib parties of 2 hours in the middle of the night 

[becj86]

So is she having 2x45min naps and a CN at the moment then?

Is she able to transition through to the next sleep cycle?

[mimi1017]

She would do 1 30-40 min. Nap, then a 1.25-1.5 hr nap, then a 30 min. CN at 4, but then won't settle for the night until 4.25 hrs. A! Really thinking of trying your 4hrs. A for the am and see where it takes me idk

[becj86]

Aha, ok. So she really needs that long A to BT. Does she sleep soundly or restlessly at night?

I just wonder how she wakes up after that first little nap... is she ready to go but not quite as physically able as in the morning or after a longer nap? If so, I have a suspicion that overstimulation may be your culprit.

What do you reckon?

[mimi1017]

With a long A before BT she sleeps soundly...as long as she had 3 naps or else she'll have a NW any time after 12am. In the morning after the first short nap, she wakes happy and is ready for the next nap by 2-2.5 hrs...,now wondering if she had 2 long naps,  will she still need that 3rd?, if not then how much morning A to get a decent nap?

[becj86]

Yeah, I reckon if she just had two good naps, she'd be ok and she may even drop one of those down to a CN soon...

I'm not much good at increasing A time gradually (not ever had to do it), but I suspect she may handle increasing her A time by quite a bit if she's needing such a long A to BT.

What's her first A time now? What cues are you taking as tired signs? How does she go if you move her to a new activity (even if its a quite one like walking outside)?

[mimi1017]

Yeah I have found that gradually increasing A doesn't work with her bc she just won't go down until really ready. I go by after a loong yawn follow by constant fussing even after changing scenery and she goes down, although lately after 3 hrs.-3.25hrs. A in the am has resulted in a bit of resistance but then drifts of on her own...not sure if OT or UT? It results in a 30-40 min nap so maybe UT? Yesterday for example went like this:

EW 5:30 am (from a 7:30 pm BT)
A 1.75hrs.
S 7:10-8:55 (tired I put her down)
A 3.25 hrs. Although she started dozing off in car at 11:45 but we kept her up
S 12:05-1:20
A 1.75 hrs.
S 3:05-4:20
Then I started BT routine to have her down by around 8ish since that's what she's been doing but she fussed and fussed and cried totally ready for sleep at 7:45pm so
A 3.5
S 7:45-8:25 (grr woke after 30 mins. Which from past experience is a sign that she got too much day sleep and short A's or the first morning nap was a continuation of her night and the following 3 was for her day? Not sure what to make of it)
S 9:50 for the night