1h naps

[ENMS]

Quick question... when LO is OT do you reduce A times to get him to catch up, or will that just cause short naps?

[jennandsophie]

I have the same question.  We've had 3 days of nightmare OTness due to J (and my) strep throat.  All 30 min naps.  Two nights ago he was awake from 1-4am after only sleeping 1hr 30 mins the whole day.  Today he was up at 4:30am and pretty much hysterical until I finally got him up at 6:30.  Put him back down for nap at 8:45am as I didn't think he could make it to 9am.  He fell sleep after 2 mins of hysterical crying.  He's made it past an hour, so fingers crossed.  This is the longest nap he's had since Friday. 

Just wondering about A times when they are so OT from bad days and nights.  I obviously have not had much success in figuring out what to do after these short naps.

[ENMS]

So I think now that maybe it's my fault he never naps more than 1h30. When he wakes I usually go in too quick because it's usually more than 4h since his last feed. But how do I undo that now?  I can try leaving him, but I'm pretty sure it'll just escalate to full blown crying. Any advice on that? I can also try giving him a top up feed before the nap.

We did set naps today - 9 and 1.  He woke up at 6, so had 3h of A until the first nap, slept 1h30. Then he had 2h40 of A, slept 1h30 again. So overall good. I think I'll try for a really EBT tonight, like 5:45 or something. He's usually generally happy for the first 1h of A time then it gets bad, I'm thinking maybe he's just sooo OT because of the rough nights last week.

[ENMS]

(((HUGS))) Jenn for the strep throat. Hope you and J will get better.

[Papaya]

Elise and Jenn, yes you might need to reduce A times a little - probably a day, maybe two, will be enough to allow your LO to catch up Elise, if you get good naps and EBT. You'll know when to lengthen out again if you get an 1hr15 nap! Jenn, just follow his cues while he's not well - he'll need more sleep anyway, and if he's OT from poor nights his A times might be much less than usual. Poor wee man.

xx

[jennandsophie]

Thanks Nuala.  I think you are right.  He finally seems to be getting well again and so he's sleeping better at night.  Last night he actually slept over 11 hrs (which is the longest he's ever slept) after a few horrible days of short naps and OTness.  We've had hysterical bedtime battles of course because of the OT so last night after trying to soothe him for 45 mins, he clearly just wanted to be left alone and my presence wasn't calming him at all.  I planned to do WI/WO, so I left him in his crib and a few minutes later he was asleep before I could even go back in.  It was hard listening to him cry but I think he needed to do that to settle himself.

He was clearly tired this morning so put him down quickly and he went off with no complaint.  Hoping to get back on track.  Will try to keep his A time shorter today between naps too even if he has a long AM nap.

[ENMS]

UGH. I think we need an A time increase again!!

1h AM nap yesterday, 1h10 today. Unless it is discomfort or pain or something like that....

We are currently at 3h AM and 3h15 PM. How much A time do you do after a 1h nap? I did 3h today, wondering if it was a bit too much?

[mickey44]

All week I have been getting 1h15 min after 3hr A!  Today I got a 1hr nap after that A time so I think we are ready for an increase as well.  ERR!  I thought this tweaking was supposed to start happening less now!!

I also did 3hr A after our 1hr nap today and she woke at 45 min not happy but I think she has resettled herself.

[ENMS]

I thought this tweaking was supposed to start happening less now!!

I know!!!! At this rhythm, they'll be on one nap before they're even 1!!!

I got a 1h30 nap so I gues the A time was right.

[mickey44]

At this rhythm, they'll be on one nap before they're even 1!!!

I was thinking that exact same thing today!  I did love it once DD1 was on 1 nap....so much more freedom to do stuff!

[ENMS]

I've got a few naps questions so I figured I'd post them here rather than start a new post

1) We're rarely getting 1h30. Mostly 1h20. Could that be that his sleep cycle is 40 minutes instead of 45 and I should just be happy with it?
2) First A - he shows tired signs from 2h of A for the past week or two. He used to be fine for 3h.  Now it's a struggle and if we go in the car after 2h he just falls asleep. But if I put him down early, he'll just short nap. With 2h50 of A I get my 1h20 naps usually. Should I completely ignore the tired cues? Or is he really tired? He doesn't do that the rest of the day, just for the short A. He does wake up earlier than usual a little in the morning lately.
3) I seem to be getting some 40 minute naps, but I think they're OT. Is that possible at all?

THanks

[mickey44]

We got 1h20 naps for a long time and I just went with it, can he handle a full A after?  If so I would just go with it, if not then he might be UT when going down so maybe try to extend his A time.

Our tired signs are so unreliable I never go by them any more.  She was rubbing her eyes like crazy after breakfast this morning but stayed up for another hour before nap time.  Could he be waking earlier than you think?  Also our EW are usually caused by OT.

I have always found 40 min naps to be OT in our house.  50min-1h15 are UT naps for us.  I would judge by the way he is waking up, if he is waking happy then UT if he is upset then OT.  Also we ALWAYS got 40 min naps when reflux was bothering her.

[ENMS]

can he handle a full A after

Yes, he usually can.  You're right, I guess I have my answer there!

Could he be waking earlier than you think?

I don't think so because he's very 'vocal'  in that he chats away and makes little noises all the time when he's awake, so I doubt he would lie there and be silent. It actually gets my DH so mad, he wants to sleep in a little more but DS is always making these loud noises!  

I'm thinking he's generally slightly OT and that's probably why he's showing tired signs, but not enough to get a good nap? Maybe just a little OT from the slightly earlier wake up?  But I'm not too sure how to get him over it, because if I reduce his A times, he short naps, which just makes it worse. Maybe I'll try to put him to bed a touch earlier tonight and see if it helps. I usually do 3.5h from his last nap, or 7PM, whichever is earlier.

[jennandsophie]

My DD always wanted a very short A time in the morning.  I remember at 7 months I still couldn't get her to 3hrs.  She would be yawning sometimes by 1hr 45 mins.  She'd sometimes do only 45 min nap in the AM but was fine afterward. 

I'm wondering when things begin to transition to shorter AM nap and then longer PM nap.  I have no recollection of this at all from DD.  Baby brain is still in effect.

[ENMS]

I have always found 40 min naps to be OT in our house.

What is weird is that usually, if he's OT and wakes, I resettle him, and he'll go on for 1h20 more - so usually making up 2h or so in total. Lately he's been having some 40 min naps that I can resettle, but he only sleeps 35-40 minutes and then wakes happy.  Like he's OT, but not that OT that he's going to get a real long nap, yk?

This morning I did 2h55, he slept 1h20, then 3h20, slept 40 minutes, I resettled him, and slept for 45 more.