2nd nap gone to 45m - can you advise please?

[Samjheywood]

Hi again

My LO is now 7mo and has just recovered from 2 viral infections. We were on 2hr45 A time working up towards a 3hr and dropping the CN prior to his illness so i am just in the stages of getting him back on track. He has been ill for 2wks and A time was v short as just wanted to sleep it off. 

The last two days i have got the AM nap back on track but his 2nd nap has gone down to 45m meaning i have to bring back the CN which is more hassle than its worth. I was just going through the process of eliminating it as he kept refusing it. Can you please have a look at my EASY and see where improvements could be made, i am thinking its possibly about the A time length but i'd like another set of eyes.

A good day prior to illness for him was 2hr15 nap then 1hr30 and that saw us through with a slightly earlier BT. 

He was also just starting to STTN prior to the virus but hasnt done this since being ill apart from last night 

NF 0515 8oz

UP 0620
Solids
A 2hr42
S 0902 - 1018 (1hr16)
E 1040 5.5oz
Solids
A 2hr44
S 1302 - 1347 (45m)
E 1440 8oz
A 3hr8
S 1655 - 1744 (49m)
E 1830 8oz
BT 1900

UP 0540
E 0630 8oz
Solids
A 2hr45
S 0825 - 0942 (1hr17)
E 1015 8oz
Solids
A 3hr8
S 1250 - 1307 (47m)
E 1400 8oz
A 2hr43
S 1620 - 1701 (41m)
E 1805 8oz
BT 1900

I am trying to work on a 3hr A time but he shows tired signs after just 1hr30 and i know he isnt tired enough and plough on but he starts rubbing eyes, yawning and getting a bit crabby at 2hr30 and i cant seem to push through it but i am sure he needs to.

thanks for your help 

[*Kara*]

You instinct to push him to 3 hrs of A time is exactly what I would do hun... the beloved UT/OT loop is a bugger.  Remember that tired signs are likely his body clock more than anything at this age... he will be used to having a nap after 2.5 hrs so he acts sleepy but isn't tired enough for a good long nap..

I would start by pushing his first A time until it gets to 3 hrs... reduce subsequent times as needed when he does a nap less than  90 mins as he isn't fully restored.

Hope this helps

[Samjheywood]

Thanks Kara, i had a feeling that maybe it.

Ok, so today my EASY looked like this -

UP 0515
E 0600 8oz
Solids
A 3hr7 (was in cot at 2hr50 but played for a bit until falling asleep)
S 0822 - 0944 (1hr22)
E 1010 8oz
Solids
A 2hr58 (In cot at 2hr35 due to short nap but played again until falling asleep)
S 1242 - 1352 (1hr10)
E 1420 8oz
A 4hr13
S Tried CN but would go down, so went with EBT
E 1745 8oz
BT 1805

So what do you think? I am not sure why i didnt get good naps (well, i got a better 2nd nap at least  as was just over the 3hr for 1st nap and not much earlier for 2nd? I need the naps longer as it doesnt get us to BT due to him getting up so early. Any suggestions?

Thanks 

[*Kara*]

Stick with it for a couple of days hun.. it could take 3-5 days for him to adjust to the increased A times.

[Samjheywood]

Hi Kara,

I just wanted to update you on progress to see if you can help further. So far things are going worse to the point he is refusing naps altogether! I've had one good day which happened to be a day where another tooth appeared but every other day he has refused at least 1 nap.

My last few days of EASY look like this -

UP 0500am
A 2hr55
S 2hr 7
A 3hr2
S 1hr13
A 4hr13
BT 1830pm

UP 0515am
A 2hr51
S 34m
A 4hr10
S 2hr10 (Tried S after 2hr30 would not sleep so tried again bit later on)
A 3hr35
BT 1835pm

UP 0455am!
A 2hr 54m
S 1hr27
A 2hr 52
S 47m
A 5hr5
Tried S again after 2hr30 would not sleep
BT 1800pm

UP 0455am!
A 3hr2
S 31m
A 2hr27
S 39m
A 6hr!!
Tried 3rd nap after 2hr 30 would not sleep for the rest of the day so did EBT
BT 1730pm

I assume i am in a massive OT/UT cycle but i have no idea how to get out of it! He seems to be refusing to nap at least once a day and its usually the 3rd nap when he hasnt had enough sleep on the first two.

What can i do to get back on track?

Thanks