Author Topic: Help with 3 to 2 transition (now 2-1 transition!)  (Read 12849 times)

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Offline LittleSplasherMum

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Help with 3 to 2 transition (now 2-1 transition!)
« on: June 24, 2015, 06:45:00 am »
Hi all, we are trying to cut the third nap but I'm not sure I'm doing the right thing  ???
Ds will be 9 months in a couple of days, he started fighting the third nap between 6 and 7 months and it was getting later and later and we were having EWs. One day he didn't go down at all for it, so we put him down for the night at 6.30 and he slept till 6! we were pretty amazed so thought that was the solution. Then we went on holiday for two weeks (he was 8 months) and he could not stay up for more than 2.30 hours, so back to three naps, but it was ok, he slept till 6 most days.
Now we have been back for about two weeks and started increasing his awake time again. Some days we have only two naps and he goes to sleep early, other days we have to have another nap. The problem now is that he's starting waking at 5am again! I have read lots of posts in here and it seems that it's quite normal to have EWs during this transition.
Now my question is: do I keep giving him the nap if his second nap ends too early or do I try to cut the nap completely and try to stretch the awake time until we can get back to a proper BT (7-7.30)? As of yesterday we are on 2.55 awake time.
At the moment his routine is pretty much like this:
if he wakes at 6:
6.30 eat, then breakfast about an hour later
8.55 nap, usually about an hour
10 wake, 10.30 lunch
13ish nap, another hour or a bit more (we don't tend to get more than 1h20 apart from rare occasions when he sleeps for 2h, but could be also 30 mins here)
so now, if he sleeps till 2 or later I usually don't give him another nap and put him down by 6/6.15

Yesterday he woke at 5.15, kept him up till 8.10, slept two hours, but then he went down for his second nap at 13.05 and only slept 30 min ( I was expecting this because of his long morning nap), so managed to get another 25 min nap between 16.30 and 17 bed at 18.25

Also, what is the latest he should have the third nap, I'm thinking 4/4.30? and if he sleeps again a lot in the morning, do I wake him? If so, after how long? an hour or an hour and a half?

Thank you very much in advance!
« Last Edit: July 19, 2015, 07:49:53 am by LittleSplasherMum »

Offline Kellyjs

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Re: Help with 3 to 2 transition
« Reply #1 on: June 24, 2015, 07:27:11 am »
I'd cut that last nap CT hun, at 9mo many have dropped the 3rd nap a few months ago. Even if he's high sleep needs (HSN), I would've expected it to have been dropped by now and it's definitely reinforcing the EW. My DD was going through the 2-1 at this age!

I think you've been doing brilliantly, you've done an EBT which many wouldn't have without a lot of persuasion from others on here, me included  ;)

I would keep the 3hrs 5mins first A for a few days and see if that settles into a nice predictable long nap. We may have to look at capping that to 1.5 hrs to make sure we get a decent nap in the pm too, but we'll just play it by ear.

For some, 30mins nap can signal OT, but I'm doubting that considering the nice long nap you had in the morning and the fact his sleep cycle seems to be around 35-40mins given the 1hr 20 naps you get. And also the fact he can do 3hrs A after a 1hr nap rather than 2hrs as per your routine posted.

So how about pushing that second A too? Maybe just 15mins to see what happens? Hopefully with a longer nap in there you can get to a reasonable BT of 6.30pm which will be around a 12.5hr day. This will need some tweaking hun as 9mo is a prime time for them to switch things up as they prepare going to one nap in the next few months. A times increase dramatically and you start to run out of hours int  he day! Wdyt? Xx



Offline LittleSplasherMum

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Re: Help with 3 to 2 transition
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2015, 08:00:15 am »
Thank you very much for your quick reply! I think you're right the third nap needs to go. Yesterday I woke him from his morning nap after 1.5h, but he still only slept 30 mins for his pm nap  >:( So he had a 15/20 min cat nap in the stroller at around 5, which is the latest in a while. Went down easily at 6.40, woke at 5.30.
So now he went down at 8.30, which is great, at least he was up for 3 hours, and I'll wake him at 10 if still asleep. Then when do you think I should try to put him down for the pm?
« Last Edit: June 24, 2015, 08:20:30 am by LittleSplasherMum »

Offline LittleSplasherMum

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Re: Help with 3 to 2 transition
« Reply #3 on: June 24, 2015, 08:53:34 am »
Ok, so he woke from his morning nap after 1.10h (9.40), will try to stretch as close as possible to 1pm and see what happens...

