Still having NWs at 18 months.

[Truly Blessed]

I think the 2hr nap helped on the sunday and monday as it helped her to catch up from the very short 8.5hr night she had at my mums but now she's UT at bedtime

It certainly sounds that way... and of course the problem is the day length runs away with you doesn't it. When you capped before what did you start with  have you tried 1 hour 45 naps 

Vicki.x.

[Jem88]

We started with 2hr nap when she first went onto 1 nap, then 1hr 45 then 1hr 30, i guess i could do 1hr 45 today and see if she settles at bedtime any earlier? x

[Truly Blessed]

I would IIWM I think, it's such a fine balance and maybe you need to take it every so slowly to find out where to stop. Maybe cut 10 mins at a time 

Do you think she may be a LO who you could allow to nap as long as she wants and accept a short night  I know some LO's do well like that, although it does of course make for a late BT, so it all depends on whether you can handle that. I know my evenings are precious 'ME' time and I hate the later BT, which is why I'm waking Sam in the morning's atm.

x.

[clairebear79]

One other thing to bear in mind that is at 18 months there is a big sleep regression & it is very common for Lo's to suddenly start taking ages to fall asleep at bedtime, its like their little minds can't switch off.  It happened for us & I tried cutting the nap back b/c he didn't seem tired enough at all & in the end (probably after about 6 weeks) he suddenly went back to falling asleep easily again.  I'm not saying it is this for sure, just that it may well be adding to your current issues.  If you feel the nap length is whats causing the troubles, cut it back down.  Just go very very slowly.

[Truly Blessed]

Hiya Claire,

Absolutely, but did it last this long though Honey  Jemm's LO is moving closer to 20 months now  Not disagreeing, this is just a genuine question as to how long it can last  I have a dreadful memory  Bet your bottom dollar Sam went through it but I'll be damned if I can remember. Need to go back through old threads of mine 

x.

[Jem88]

Today has been abit odd, she woke herself just before 7.30am and has been grumpy and whinging all morning which is abit unusual. I asked her at 11.50am if she wanted to go night night, she said yeah and went to the stairs door - I wasn't going to put her down for a nap until 1.00pm. She fell asleep within 5mins and had a 2hr nap. Will have her in bed for 7.30pm and hope she settles for 8.00pm - That will give us a 6hr A before bed but a shorter day.

Not sure if the early nap was a good idea but she was grumpy and wanted to go to bed when i asked - i guess if she wasn't tired she wouldn't of went to sleep and had a 2hr nap, normally if she falls asleep early or naps early she doesn't have more than 1.5hr. (normally 40-50mins if we're out.)
She'll be 18 months on saturday (2 days time.)   x

[Truly Blessed]

She'll be 18 months on saturday (2 days time.)   x

Because this thread started weeks ago, I presumed from the title she was way past 18 months now.

I'm sure you made a good call today, she wouldn't have slept so quickly if it was wrong.

Good Luck.x.

[Jem88]

She was asleep for 8.00pm last night, 6hr A but a shorter day of 12.5hr. She moaned at 1.45am and 4.50am but i wouldn't say she woke up as she wasn't crying. She woke for the day at 6.45am - not sure if this is because she woke as my OH got up at the same time or if she woke herself.

Should i try the early nap again, maybe try -

Up - 6.45am
Nap -11.45am -1.45pm 2hr
Bed. 7.45pm.

x

[Truly Blessed]

Hiya Hon,

That's a great night. Is there any ways he will do short morning long afternoon? maybe that early nap was key?

x.

[Jem88]

I'm going to try that today and see if she sleeps well again tonight. I haven't actually tried a short A of say 5hr then a 2hr nap then a long A before bed before as i thought she needed a shorter nap. x

[Jem88]

I did the routine posted above and LO was in bed for 7.25pm. And she's just fell asleep at 8.40pm! making it a 6hr 55min A before bed and a 13hr 55min day.

What do you suggest i do tomorrow, do i go with the 2hr nap after a 5hr a again? As this morning she was pulling me to the stairs door when i asked if she wanted to go night night and she slept the full 2hrs - so she's tired when going for a nap. Hmmm.

She's also stopping at my mums again tomorrow night and after tonight taking ages for her to fall asleep, i'm now worried she's going to do the same as last saturday and take ages to go to sleep and end up in bed really late and only have a short night - we'll then be back to her being OT and grumpy until monday. I'm hoping my mum doesn't take her downstairs again and she ends up with a long A of 7.5hr!. x

[Truly Blessed]

My goodness she's a tricky little monkey  :

Okay, so it's the long A time to BT that is key then 

Do you think she actually needed an extra hours A time tonight to BT, or less than that but took a long time to settle because she was UT at PD, do you understand what I mean  probably not, hard to explain  .

So what about keeping the nap as early as she will go down, but start capping by 10 and maintaining for a few days before capping any more  I'm still hesitant to suggest this because she's so young, but more than anything it's a long restorative night that will combat the OT rather than an extra 10 mins on the nap, although it isn't quite as straight forward as that, as we all know  It can also be about how the sleep is spread.

What's your feeling atm, or are you pretty brain dead with it all now  Trust me I know that feels.

(HUG)

Vicki.x.

[Jem88]

I've actually no idea now, it seems like i've tried everything lol. I don't think she'll go down for a nap any earlier than 5hrs and if she does she might not sleep 1.5-2hrs as she might be UT? and then i'm thinking if she has a really long A before bed then she'll do a short night? Like last sat she had a 1.5hr nap and then ended up with a 7.5hr A and going to bed at 10.00pm but she slept through until 5.45am and then had a 2hr nap the next day and slept though a full 11.5hr without making a sound lol.

I'm not sure what to do really.. x

[Truly Blessed]

My goodness, yes the problem is if the first A time is too short then you can get an UT nap and need longer to BT in the pm. What about sticking with 5 hours first A time then a 2 hour nap and try and put her down 15 mins before the A time she has been needing, which is what 6.5 hours  So for eg if her day started at 6.30:

WU 6.30

Nap 11.30 to 1.30

BT PD 7.45 hopefully asleep quicker by 8.00

Is this unrealistic  I'm wondering if she is just going to be on of those LO's who prefers a short night and long nap. So if she could consistently sleep 10.5 hours at night with a 2 hour nap, then for a LSN baby she could do just fine KWIM 

Is your goal to lengthen her nights or just have a well rested baby however it can be done 

x.

[Jem88]

I'm not sure if she needs a 6.5hr a before bed as last night she was asleep after a 6hr a, the 2 previous nights she was asleep for just under 6hr A but tonight she's went for a nearly 7hr A. I did put her in her cot tonight 15mins later than i did the past 3 nights maybe that has something to do with it - i don't know.

I don't mind if she has a short night and a long nap i'm just trying to get her to sleep well again before the new baby arrives, i've got 3 months until my due date lol. Plus i know she can sttn but she only does the odd night and i still haven't figured out why.

I guess tomorrow i'll put her down for her nap after 5hr A again, 2hr nap and then hope she sleeps ok at my mums. x