Support for dropping the nap part 9.

[Truly Blessed]

Hi Bex, when Sam got to this stage, I finally bit the bullet and pushed him to 12 hour (or more) days. At first he would sleep around 11/11.5 hours, but he would drop of in a nano second, no more BT resistance. He also started to fall asleep for a nap on occasion, in places he had never done before, like the sofa sitting up! in the car/pushchair again etc. This wasn't very often so I would give him 30 mins/45 mins and this helped us to shorten his day again if he was sleeping 11 hours and EW. After a couple of weeks he stopped napping at all as he started to adjust. It took 2 months, but now he goes down at 7 pm and STTN until 7 am 99% of the time. Before this we were getting NW for a long time which I put down to OT and me staying with him when he dropped off, but now I know it was UT. Even though it seemed he really needed a nap still, it affected his nights. It felt like a long haul, but it was worth it. I don't know if this would work for DD but, when all else fails it's often the only option. Just might be something to keep on the back burner, for when you have the energy to attempt

(HUGS)

Vicki.x.

[*Kara*]

^^  What Vicki said, Bex.  We had the same situation as you.. you just have to push them through hun.

[Bex09]

Thanks Vicki and Kara, great minds think alike because I did this yesterday before I read your posts!  DD woke at 7.10 yesterday so I bit the bullet and did a NND. Normally that would have put BT at 6- 6.30 but I managed to get her to 7pm. BT was no probs but we had lots of NW including a long one at 5.30am!!! But DD did go back to sleep until 8.10am. Not sure what the night was about really as DD also had a nasty croupy type cough come from nowhere last night which I think was waking her. She is very tired and grouchy already this morning. How are we going to get a NND I don't know! But guess we will push through and see how it goes, EBT may be a definite. Wish us luck!

Did you do quiet time on NND? If so what did you do and was it around the time nap would have been? Am starting to think that at 11 weeks pg this was not the time to start this!

[ZacsMumme]

On a NND we do quiet time later than the nap time. I try to keep Z out and about and busy till about 3.30-4 then I put a movie on or read books/playdoh/puzzles etc till dinner and BT which tonight was 5.45 x

[Mama_Mia]

Did you do quiet time on NND? If so what did you do and was it around the time nap would have been? Am starting to think that at 11 weeks pg this was not the time to start this!

With M, he likes his crib so much that I just continue to put him in it at naptime and leave him for an hour. He never naps anymore but at least he gets some down time.

[*Kara*]

I do much like Sara.. keep busy for most of the day then a movie/books/floor play until dinner.. then bed!  we often had a 6/615pm bedtime during the push.. now, we are commonly between 645/7pm (with the odd 630pm)... she goes down easily and wakes around 630/7am for the day.

I will say that the first month of it was rough!  But she is so much better now

[Bex09]

Thanks for the 'rest time' tips, that sounds a good idea of quiet time later in the day, I will be ready for a rest by then too!!

Well today was a big fat fail. But DD is ill so she had to have a nap, I couldn't keep her up as she was so tired and actually said she didn't want any lunch just to go to bed for a sleep! She also asked to go to bed at 7.15pm and didn't want a bath just her bed! She was asleep in minutes and that was after a 1 hour nap this afternoon. So she must be feeling ill bless her, as she never asks to go to sleep... ever. So will try again once she is feeling better.

[*Kara*]

awww~  we have had those days too!

[Dedicated mum]

Hi. Im new to posting on this forum but have been reading alot and trying to fix my DS's sleep. He is nearly 3 and has recently started going to afternoon nursery. We have also just potty trained him. (Alot of changes for him which might be affecting his sleep/mood) I still need to move him to BBB and stop his night time nappies (which are usually dry anyway)

Until recently his routine was pretty much like this:
6-7am Wake up
11-12pm Nap
7-7.30pm Bedtime

But recently he woke up one night at 3ish and refused to go back to sleep and after an hour of trying he came into my bed. Now he refuses to nap in his cot and ends up OT. Out of desperation on some days i have let him nap in my bed with me. He has gotten into a bad habit of using the closeness to me as a prop to get to sleep for these naps and also in the mornings when he comes into my bed (i know this is not ideal but i was just too tired). He is playing up at bedtime-crying out and calling us and then eventually falls asleep (between 7.30-8.30) but wakes up very early....around 5ish. My questions are:

1. Should i retrain him to sleep on his own by using either GW or Wi/Wo?
2. What should i do when he is so OT but refuses his naps? He has nursery in the afternoon and often falls asleep en-route so we turn around

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks

[Dedicated mum]

Ive started walk-in walk-out today and he is just screaming my name? Could he be having SAnxiety at nearly 3? Im so confused what to do with him.....he had been sttn for nearly a year before this 99% of the time.

[Truly Blessed]

Bex, hope DD is better soon Once we went to 12 hour days, I just went with the flow depending on what we were doing that day, but there was always 'quiet time' in there somewhere. Just watch out for her nodding off if you don't want her to.

Dedicated Mum. Having been right through the 1-0 now I can talk with some hindsight, and I know for sure that at your DS age, our DS was most certainly UT at BT. His behaviour was very similar. If he isn't ready to drop the nap (you're the expert on him) then I would cut the nap to 30 mins max, as a first port of call. The BT antics IMHO are UT without a doubt, BTDT. And we have had the NW. I put the NW down to me staying with DS for snuggles as he fell asleep and retrained with WI/WO and GW several times. Since I pushed him to 12 hour days with no nap we NEVER have BT circus, and even though I sing to him and he falls asleep while I do this, we no longer have NW, and he sleeps 12 hour nights through, it took us 2 months to get to this stage though. He falls asleep alone at my Mam's every time, so he can IS, he just loves Mammy snuggles at BT and so do I.

Hope this helps. Good Luck.

x.

[anna*]

Dedicated mum can you do an earlier (MUCH earlier) bedtime on no nap days? Like a 10.5-11 hr day? Does he ever do a long night if he has been short on sleep in the day?

[Dedicated mum]

Sammysmammy-sorry i understood most of ure msg but what is IMHO? And BTDT? I think i am just going to drop his nap completely or maybe let him have a nap every couple of days to catch up with his sleep. What do you think? I did WI/WO for 20 mins but he was just screaming and i couldnt take it so in the end i stayed in his room and he fell asleep within 5 mins so im guessing a touch of SA?

Anna-i cant do such a short day because he would be in bed by 4pm if he got up at 5am. He often falls asleep while we drive home from nursery at 3.30pm so that 10mins in the car might help him get through till 7pm and also the nap every few days. He only started waking up extra early(between 3.30-5.30am) when he dropped his naps so im guessing OT.

I think i will stick with GW and maybe even try and do the same for his naps when i think he really needs it. Problem is we are away from home next week-i hope he is sleeping better by then. Thanks for the advice

[anna*]

a 5pm bedtime then? Or a 6pm bedtime with the 10mins catnap? If you feel like it's OT, an early bedtime is a good way to catch up on some sleep. Do feel free to start a new topic on the main board, it will probably get more eyes on it than this thread. Good luck with the GW.

[Truly Blessed]

In my humble opinion and been there done that 

At this age it isn't SA, it is just your DS as a little person letting you know what he does and doesn't want, but being UT most certainly plays a big part.

It's worth trying to drop the nap and go for a catch up nap every so often. There are so many variations on what works Hun, as always it's trial and error. Here is a link for you, in case you haven't seen it:

The 1-0 transition...Advice and Tips to help you through.

My guess is if you sort out his sleep needs, him  needing you at BT will sort itself out, once he is tired enough.

x.