Nap/schedule questions (1-year-old baby)

[Orsi]

Hi there! I would like to ask for your help with the nap of my 1 year old little girl.

We started the pu/pd about 3 weeks ago. We had 3 difficult nights but it worked! I was so amazed (and proud of myself that she started to sleep from 8pm until about 8am in the morning without waking up!!!! The days were really good too she was steady. She had one nap from about 10:30 until 13:00 (2.5 hours). After a few days as she got used to the more sleep at night she was less sleepy in the morning so I started to put her down later, at 11:30am. She then slept for 2-3 hours.

Our schedule was the following:

8am wake-up
E 8:10am breakfast (bottle)
A + snack at 10 am
S nap from 11:30 am until 13:30 pm
E 14:00 lunch
A + snack at 16:00pm
E 17:30pm dinner
A
18:30 bath + evening routine (bottle at 19:30 pm)
S 20:00pm bedtime

This fantastic harmony last for about a week…Than she shortened her night sleep, she started to wake up at about 6am but I usually manage to put her back to sleep until about 7 am. This is still ok however she is already tired and fussy at about 8-9 am. I changed the nap-time again and tried to put her down earlier at about 10:15am. It worked for a few days, she fall asleep easily, but one day after a 1.5hour fight I gave up… Even if she falls asleep between 10am and 11am she wakes up after 45mins or 1.5 hour. And for example today I was unable to make her sleep in the morning, she had her nap from 2pm. The main issue is that she is tired the whole day, apparently she does not get enough sleep.

What should I do??? How much should I force the fix nap time? I would like to have a schedule that is suitable for her, I do not want to make her suffer by put her into bed if she is not sleepy at all! And what if I put her into bed, try to make her sleep for one and a half hour (pu/pd, crying….) and she does not fall asleep? Should I continue until she falls asleep or stop? When should I stop? If I stop will then the next time be more difficult? What is the general schedule of a one year-old baby?

I am so frustrated now, I would be glad to hear your suggestions, opinion.
Thanks a lot for your help!
Orsi

[LovelyLilyandJack]

Firstly, well done for doing so well with PUPD!  I'm sure we can help you get back on track with her routine too.  I'm going to move your post over to Sleeping for Toddlers as your LO is over 12 months now, but in the meantime, some thoughts:

1 - It is possible that she's pushing back on the PUPD - some LOs like to test that it still holds a few weeks down the line, which could be contributing to the nap resistance.  If you stay consistent then that should pass if it's got anything to do with it.

2- 3.5 hrs A time in the morning is very short for a 12 month old, so even if she prefers a longer afternoon and shorter morning, there's a good chance her nap needs to be moved later.  If she's sleeping better at night this would definitely mean she'd need a longer morning, and it may be that you were heading in the right direction with an 11.30 nap, she just needed another little push to get to the right nap time.  This is a good age for set naps as they can use them to self regulate and it takes the guess work out.  A fairly typical routine at this age for a baby on an 8-8 routine would be to nap between 1 & 3ish, so it's probably worth trying to move towards that.  A short morning can also contribute to EWs, so a later nap should help with that too.

What do you think?  Youc an gradually start moving her nap later if you agree.  I'd normally say to extend her A time by 15 minutes at a time, but as you've probably got  a little way to go to get to a 12.30 / 1pm nap, you could probably go a bit quicker than that.  How about going back to a set nap at 11.30am for 3 days, then 12pm, hold for 3 days, then move towards 12.30 / 1pm a bit more slowly?

[Orsi]

Thanks very much for your help! It sounds good to set a later nap time. Actually today after trying to put her down in the morning without success she fall asleep at 12:30pm (I put her in the bed and she fall asleep in 5 mins). It seems like this is about the time when she is sleepy enough so I will try the 12:30pm right away. What do you think? 

[LovelyLilyandJack]

Yes, if you're happy to try that you might as well.  At worst she might get a bit OT, but it should sort itself out over the course of a week. Let me know how you get on