Offline LittleSplasherMum

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Re: Help with 3 to 2 transition
« Reply #4 on: June 24, 2015, 13:29:18 pm »
He slept from 12.55 to 14.05, gonna risk a 6pm bt  :-\
« Last Edit: June 24, 2015, 16:03:43 pm by LittleSplasherMum »

Offline Kellyjs

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Re: Help with 3 to 2 transition
« Reply #5 on: June 24, 2015, 18:07:51 pm »
How it it go hun? Will be very interested to see what tonight brings too. Good luck! X



Offline LittleSplasherMum

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Re: Help with 3 to 2 transition
« Reply #6 on: June 24, 2015, 18:32:56 pm »
So after a 1.10h nap in the morning he managed to stay up 3.15h, went down very well and slept again 1.10h. I think I woke him up doing the washing up, possibly... I didn't have the heart to keep him up till 6.30, so he went at 5.55 (he woke at 2.05pm from his pm nap), no cry, fell asleep quickly, so fingers crossed he sleeps well, but could be up at 5... At least it showed that he can stay up more than 3 hours. Do you think his pm nap will get longer?
« Last Edit: June 24, 2015, 18:51:19 pm by LittleSplasherMum »

Offline Kellyjs

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Re: Help with 3 to 2 transition
« Reply #7 on: June 24, 2015, 20:10:42 pm »
I think both will get a little longer hun, we just need to find the right A time for him.

I'd keep that A time for another day and we'll reassess after that x



Offline LittleSplasherMum

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Re: Help with 3 to 2 transition
« Reply #8 on: June 25, 2015, 07:46:45 am »
This morning he woke at 5.25, not great but a good 11.5h sleep, only a little bit of stirring between 9 and 10, but that often happens. Now went down quickly at 8.25, hoping he sleeps a bit longer today so we can shift the bt a little. He did well considering he was up for nearly 4 hours before bed yesterday, not sure if I should always keep him up that long though...

Offline LittleSplasherMum

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Re: Help with 3 to 2 transition
« Reply #9 on: June 25, 2015, 08:55:02 am »
He's been sleeping for 1.5h, yay! what do I do? do I wake him?  ???

Offline Kellyjs

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Re: Help with 3 to 2 transition
« Reply #10 on: June 25, 2015, 12:36:28 pm »
Sorry hun, might be a little late to.advise now, what did you do in the end?

You may find we'll have to push that second A a little longer too after such a good nap. Woo hoo though, great first nap!! Xx



Offline LittleSplasherMum

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Re: Help with 3 to 2 transition
« Reply #11 on: June 25, 2015, 12:43:31 pm »
No problem! I did wake him at 1.35h, now went down after 3.15h, hope he sleeps for at least an hour...

Offline LittleSplasherMum

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Re: Help with 3 to 2 transition
« Reply #12 on: June 25, 2015, 15:47:06 pm »
Unfortunately the pm nap was 45/50 mins, so as you said he could probably handled more awake time.

If you read before tomorrow, should I wake him again from his am nap if it's longer than 1.30h? And how long do you think I should keep him up after that? maybe 3.20h or more? thanks!

Offline Kellyjs

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Re: Help with 3 to 2 transition
« Reply #13 on: June 25, 2015, 18:34:19 pm »
You know what? I'd be tempted to try and shift the day a little, wdyt?

So if he does nap 2hrs (I would cap it at this though), do the longer A time for second A (as long as you think he can handle given the recent logs, I'm thinking 3.5hrs?) and then hopefully with a longer second nap, BT will naturally be later and make the day a little longer, but with more DT sleep for the day, which will probably mean a shorter night ish in terms of ONS, but hopefully it should push the wu later? Wdyt, worth a go? I wouldn't do it long term however as you'll find he'll start shorter img his nights more and more expecting for DT sleep, but it can hurt to try eh? Then hopefully you can start afresh the next day.

Oops, just realised how long that sentence is there  :-[ x



Offline LittleSplasherMum

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Re: Help with 3 to 2 transition
« Reply #14 on: June 25, 2015, 18:42:39 pm »
Sounds like a plan  ;D fingers crossed! Thank you! xx