The 2-1 journey continues....

[Joy-filled]

Well unfortunately I still can't seem to help my boy have a proper nap yet.  His nap continues to be broken.  He wakes up after 1 sleep cycle (25-35 min), cries for 5-10 min and then falls back asleep for 1 more sleep cycle (30-45 min).  Sometimes he tries to fall back asleep for a few min sometimes he just immediately sits/stands up and cries.  I then give him at least 20 min to see if he'll settle and fall back asleep but no luck.  So he's getting an average total nap of 1 hr 15.  BT is between 6:15 and 6:45, depending on WU and nap length.  He continues to wake up a few times in the first few hours of the night and then again in the morning between 5 and 6:30.  Fortunately most NWs he doesn't cry or only briefly cries but his total night sleep is 11-11.5 hrs (possibly less as I really don't know how often or how long his NWs are as he is such an amazing SSer at night.  He is then waking up between 6:15-6:50 (the last couple of days have been 6:15ish). 

Today was day 18 with no rocking and set nap at 11:30 or 5 hr A time if he sleep past 6:30.  Progress we've made is that his angry screaming has turned into more of a mantra cry but other than that one day with the 2 hr 20 min nap, sleep amounts aren't getting better  .  I don't see any other option except to keep on keeping on and hope that one of these days my boy won't be OT and will sleep well for naps and night time...  Agree?

 

[ZacsMumme]

So he is getting 12 hrs at night is that right? - that is great! I know the nap stinks (well it's ok, but I know for you it does ) but the long nights are positive.

I'm not sure fi I would stick with that time for a wee bit longer or up the A

[Joy-filled]

He is in his crib for 12+ hrs but he loses sleep from the NWs so it's usually 11-11.5 hrs of night sleep (sometimes probably less, I just don't know since I'd rather sleep than watch the monitor ).  I don't think I should up the A time as I'm certain he's OT as he always wakes after the 1st sleep cycle and he's always upset when he wakes up from the 2nd one.  He usually tries to fall back asleep after he wakes up from the 2nd sleep cycle but I think he's had just enough sleep to take the edge off so the tiredness doesn't beat out the upsetness so he doesn't fall back asleep.  Also, the multiple NWs are a sign of OTness  .  I don't think decreasing his A time will help either, though since in the past that hasn't resulted in the nap lengthening, I'd still get a 2 sleep cycle length nap only it would end earlier so he'd have a mega long A time until BT on a short nap.  I think the only option, as far as I see it, is to carry on and hope the nap eventually lengthens  .

[Joy-filled]

At the same time, he did have one nap a couple days ago that was only 55 minutes.  I gave him 30 minutes to try to fall back asleep but he didn't.  So that day it seemed like an UT nap  .  I don't know....

[ZacsMumme]

Hugs it's hard. Lt give it anther week and see he things go? - I have read that it can take 3 weeks for a routine to become their normal and for the bodies to adjust.

Do you think teething could end am issue ATM?

[Joy-filled]

Thanks for the hugs but I'm actually doing quite well.  Since he's SSing for the NWs and not crying much I've been getting much more sleep and now that I'm not rocking him or driving around to APOP I actually get an hour of "Y" time so I'm flying high  .  I just wish my little guy was getting the sleep he needs, yk?

I don't think teeth are an issue.  He just got 2 teeth but they barely seemed to affect him other than a long NW twice.  Those teeth are cut now, though.  Unless it's his molars but his cheeks aren't red, he isn't drooling, he isn't refusing food, and other than some clearly OT melt downs as we got close to nap time or BT he's fine.  Just poor sleep as per usual with this little guy  .  I do wonder if he'll ever sleep well.  Are there some babies that just never do? Have you moderators ever come across a child that takes years before they STTN and who never ends up napping well?  I'm just wondering if that may end up being how things go with Aaron and perhaps I should prepare myself for that possibility?  I'm not trying to be negative, just truly curious  .  Any thoughts?

Alright, 3 more days and that will take us to 3 weeks of trying this out so maybe things will improve over the next few days.  Here's hoping  .

[Eva's Mummy]

Char i know i'm not much help but you only know he is having NW's as you have a video monitor. If you didn't have that you would assume he has slept right through and count it as a 12hr night. There is a good possibilty that all babies have NW's and as they are quiet we just dont know about them so i really would worry about them or even count them unless he wakes and cries.

[Joy-filled]

Some NWs he cries and some he doesn't but he always SS.  I know he's tired and wants/needs more sleep as yesterday, for example, he woke at 6:15 and spent the next 35 min trying so hard to fall back asleep but he couldn't quite get there. Do you think then that I should ignore all NWs and believe that he's getting 12 hrs of night sleep and therefore isn't OT? Do you think he isn't OT? 

The only reason I pay attention to the NWs is because they indicate to me that he's OT.  When he sleeps better, he doesn't have NWs.  When he sleeps worse, he has NWs. I guess I just thought it was helpful information indicating that 1-1.25 hrs of daytime sleep isn't enough for him, yk?  If he wasn't having the NWs, I'd think he can cope fine with that much sleep so what's the issue, does it really matter that his nap is short?  So the reason I count it is because it tells me he's OT and it also tells me when he woke up in the morning (like yesterday, for example). Does that make sense or am I off?

