Anyone want to talk about the 3-2 Nap transition? Part 2

[BeeAnn]

Papaya - at what sort of time (i.e. how long a nap) would you cap the cat nap if it's getting very close to bed time but I don't think she'll make it straight through

[Clairehv]

Hi Nuala,
Thanks for the message. It does make sense. It seems to make no difference whether she has had a 45 min nap or a two hour nap she is tired two hours later but I have been pushing her for the last week to nearly 2.5 hours from WU to nap 1 and then between nap 1-2.
I capped the CN at 15 mins today.

If I can get the second A time to be longer and she napped to nearer three then yes I agree could just push through to a BT of 6pm. Do worry she would just wake at 5 though or have you found that whether they go to bed at 6pm or 7pm they can still go through to 6-7am?

It's hard to push the A time on isn't it? If there are other people around she can go a bit longer and I have taken to changing rooms in the house
All good fun.
On a different note she has STTN for the last two nights albeit only to 6.15am ish . So happy about that x

[Clairehv]

Hi Arial, Nuala

So for the past few days maybe 4 I have been able to push A 1 &2 out to about 2 1/2 hours and am getting a morning nap of around 1hr20 and second nap of around 1hr30.

Any tips on how to move towards 3 hours A time?

We had STTN from 7pm-6am on Monday and Tuesday nights! Yippee but I was up with her from 2am-4am last night. Very unsettled and upset, possible teething.

Anyway looking forward to getting this last CN dropped

Go on holiday on Friday which hopefully won't throw everything off!

Hope you are well x

[Papaya]

Sorry, only just getting back to this thread

Papaya - at what sort of time (i.e. how long a nap) would you cap the cat nap if it's getting very close to bed time but I don't think she'll make it straight through

I'd start with 30 mins and see how that goes - my LO needed quite a bit shorter A time to bed after a 30 min nap compared with a 45 min one. I would go as short as 20 mins, before dropping the catnap altogether and just doing EBT.

Do worry she would just wake at 5 though or have you found that whether they go to bed at 6pm or 7pm they can still go through to 6-7am?

Claire, my LO would tack - so during nap transitions I have always done EBT and she would sleep until the same time, or close to it, the next morning. A 13 hour night wouldn't be uncommon during a transition. BUT, not all LOs will do this! It is definitely worth trying though. In my experience, the EBT needs to be early enough that LO is not already OT from a too-long A to bed, as that can lead to a shorter night and v. early WU. Sometimes an earlier bedtime really does give you a later WU - IF lo tacks.

Your morning nap still sounds slightly UT - I would extend by another 10 mins. Do something really low-key for these last 10 mins (I would walk around house/garden with LO in my arms talking softly). Sounds like you're nearly there! Hope the teeth aren't bothering her too badly, they are especially troublesome when you're trying to transition and you're not sure whether it's the teeth or routine causing problems!

[Clairehv]

Hi Nuala,

So we are back from our holiday in Spain, the good news first.... DD was great on the flights and we had blue skies and sunshine every day.
Her A times have definitely increased during the day as well.
Our problem on holiday was the sleep. We generally got an hour as the first nap in the cot in the villa. We pushed the A time to nearly 3 hours without much complaint from her but nap 2 regardless of whether it was in the pram or the cot never lasted longer than 1 hour. This meant a catnap everyday.
Anyway a holiday is a holiday but after two weeks I am not sure how I am going to extend that nap 2!

Our nights were awful!, we had total sleep regression. After BT of between 7-7.30pm with no fuss she pretty much woke at 11pm and 3/4am every night. I settled with a bottle as I just wanted to sleep and relaxation on hol.
A few nights we definitely had bad teething and I ended up with her sleeping next to me from 3am onwards, in the night she refuses to let me get teething gel or pain relief into her.

So first day at home today, after a pretty bad night, I need to focus on the daytime first I think. What would you tackle?

Sorry for the rant I am feeling tired 

[Miraclelim]

Hi I am new to posting here. My dd has been on BW easy since she was 2 months. She has been the greatest napper. She is now nearly 7 months. Recently she has been refusing her  catnap at 1630. Her easy routine:

Wake up 0620-0630
Eat 0700 (4.5 oz formula)
      0800 (cereal + fruit)
A till 0900 start winding down
S 0910- 1030 (1hr10 to 1hr 20)
E 1100
E 1215 lunch
A till 1330 then wind down time
S 1340 till 1415- wont resettle
A
E 1500 formula
S tried to put down at 1615 catnap failed - keeps babbling in cot n rolling n trying to sit up till I pick her up
A
E dinner 1700 veg
A bath n story time
E 1800 formula 6oz
S 1830 because of fail catnap


I have tried longer A time  3.5hr or 3.15hr or shorter A time of 3 hr but I still get at 35 mins nap only.... What can I do to lengthen her afternoon nap??? Help help and she keeps refusing her catnap at 1630. I not know by else to do...

Sorry for the rant!!!

[Miraclelim]

Sorry I mean my dd hasn't been the greatest napper!!! Typo error!!

[emma123]

hey, im also struggling with a sparky 6 month old who is rebelling against her CN! i see the window for it and she even looks like shes gonna settle for a split second and then she decides agaisnt it! it seems we´re all seeing similar patterns. one question for you guys -- when u do go for an EBT at say 6 am, what happens the next morning?

[Clairehv]

Hi Emma,
DD bedtime can be anytime between 6-7 PM depending on nap 2 and her WU is pretty much always 6.15 am.
I am chasing the elusive 7am but she hasn't done that for a month or so
X

[TB9]

Hi ladies, I see this thread isnt yoo busy but I need to join in!  DD is almost 5 months old, and if I get her A times right and let her sleep she will easily do 2 nap days...the days I dont get her A times right are a big mess   Right now she's doing 2.5hrs A (with two feeds every A) but has started giving me 45min naps.  Going to increase her A to 2hr40min to see how it goes

[Papaya]

Hi Tinkerbell! Sounds like you're almost there How have the past few days been?

[TB9]

She hasnt been able to make it through 2.5hrs A again...she does some days, but then doesnt on others, sometimes gets a good nap in but she only gets one decent nap in a day!  Part of the problem is that shes a really big baby and often wakes from naps because she is hungry so I have to be really careful about pushing A times.  Once she is eating more solids im sure that will help

[Papaya]

You could try doing a top-up an hour after her normal feed maybe? It avoids the feed to sleep issue if you top-up before nap, but she might go a bit longer! It's hard at this age when their Es and As aren't quite in sync. She's still young though, so may just not quite be ready for the longer As.

[TB9]

Well it seems we are definitely in this transition    She's refused her catnap the last two days, so as much as I hate to do it I have to really push her A time before her pm nap

[Papaya]

Can you push the morning A time first? Or does she like a shorter first A?