2-1 transition - help desperately needed please!

[Papaya]

Yes, I would definitely put her down for another nap - 3pm sounds good. I would let her have  45 mins xx

[Keep Smiling!]

I am just about to try to put her down for a nap! She seems wide awake so keep your fingers crossed!

[Keep Smiling!]

She went straight to sleep on her own at 3pm, just like she used to! So let her have 45m then aim for bedtime of 7.45?

[Papaya]

Glad she settled well for you! I would still aim for 7.30 bt tbh - was she up at 6.30 today?

Do you think given she went down so well today, it might be worth trying for that afternoon nap again tomorrow? Granted, if she does a long am nap it'll be later and shorter... Then you can work on stretching out that first A time before you make the jump to one nap?

[Keep Smiling!]

Yes she was up at 6.30am. Do you always aim for short am and long pm nap? I am happy to try 2 naps although as I said I'm not sure that will happen when she's in nursery but I'm happy to try, whatever is best for her!

When she was in a lovely routine she had long am and short pm, is this the wrong way round?

Thank you for all your support x

[oneplusone]

Yay! Nice work!

I'd try to stay with 2 naps as long as possible. I have the same issue with daycare coming up soon and only 1 nap there.

Typically kids take a longer PM nap and when they drop to one it should be later in the day, however I don't think there is necessarily a wrong way around. My LO does long AM and short-er PM right now too. I've your really trying to tweak it just right then yes cap the AM nap and aim for a longer PM nap. I'm still just sorta going with it right now and hoping it will sort it's self out at daycare. I'm going to enjoy the last month of my mat leave with 2 naps

[Papaya]

No, long am and short pm is fine, that's what many people do  - you push the morning nap later and make the pm nap shorter and shorter until you drop it completely. BUT, if your LO tends to refuse the pm nap, it can be better to go the short am route. It can take a few days for your LO to get used to it, so you may end up with several days of two short naps - but eventually as you get the timings right and her body clock gets used to it, you should end up with a nice long pm nap.

I really think if your LO is only managing 3.5hr A in the morning you'd be better off keeping two naps for a while (as far as nursery allows). So perhaps something like this:

WU: 6.30
nap: 10 - 10.45
nap: 1.45 - 3.15/30 (but don't cap - let her sleep)
BT:  7.30

What do you think?  If she won't go down for the pm nap until later, or if she wants to do such a long pm nap that bt gets too late, you can cut the am nap to 30 mins and so on.

Posted with oneplusone At this stage things can change a lot in 2-4 weeks so I would go with the two naps now and she might be more ready to cope with one nap by then.

[Keep Smiling!]

That sounds good to me, the only thing that worries me is that sometimes she can be really grumpy if you wake her too early and I don't fancy a grumpy baby in my last week off. If I wanted to try the long am and short pm nap what would it look like? May try that tomorrow (as it seems close to what she's done today) and if that doesn't work and she refuses the afternoon nap then swap around?

Oneplusone, it's hard isn't it? I'm a bit of a control freak and like a routine so the not knowing is what's hard!

[*Kara*]

Just popping on now

A 1 hr 20 min nap is generally UT hun... time to increase that morning A time a touch

[Keep Smiling!]

Thanks Kara. I think it was because my stupid husband was being so noisy getting ready but it could have been UT, maybe I'll push her a bit more tomorrow. Does this look good to aim for:

6.30 WU
10.10 - 11.30 nap 1
3 - 3.45 nap 2
7.30 bedtime

Should that second a time be longer? But that will mean her nap is too late?

[oneplusone]

Yes, this year was hard for me too since my work life pre baby was very very schedule. Just try to enjoy your last week of mat leave!

[*Kara*]

At this age, you can do an A time increase in bits of 15 mins every couple of days hun... so if she wakes at 615am, Nap #1 at 1015am.

As for the routine you posted, it's looks fine, but do not cap both her naps, pick one to cap

As for the short AM/Long PM or reverse debate.. it's really up to you and LO.  Does she generally do a better nap in the AM or the PM if left to her own devices??  This is generally the best indicator of where you should start the 2-1 journey.

[Keep Smiling!]

We had an ok night, she took about 20 mins to fall asleep but did so on her own in her cot and she was asleep by 8pm. She was up twice for dummy which is ok but she was up at 6am which is only a 10 hour night. I left her in her cot till 6.30 but she didn't go back to sleep. We've only been up 15 mins and already she's lying on me seeming tired. Is there a reason she only slept 10 hours when for the past few weeks she's been sleeping 11 hours at night?

[*Kara*]

OT hun. 

Are you waking from both naps?

[Keep Smiling!]

I did go to wake her from her morning nap yesterday but she was already sat up in her cot. The couple of times I've left her she has managed 2+ hrs in the morning which is too much as she doesn't want to nap again. What do i do in that situation? Yesterday our EASY was

WU 6am
9.30-10.50 nap 1 (she was awake when I went in but I hasn't heard her on the monitor)
2-3 nap 2
7.15 bedtime (she needed to be rocked but was asleep in 5 mins)

She woke up at 6.05 this morning!