Still having NWs at 18 months.

[Jem88]

She was at my mums today and she took LO before her nap. Mum said she slept just over an hour so i did bath and had her in bed for 6.45pm and she was asleep for 7.00pm. She's currently been asleep an hour. Hoping for a good night. x

[clairebear79]

Hiya hun.  Hope her night is more settled.  All these early evening wu's still sound OT to me hun, esp since you say she is also restless in the early morning.  If they carry on would you consider trying a slightly longer nap again?  You might find that with a 6hr A in the morning, a longer nap should mean she is refreshed & can last through to bedtime ok without getting overtired.  She is still so young for a capped nap. 

I have been where you are & was so convinced it was what my DS needed because he stopped falling asleep at bedtime & started waking early, but on a shorter nap of 1-1.5hrs we too had the NW in the first few hours after BT & restless early mornings.  Some nights he would sleep 12hrs, others just 10.5, but no matter how long his nights, he constantly looked tired.

It turns out he is simply a long nap / shorter night kinda kid.  He is almost 2 & I have recently stopped capping his nap & ok he is going to bed later, but the difference in him for having the daytime sleep that he needs is amazing.  He wakes happy & refreshed from his nap, is happy all day & the red rimmed tired eyes are gone & so are the NW's.

Of course they are all different, but I wonder if its something that may be worth a try.

HTH.x

[Jem88]

I'm not sure about a longer nap.. Last night was actually a better night after she had just over an hour. I asked my mum to start Sophies nap about 12.50pm and she said she fell asleep in the buggy for just over an hour, so i was taking it she woke up around 2ish and then in bed asleep for 7.00pm.

She then slept 3hr 50mins, 1.5hr then 6hr 20mins and up for the day at 6.50am. She did stir and moan at about 5ish but didn't wake/i didn't need to go in.

She isn't grumpy or seems tired during the day, it's normally around 20mins before her nap or bedtime she starts to get grumpy. I'm really not sure on the longer nap, i know she'd probably sleep longer but it always gives us a shorter night which i wouldn't really mind if she slept well. x

[Jem88]

I did a nap of 1hr 20mins today 12.50pm-2.10pm as i realized after I'd woken her that I'd woken 10mins earlier than i should of. I then had her bathed and in bed for 6.50pm and she lay quiet (she normally plays and chats for 10mins) i waited until 7.00pm to check on her and she was asleep. x

[Kay Dee]

Good luck for tonight x

[Jem88]

Last  night was good, she did wake twice but she had another 12hr night with a 7.00am wake up. She was in bed asleep for 7.00pm, woke at 11.30pm and 4.10am.

Should i do a nap of 1hr 20 again today? as the past 2 nights she's slept a bit better with a nap of less than 1.5hr as yest was 1hr 20. x

[Kay Dee]

If her nights are better and your instinct is telling you that's what she needs then I would try it! It was around this age my DS went from 1hr 30mins to 1hr 15.

If it doesn't help then you could try Claire's suggestion of a longer nap & a shorter night. x

[Jem88]

Yeah, i'll try the 1hr 20min nap and early bedtime until sat as i think she's stopping at my mums sat night. Then if we are still having more than 2 nws then i'll try the longer nap and shorted night and see if that helps. x

[Jem88]

Last night we had 2 wake ups. She was asleep by 7.30pm, and woke at 10.35pm and 5.00am then up for the day at 6.45am. She was then asleep for her nap by 12.45 - 2.15pm. I then had her in bed for 7.20pm but she just lay quiet until 8ish, i actually thought she was asleep and had to sneek up and check but she was just laying quiet, and was still awake at 8, but i went up at 8.20pm and she was asleep.

For the past 2 nights we've had 2 wake ups but they've been roughly the same time. The night before last she woke at 11.30pm and 4.00am. x

[Kay Dee]

Are you having to go in to her at the WUs? Is she awake for long? Sounds like things are settling down a lot but it would be nice to get rid of those WUs!

[Jem88]

I do for the first wake up and she awake seconds, i lay her down/find her dummy and she goes off to sleep for the 2nd sometimes i have to go in, sometimes i don't. Like last night we had 2 nws again, round about the same times only last night she woke at 12.15am where i had to go in, but when she woke at 4.45am i didn't as she just cried out for a second.

She was then up for the day at 6.00am I left her chatting until 6.20am but she then started fussing. She had 5hr 50min A before bed last night but i can't work out if the short night/early wake up is UT or OT?

She hasn't been waking and asking for milk for about 2 weeks now, so i know she's not waking due to being hungry. x

[Jem88]

She was in bed asleep for 6.50pm lastnight, we had 3 wake ups. 8.30pm 8.50pm which i didn't need to go in for both, 4.00am which i needed to go in for and then she was up at 6.35am.

Bit of a nap disaster today as i had to go out and she fell asleep in the buggy at 11.00pm (she wasn't due her nap until 12.30pm) and woke up after 40mins but she was fine all afternoon and just played happy. I then had her in bed for 6.25pm and she was asleep for 6.30pm - I didn't want to do bedtime any earlier as i'm already ready for a night of a few wake ups and maybe a early start but we shall see lol.  x

[clairebear79]

Ah shame, these things sometimes happen & you did the right thing offering her an earlier bedtime.

I still think the short naps are leading to her becoming OT hun.  Its so, so similar to what my DS did when I cut his nap back.  I know on the first night she slept a long night, but after 2-3 days of shorter naps, she is suddenly taking longer to fall asleep at bedtime & the NW are increasing, and she fell asleep early for her nap today, despite having had a long night which should have left her feeling refreshed.  IMHO these are all indicators that she may struggle with a short nap on a long term basis.  At the end of the day you can't really get a feel for whether it is working or not after just a couple of days, you would really need to try it for a good couple of weeks & see how she does to make a decision for sure.

WRT the longer nap, all I can say is you won't know if it works or not without trying it.  And whats the worst that can happen if you do?  OK she may have a long NW, but then you will categorically know that it is not the way to go, and you will also know what you need i.e. shorter nap.  I only keep harping on about this b/c I too spent many many months capping my son's nap short, b/c he EW with long nap & as a result of the short nap he had crying NW & restless nights & looked tired & still EW.  Now he is napping longer it has all stopped.  His night is shorter, no getting away from that, but he is well rested & far far happier.  I can tell you're not keen though, so for now I shall keep quiet on this subject!

Hope she has a decent night.x

[Truly Blessed]

Hey Honey,

I just wanted to chime in that you DD does sound like a carbon copy of Claire's Oliver and she has lived every moment of this already, so her advice is sound, as always 

Hang in there, (HUGS) to you.x.

[j.and.e]

:-) hope your night is ok and not too early start tmw! I recently started cuting ds2 nap as he was faffing in bed til almost 9pm but it backfired as he was so tired he went to bed at 7pm and wu at 6am then was tired all morning and we are stuck in an early pattern! Xx