Please help us get back on track - we have lost our way! 6 months....

[empowered mama]

Thank you for your response Ima shel Alon; all that is very helpful and makes total sense to me. 

Right now we seem to have taken a trip back to OT-land and are trying to get back to a fresh start.  It appears the hardest part of the day is that A time before bed, and I agree with you - my gut is telling me he is OT by bed and fighting sleep.  Can I ask how much you would shorten your last A for your LO before bed?  Maybe 15 minutes or so?

[Violet's mom]

For me it depended on her last nap.  For example - 1.5 hr nap I did a 2 hr 35 min A before bed, 2 hr nap - 2 hr 45 min.  She sometimes rarely would last the 3 hrs but now at 7 months old she does!

[Ima shel Alon]

You won't believe me if I told you but at this age he could have napped in the PM and then go to bed no problem after 1.5h!!!
Our problem was that the last nap finished so late and I thought that with a full A time BT will be like at 20:30 which was 1.5h later than what we usually did and I just didn't want that. I posted here and some mommies told me to try and have a short A time before BT, let the second nap finish whenever it finishes and keep BT at the same time as always (19 for us). I was ssssoooooooo reluctant but it really did work!

[empowered mama]

Very interesting about that BT - did you still get a 12 hr night with such a short last A time?

We are definitely improving, though there are a few things that might need tweaking.  This was our day yesterday:

Wake up - 7:20 (hallelujah!)
E - 7:45
A -
S - 10:35 (2 hr nap)

E - 12:45
A -
S - 3:55 (1h25 min nap - had a hard time settling and woke up crying)

E - 5:30
A -
S - tried for a BT with 2h15min A, but did not settle in until 8:05; last A time was 2h45min

-today woke up at 6:30 with 10.5 hrs night sleep

Trying to figure if things are OT or UT for that 2nd nap and BT.  Any hunches?

TY ladies....

[Ima shel Alon]

When did you try and put him down for his second nap? How long did it take him to settle?

[Violet's mom]

What time did you put him down when you got the 7:20am wake up?  And were there night wakings at all?

[empowered mama]

The 2nd A time was 3h20min; took him 10-15min to settle which is unusual for him.  Typically I lay him down and he is out within 5 min max.

After him waking for the day at 7:20, I put him down for the first nap after 3h15A time (got the 2 hr nap); then he went to bed at 8:05 that night.  I think there was a brief NW around 12 or so, then I heard him sometime around 3-4 AM, then up at 6:30. 

He seems to be wanting a really high A time in the morning now; today I put him down around 3h25 A time and he gave me a 1h15min nap.  Is it unheard of for a 6.5 month old to do a 3.5 A time? 

[Ima shel Alon]

DS was also on really high A times. Is he waking ok from the 1:15h nap?

How was second nap yesterday and today? If you still have problems with it (even though 1:25h is a good nap) I wuld try and tweak this A time a bit, perhaps try and offer 10min more, so 3.5h A time or shorten it to 3:10h and see if it helps - it's really hard to know if he is UT or OT.

[empowered mama]

He does seem relatively happy after the 1h15 nap, though he was ready for nap #2 by 3hrs A time and then took a 2 hr nap.  Today however, he has me a little mystified:

Up at 6:35
1st A = 3h25, got a 1h20min nap

2nd A = 3h10, with a 1h10min nap

Not terrible naps, but it's leaving me scratching my head.  I wonder if I push that 1st A a little more, and scale back on the 2nd A, then we can see what happens.  Always a tweak around the corner, eh?

[Violet's mom]

V has been napping about the same for the past couple days no matter what a time she has lately - has been pretty happy during the day afterwards but now is waking more frequently at night.  Always something! 

[Ima shel Alon]

I think that as much as tweaking is important and often 5min would solve the problem, it's also important to give LOs enough time to get used to their A. I wouldn't make any conclusions based on yesterday, I would just stick to the same A times for 2 more days and then we can see.

[empowered mama]

How are you getting on violet's mom?  Any luck with longer naps yet?

[Violet's mom]

I think we've turned a corner actually.  She gets two 1.25 to 1.75 hr naps during the day but has been consistently sleeping 7 to 7 at night with one wake to feed at 4ish, although two nights ago she slept through so I think we are getting there!  Much happier baby, even with 1 hr naps.  I think the nighttime sleep is what she needed most!  How are things with you?

[empowered mama]

Wow that is great news   I agree on the nighttime sleep - when my LO gets a good night, the day is a breeze even if the naps aren't perfect.

We are up and down a little, though making progress I think.  Still getting shorter nights, like 10-10.5 hrs so the tweaking continues.  However, we also got a few nights with no wake-ups, so that was something to celebrate  

Out of curiosity, how old is your LO and what are her current A times?

[Violet's mom]

She is 7.5 months - yours has to be about 7 by now right?  Yeah last night she slept 7:15 to 6am with no night wakings!  First time ever!  Glad you are making some progress too!