30min naps and A times all over the place!!

[Vee119]

Help!  We used to have great naps and not-so-great nights. Now the nights are brilliant and the naps are all over the place! I am hoping to go to a 3.5h EASY soon but I can't seem to get DD's A times right and I'm at a loss It looks like she is around 1h20min but sometimes this gives an UT nap, but when I extend to 1h25, or 1h30 I sometimes get an OT nap .  Typically I would oput her down as soon as she yawns or does the stare, but now I sometimes don't see a yawn when I expect I should. I am hoping someone can take a look and see if there is something obvious that I'm missing in our routine. The past few days have looked like this

W/u 6:35
E 6:45
S 8:20-9, 9:15-10:30 she resettled on her own
E 10:35
S 12-12:35
E 1:20
S 2:20-4
E 4:15
S 5:25-6
E 6 bath E: 6:45
BT 7:25
DF 9:15 NF 3:15 5:10

W/u 7
E 7:10
S 8:40-9:55
E 10
S 11:15-12:15
E 1:20
S 2-2:30
E 3:20
S 3:35-4:20
S 5:25-5:40
E 5:45 bath E: 6:25
BT 6:30 DF 9:15 NF 3:45

W/u 6:50
E 6:55
S 8:10-8:50 then 8:55-9:35 she resettled on her own
E 9:50
S 11-11:30
E 12:35
S 1:30-3
E 3:30
S 4:35-5:15
E 6 bath E: 6:40
BT 6:45 DF 9:15 NF 2:30 NW 4:30

Today w/u 7
E 7
S 8:15 -9:35
E 10:30
S 11:25-12 then  12:25-1
E 1:30
S 2:30-3
E 3:45
S 4:10-5:05

Thank you!

[becj86]

Hi

It looks like you need to have those A times up around 1:45 to 1:50 - you're getting UT naps in the morning with 1:40, then stick with that A time through the day. This month, from 3 to 4 months has a 30min increase in average A time from 1.5hr to 2hr - that means 15min every 2 weeks or you tend to end up with a mess.

The OT naps I can see are when you've had an UT 1hr nap, then a full A time, so just extending those A times and keeping them consistent should help. You're close, especially if she's resettling herself

[Vee119]

Thanks Bec

The first nap today at 1h45 A was UT...maybe she needs 2h??  I tried a longer A for nap 2 and that backfired...I'm guessing I'll have an OT nap.  If we start with a 2hr A, and we get an OT nap that I can't resettle, do we shorten the next A or for this week, should we just stick to the 4h EASY routine times and ride the bumps that will come. I feel like my attempts to adjust A following an UT or OT nap are how I'm getting into the mess I'm in, but at the same time I'm not sure how DD will react to a "forced" routine.

[becj86]

I think 2hr may be a bit much for her. I found OT naps much easier to resettle though, provided I got in there really quickly or went in at 25min and held my hand on DS if he stirred. Once they're worked up, its harder to resettle.

When you say the first nap was UT, why do you say that?

I don't think you can just jump A time to 2hr and stick to it without taking into account her nap length - you'll end up with a very OT baby and that blind clock-following is something Tracy was very much against.

For shortening A times following short naps, try reducing the next A time by half the missed sleep, so if your A time is 1:50 (probably reasonable given the UT nap at 1:45 this morning and in the last few days) and the nap is 1:10, then reduce next A time to 1:40, if you have an OT nap of 30min, reduce next A time by 30min. Its a general rule, doesn't work for all babies, or even most babies but it is the 'average' and gives you something to work from.

I think the easiest way to get the right A time is to watch the clock until ~10min before nap time and then watch baby for sleepy cues. If no cues in 15-20min though, PD for nap anyway and be prepared to resettle an OT waking ~30min into the nap.

[Vee119]

I definitely have a very tired little girl tonight,  things went awry from nap 1 and I couldn't "fix" them.  Tomorrow is a new day!
 
The first nap was 45mins...I guess it was OT not UT..Sigh....the rest of the day was:
W/u 7
E 7:05
S 8:45-9:30 (I put her down at 8:40)
E 11
S 11:45-1:15 (put her down at 11:20..she was unhappy the whole time so I finally figured out that she was OT she resettled on her own at 12:15)
E 2:20
S 3:20-5:15 (she resettled on her own at 4)
E 5:30
BT 6:40

I'm guessing tomorrow I will have to cut the first A time short to make up for the bad day/possibly bad night???

[becj86]

No, keep the first A time to 1:50. That's one of the mistakes people make and end up with EWs and UT naps and get into an OT/UT cycle. Best to stick with the same A time for the new day.

[Vee119]

It's been 7 days of rubbish naps and I now have a very very OT lo please tell me it will be better soon!  I have seen other posts from people with similar issues for their 3.5-4mo so I know I'm not alone...it's like a support group! I just wish I could figure the naps out so DD can sleep more than 30mins at a time!

I have tried to stick to the 1h50 A time and so far I have had only OT naps all day, with the catnap failing completely in the last two days. We've done ebt everyday and it keeps getting earlier.  I'm worried that I'm going backwards with all the APOPing, and I wonder if I she is accumulating all her tiredness making each day worse than the last.

I'm so lost....do I reduce A time a little tomorrow to start us on a better footing or should we stick to 1h50?

[becj86]

You can reduce a bit and see if that helps. The other thing is how you're resettling? It might help to resettle by being there at 25min into the nap and holding through the jolts/patting/soothing as she stirs rather than waiting til she wakes and cries.