Nap dropping mess! clueless and tired right now....HELP PLEASE!!!

[michaeljacknnugg]

I'd set bedtime if he is putting in naps now and then to catch up - it will help set his body clock. If I go for later bedtime we always get the same wakeup time and therefore less sleep!

Good luck for tonight!

[Truly Blessed]

I'd set bedtime if he is putting in naps now and then to catch up - it will help set his body clock. If I go for later bedtime we always get the same wakeup time and therefore less sleep!

Thanks Hun, this is what I hoped for, but..........

He napped at nursery 12.30 to 2.15 and they had to wake him!!!!!  when I was on the phone his key worker was downstairs but said she thought he was awake now at 1 pm,  so I didn't say about capping it at that point  Not sure if I would/should have anyway  .

So we shot for an 8.15 BT/6 hour A time from nap. Guess what, he fought it  . He was OT but genuinely short term UT from the long nap. He finally went over with a back rub and me lying with him, at 9.10 pm. God only knows what time he will wake in the morning. I just hope it's not a 9 hour night!

This teaches me any naps will still need capping at 1 hour absolute max, not matter how tired he is. And, that I like pushing him to longer days, because I am so over the BT struggles and late nights.

Thanks to all of you for your support 

x.

[Buntybear]

So you are pushing those longer days, letting him nap if he wants to, capping it at one hour and doing a set BT? Sounds like a plan 

[Truly Blessed]

So you are pushing those longer days, letting him nap if he wants to, capping it at one hour and doing a set BT? Sounds like a plan 

Yes, except for the set BT LOL  It's going to depend on what time the nap is, and also I'm pretty sure that even if he naps through major OT it will still always result in a shorter night, so by that token set BT would mean EW next day IYKWIM  He isn't a kid that lies in bed quietly until he falls asleep LOL. Oh no, he lets you know if he is UT, in no uncertain terms. Think this plan will need tweaking until I find what really works  .

x.

[clairebear79]

Hiya hun we have 2 set bedtimes for O depending if he naps or doesnt nap. If he naps its 8pm, I never try earlier as I know he wont be ready, if its no nap its 6.30-7pm, no earlier, no later. It means the morning wu time varies quite a bit depending how tired he is (nights following naps usually much shorter) but we never get stuck with an ew, at least nothing earlier than 6.30 anyway. I reckon if you can fathom a suitable nap length & set a later bt for sam on those occasional nap days it might work ok for you too?xxx

[clairebear79]

we never get stuck with an ew, at least nothing earlier than 6.30 anyway.

Pah why is it as soon as you go & say something like that, the EW curse strikes again. Oliver's had 2 no nap days in a row, both unavoidably long at 11.5 & 12 hrs & he woke every hour last night & up at 5.40am today after just under 11hr night! Ignore everything I say!

[Truly Blessed]

we never get stuck with an ew, at least nothing earlier than 6.30 anyway.
Pah why is it as soon as you go & say something like that, the EW curse strikes again. Oliver's had 2 no nap days in a row, both unavoidably long at 11.5 & 12 hrs & he woke every hour last night & up at 5.40am today after just under 11hr night! Ignore everything I say!

Well husha your mouth with big (Hugs) to boot! The 1-0 is so hard, the hardest transition IMO, because there doesn't seem to be any right or wrong way for any child. I am up from 6 am because I have so much on my mind that I couldn't sleep. Sam is still in bed but I think I just heard him and he's only been asleep for 9.4 hours. Add to that a 1.45 and you still only get 11.5 hours, so my hope for a good CU is out of the window.

Hope today is better for you Sweetheart.

x.

[Truly Blessed]

Hi Ladies, an update:

15 days in and we're both shattered. He just won't sleep much more than 11 hours. He is UTW at the moment so last night he begged me to put him to bed and literally passed out at 6.30. He was up at 5.40 this morning. I don't know what to do. He is taking naps when he becomes exhausted, but that's 4 naps  in 15 days, and his mood is awful. He gets so tired that his ability to listen goes out of the window. We had 2 scary moments this week, he ran in a car park, out on to the road between parked cars. I let go of his hand for 2 seconds and he was gone. Thankfully God was on our side, I thought I was going to be sick. Also had a fall in a dept store whilst out with my Mam, because he wouldn't stop running. If he'd been with me he would have gone in the trolley after the first warning.

I can't see any other way but to keep going   

Any advise appreciated.

Vicki.x.

[Buntybear]

I would be APOPing short naps in the car and keeping a set BT if it were me.

[barbaraz78]

Hugs Vicki! We have this behavior too (both things you said happened here too), but I'm not sure it is sleep related. It is more developmental and pushing limits, I think. Of course, when he's ot it is more frequent.
We are averaging 11.5 h per day, and I think it is what he needs now. Having it spread between naps and night helps a lot, for us.

[Truly Blessed]

I would be APOPing short naps in the car and keeping a set BT if it were me.

Thanks Hun, I agree, problem is I don't have any way to do that now, as he is at nursery more as I'm stowed under with work right now  .

He is out with his Dad while I get some work done and they are at soft play. Today he is a different boy, DH says he is having a ball, and the only reason I can give for his happiness is that he crashed out after 11 hours last night on a NN day. I am wondering if I should shorten his day consistently to 11.5 and then he might start tacking again  Scary though because WU is shifting earlier to start with.

Do I stick with the long days and hope he adjusts, or take a leap of faith and try the above after I give him a long nap and go for late BT in order to try and get a late morning WU to spring from

x.

[barbaraz78]

Hi Vicki, how are things going on?
Has Sam adjusted to the long days, eventually?

[Truly Blessed]

Hi Vicki, how are things going on?Has Sam adjusted to the long days, eventually?)

So nice of you to check in Barbara. We are doing 12 hour days 7 am to 7pm. I got strict on the gro clock and retrained not to shout before 7 which works most days, but he isn't allowed out of his room until 7 and stays in bed. He naps as and when he chooses (he drops of everywhere and anywhere!) and I allow no more than 45 mins, and 30 mins if it's late. Wake up no later than 3. Then I adjust BT by only 30 mins.

He is often tired but for now it is a plan and at least there is some consistency. Often we get 11 hours sleep in 24, but I think it will lengthen once he fully adjusts.

Hope you and yours are all well.x.
                     
                  
                  
                     
                     
                     
                        

[barbaraz78]

Yeah, we are averaging 11.5 h with or without a nap. It seems that if F naps for 1 h, the the night will be 10 h and if he doesn't nap night is around 11-11.5 h. It is what it is, I guess. I am a little stressed about it, as it doesn't seem enough for him now (a lot of bad behavior) but there's not much I can do, and possibly the bad behavior is developmental. I'm not so sure it will lengthen though, I think that it may be his average needs. I know there will likely be periods of higher sleep needs and periods of lower sleep needs, as there have always been.
We are also having lots of nnd, we offer nap every day putting a timer and he sometimes sleeps sometimes not (at preschool he naps though mostly), but it seems if he falls asleep it is always after 2.45 pm, so very late...
So, we are in a similar boat, I think!

[Truly Blessed]

Sounds very similar Barbara. When we had the clock change it worked in our favour for the first time, because I was able to put him down after 11 hours and he sept 12, so I know his days are too long, but that doesn't work consistently any more. I agree it can be stressful Hun, but again I think we would probably be experiencing developmental bad behaviour even if they slept 13 hours LOL.

(Hugs) to you and F

x.