Help still struggling - 8 months old now

[jakobsmom]

Is it possible that my guy needs a longer A until bed time?  It seems like we get better stretches when DS has 4-5 hour A time before bed (after a good afternoon nap).  I am ok with this as it put BT around the 8 pm mark which works great for us.  Kind of dumbfounded by this.....

[jessmum46]

Kristen - DS also started doing a better night with a long stretch before bed. However it very quickly unravelled and he seemed exhausted in the morning despite a seemingly better night.  I guess you could try it a few days and see what happens?

[jakobsmom]

Thanks Katherine, I am going to give it a few days for sure.  I do not think I would attempt this with a short afternoon nap though.  He has been doing anywhere from 1.45-2.5 for afternoon nap, so I think he is well rested.  However like you said it could all unravel with OT.  Will keep plugging on and see how things go, thats all we can do at this time

[jakobsmom]

Suzanna, he did go to bed well.  Slept until 11 was up for an hour then finally settled until 6.  Its an improvement, at least he wasnt up every hour.

[jessmum46]

Good luck hun, keep us posted.  Although it's no help, it's good to know that we're in thus rubbish sleep thing together xx

[athenasmom]

Yeah, the hourly NW's are killer for sure  We had those at the 4 month sleep regression for a while. I would take an hour NW over that any given day. I don't want to be sounding negative but it might be that your little guy is just a sensitive bad sleeper and you might get NW's for a while no matter what you do.  In my previous birth club we had a little girl who was like that and her mom always said she blamed the position of the Moon, the Sun and the stars for her NW's 

BTW I think he can do that long A time after a nice long nap (I mean 2.5 hour sounds heavenly to me, it almost never happens here) and that would mean he is really close to the 2-1 switch. 

[jakobsmom]

Well he did a two hour nap this am, I will put him down just before 3 but wont let him sleep past 4.  That way we can easily aim for 8-830 BT depending on his mood.

DS1 was a very sensitive sleeper, was hoping to get a break this time around lol.  Im still holding on to the hipe that I havent quite figured him out yet

[jakobsmom]

We got a 30 minute nap after a 3.75 A following the long nap this AM.  So we wont make it to 8.  BT will have to be between 7-730 ish.  I was going to do 4 hour A tomhis second nap as he was quite happy unitl around the 3.5 mark started rubbing his eyes so took him into his room and he was asleep just before the 3.75 mark.  That and the four hour mark wouldve been at the time I get DS1 off the bus.  Any thougts about BT - knowing the EBT doesnt work.  He almost treats EBT like another nap.  Sleeps 45-60 minutes then up And ready to go...

[Martini~]

Just wanted to post Hon that probably after 2h morning nap he wouldn't like to nap for more than 1h so you will not have to wake him:).

Jut a thought, maybe you could consider capping morning nap if he decided to sleep longer here on let's say 1,5h or other minimum which is giving you at least 1h nap in the afternoon. WDYT? I know you don't want to cap naps but I guess that maybe capping first but letting him sleep as much as he wants on second nap + BT at 8pm even if it is 3h after WU from a previous nap. He should be tired as the day was long, WDYT?

[jakobsmom]

Hi me again,
So Marta we tried what you suggested.  We capped the am nap to 1.5 hours and the second nap is roughly 1.5-2 depending on the time of day.

We have stuck with the 3 hour A in the am
3.5 after nap
Then we have to do at minimum 4 hours to bed.  We tried bed sooner but it just doesnt work.  He screams and cries etc with an earlier BT but if we go back into his room at the 4/4.5 hour mark BT is easy.  And TBH we get the best nights with a 4.5 hour A until bed.

I was going to cap his am nap to one hour today to bring his afternoon nap a bit earlier.  I was going to try and push out am A time to see if this works but honestly we are having better nights not perfect but better and I do not want to start playing around with things even more.  Is it possible he just needs a really long A to bed?  He is a very busy baby crawling, pulling himself up on everything and trying to stand independently.  He can get up on both knees by himself already and maintain it for a few seconds!

Any thoughts?

[athenasmom]

My thought is that every baby is different. You know him best  Also, if it ain't broken do not try to fix it. If he is getting better nights with 4-4.5 hours A time to BT then keep it. If it means that you have to cap his morning or afternoon nap then do it. I am glad that nights are getting better for you and keep my fingers crossed that it sticks. And WOW on all that movement ... he really is busy 

[Martini~]

Hi Honey! That's great that his nights are better!
Can you post your rutine right now? If I am correct you are now on 14,5h days so a long one! If it suits him, I wouldn't change! The question is if it suits you. I like to have some time in the evening for myself:).

If you decide to shorten first nap, I would be tempted not to cut/prolong any A time in the morning or after nap. I would go for the same routine as you have but shorten nap by 0,5h and than go for 3,5-4h after second nap. And I would tweak until you find a good, suitable for you and tour family balance between WU/BT.

Than you know to which strategy you will go when approaching 2:1 transition. Shortening first nap:).

[jessmum46]

Sounds good hun, if it is working for you all then go with it, don't worry about what he 'should' be doing or what others are doing.  If he needs the long A to bed, he needs the long A . If you want the day a touch shorter maybe do as Marta suggests, shorten the first nap, keep same A time before second nap and then he may be willing to go down a touch sooner in the evening x