Transitioning 3-2???

[Miraclelim]

I have a high sleep need baby here. Have been trying to increase A time for a while now but can't quite get it right. Now she is currently teething for the first time  coughing n running now. So I am not sure if it is because she is unwell? But ever since a baby she loves a sleep a lot like 16 hrs a day.

Currently she is 6.5 mth. I a, stuggling to increase a time without her getting overtired n cranky. If she doesn't get her enough sleep she is unbearable.

Wu 6-7 ( if she is awake before 7 she is happily talk to herself in bed till I get her up at 7)
Nap 2.40/2.45 hr post awake if I get the a time right she will sleep for 2hr otherwise she will wake up 45 mins into her nap then coos n talk to herself for 10/15mins before dropping to sleep again.
Second nap is where I am getting trouble into
Because if nap is shorted than 1.5 hr I do  A time of 2hr 30min but sometimes it backfires and end up with either undertired or overtired nap. If undertired she will wake up and coos for 15 mins then back to sleep again, if overtired she will not sleep again.
Then catnap at 5pm (2hr post nap) I get a 40mims nap
Bedtime is mostly 715pm - 730pm mostly she will be begging to be put to sleep. Almost asleep in like less than 5pm.

So typically on a good day like yesterday
Wu 0615
Nap 0900-1100
Nap 1340-1500
Nap 1700-1740
Bedtime 1915
NW 2315  feed her n back to sleep immediately
NW 0350 feed n didn't go back to sleep till 0420
 Wake up this morning 0637

Wu 0637
Nap 0915-0955 wake up and coos for 15 mins then back to sleep till 1045
Nap 1315-1345 wake up then cools for 15 mins and back to sleep


I am so lost now. The prob I have now is she has been having night wake at sometimes 1 ish or 3ish for 1 hr happily not crying so I feed her sometimes she will go back to sleep sometimes not.
Also short naps in the pm and early wake at 5ish always requiring a feed to go back to sleep at 6ish and wake up at 7. She used to sleep till 7ish in the morning,. Can't get her a time right.

What am I doing wrong.?? Sorry for such a long story. Is it because she is transitioning to 3-2 or teething n sickness cause all this....

Thank you for taking time to reading this.

[jessmum46]

I'm not quite sure from what you posted but is your main concern not being able to increase A time, or is it the night wakings? 

If she is napping well on shorter than average A times, my usual advice would be to leave it be. There's no rush to increase A all other things being well.  Yes many babies are on two naps at this age but many others aren't, so if shorter A times seem to suit better then go with it.

However........

A couple of things suggest to me that she may need a bit of a push. First the waking chatting 45 mins into her nap, and second the long happy NWs.  Both of those are signs of under tiredness and I would say, signs the 3-2 transition has begun.  My advice if she is sensitive to OT would be just to take things slowly.  Increase her A time just 5-10 mins low-key activity for her first A of the day.  If she manages a good nap, do the same with the second A.  Hopefully that will take you to a little later in the day, so you can try for a shorter catnap of say 30 mins.  Hold that new A time for 3-4 days before trying another tiny push.  Really you are almost there anyway with 2h40-45 A time .

You will hit a point where there's no time for a 'proper' CN but it's too long to normal BT.  If you get to that, opt for EBT instead, or a teeny CN.

So for example:

WU 6.15
Nap 9.15-11.15
Nap 2.15-3.45
Bit too long to a 7.15 bedtime......so either CN 5.45-6/6.05 (15-20 mins) - though it may be refused - and 7.15 BT or bring BT early to say 6.30/45pm.  I'd favour EBT because that always worked better here, but others prefer to keep the CN if LO doesn't refuse it.

She may struggle initially to extend her A because of the disturbed nights.  But hopefully a slow increase should improve the nights or give more settled naps, therefore making it easier to stretch that little bit further.