[Joy-filled]

Not sure what to do about BT today so if I could get some input I'd appreciate it.

WU 6:10, GU 6:30 (no NWs that I know of so I think he got 11.75 hrs of sleep which is great)
A 5 hr 20
Nap 11:30-12:03 (33 min), sat up and cried for a few min then eventually back asleep 12:15-12:50 (35 min), sat up and cried then stood chatting, then mantra crying on and off.  Acting UT.  I'm so confused .

So a total nap of 1 hr 8 min which usually means I aim for an earlier 6:00ish BT, however I am starting to wonder if part of the problem is that he's spending so much time in his crib.  jcsmom once suggested that (a few months ago) as perhaps a reason for Aaron's short naps.  Maybe he figures since he spent 12.25 hrs in his crib for the night and got a 1 hr 8 min nap that's enough.  Perhaps the earlier BT is causing his naps to be short?  However, that one day last week that he had his miracle 2 hr 20 min nap he'd spent over 13 hrs in his crib the night before as he slept from 6:20-7:35 with a 1 hr NW so maybe not?  Just not sure...

6:00 BT today or 6:30?  Any advice? 6:30 would be a 12.25 hr day with only a 1 hr 8 min nap so I'm not sure if that's a good idea.

[ZacsMumme]

I agree with Gail re the NW. All babies wake in the night. I wake still in the night lol but I would only count them if he cries and is awake longer than 5-20 mins.

I do think JCs mum has a point. but I also think 5hr20 is a big A time to then get 35 mins x 2 YK?

[Joy-filled]

Alright, so any NWs that are 5 min or less aren't a sign of OTness then so I won't worry about them.  From 5:00-6:30, though he often wakes up 3-8 times for 5-10 min each time...sometimes less frequently and sometimes for longer stretches. His sleep is often very poor during that time.

For today, the A time had to be 5 hr 20 since I'm not doing his nap any earlier than 11:30 .  So since it was an earlier WU and a poor nap would you say I should do EBT for 6:00ish? 

[Eva's Mummy]

Its hard to tell with the early morning sleep all i know is that Eva always wakes around 5:30ish i can hear her the she goes quiet for a then i hear her on an of so i assume she is nodding on and off but i dont count that as her waking as she is still dosing so i class that as still her sleep time. I only count it from when she is constantly chatting or crying then i know she is fully awake.

[jcsmom]

Hey Char, call me crazy, but I wonder if he needs even longer of an A to push that nap later/wu later and make the nap longer. Once my DS was on 6 hours A at 14 months, his nap got to 2 hours++. I wonder if the early morning unsettledness is from his nap being still too early. I would try to push it out to 12:30/1pm with an EBT and see where that gets you. A too early nap can cause Ews and thus causing him to be OT by nap time, you know?

How have the last few days been?

[Joy-filled]

I don't think you're crazy jcsmom...I was starting to wonder whether he's UT as well. However yesterday was a bit better and today was fantastic so now I'm not sure. We've reached the 3 week mark of set nap at 11:30 or using 5 hr A time if WU is after 6:30. He's had a decent nap once (yesterday) and a really good nap twice, one of which happened today.  So...perhaps his body clock is now setting?  The last few days:

Sat
WU 6:10 (11.75 hrs night sleep no NWs), GU 6:30 (counting time in crib as 1/2)
A 5 hr 10
Nap 11:30-12:03 (33 min) sat up and cried then asleep 12:15-12:50 (45 min)
BT 6:30
Night - no NWs, got 11 hr 40 min sleep

Sun
WU 6:10, GU 6:50 as he spent 40 min trying to fall back asleep
A 5 hr - clearly OT by nap time (I think )
Nap 11:30-12:25 (55 min) woke crying, asleep 12:45-1:20 (35 min), cried then back asleep for another 7 min - total 1 hr 35 not bad 
BT 6:40
Night - no NWs, got 11 hr 40 min

Today
WU woke crying at 6:10, asleep 6:25-6:35, GU 6:50
A 4 hr 55 - clearly tired close to nap time
Nap 11:35-12:43 (1 hr 8 min) woke crying, asleep 12:50-1:05 (15 min), cried but back asleep right away until 1;30 when he woke crying - so about 1 hr 50 min nap 

I think I'm going to continue on for a few more days with the same plan and see how things go.  If the naps don't seem to be going in the right direction then perhaps it will be time to reassess and consider if we're in an UT/OT loop?

[Joy-filled]

Aaron is struggling right now.  We're getting melt downs before his nap and BT and last night we're went back to multiple crying NWs (4 ENWs, one of which was crying on and off for 35 min and EMWs about 10 min each).  I'm pretty sure it's not teething, just a build up of OTness - he slept 1 hr 10 min yesterday, woke crying, was able to fall back asleep for another 7 min and that was it  .

He woke up this morning at 6:45 crying and tried to put himself back to sleep but gave up at 7:00 so I got him up.  Total night sleep about 10.75 hrs.  Since he woke after 6:30, the plan is that I'd then do a 5 hr A time and go for an 11:50/55 nap (counting time in crib as 1/2 time), however I think today I should stick with 11:30 set nap instead of the 5 hr A time as I think he's OT and could use the shorter than 5 hr of A time.  Thoughts?