The dreaded afternoon 30 min nap, CN or early BT? What works best?

[chauncycay]

Thoughts/Quick poll/advice...
We're working on naps and have had some success over the past week, but hit or miss it seems.  We've managed to fix NT sleep - woo hoo! I don't want to mess it up

So if LO takes a 1h20m morning nap, then a 30m afternoon nap.
Do you CN or do early BT?

She's prone to EW because we missed the routine shift from 3 to 4 hour easy and just got through that one.  That fixed the NT sleep
LO is almost 8 months old.
She's super spirited and never still, easy to OS and gives no sleepy cues until it's past time.  Then is a total nightmare - screaming for 30 mins or longer and up every two hours all night. Seriously. Disaster.

She's not going to make it from 2:30 - 7p
4 1/2 hours is too much.
I don't want to push BT up an hour b/c then she'll be up at ~5:30 - ack! and mess up tomorrow...

So, CN at ?5?
or
BT routine start ~30 mins early at 6:10 ish to have her in bed at 6:45?

Today (Last two weeks averages):
6:55a up (sometimes before ~45m, keep lights off, cuddle until as close to 7 as possible)
E
A (~3h, usually 2.45 in the am)
9:45a Nap
11:05a up
E 11a or later when she gets up
A (~3h, sometimes 3.15 - 3.30)
1:55p Nap (I see this was a bit early today, hence the issue I think...)
2:30p Up, 10 min cry, couldn't get her back down
E 3p or later when she gets up
A (~3.30 depending on when she gets up, usually a walk to buy some calm time)
E 6p solids with us for dinner
BT routine: Bath, Bottle, Book, Bed
7p Bed (routine starts ~6:40, bottle usually around 7 and asleep pretty quickly after bottle and a short story ~7:15-7:30)


Thank you!

[becj86]

Hi sweetie,

At 8 months, she should really be having more than 2:45 morning A time. I'd reckon if you push that later, it will help with the EW too It should also help reduce that last A time of >4hr to something a bit more reasonable.

For today, I guess the reply is a bit late, but FWIW, I'd have done BT about 30-45min earlier than 'normal' and kept WU time in the morning the same.

[chauncycay]

Thank you!  Yes we missed the routine switch for A times extending and have been working on it for a while now (~5 weeks).
The nightime is working though!

So I CN'd her at 5p even though she wasn't sleepy she crashed.  I woke her gently after 30 mins to avoid her messing with BT.
BT was on schedule and she basically talked herself to sleep, with me eyes closed/yawning encouraging with a hand on her back for 40 mins!
But peaceful.

So she was actually asleep at 7:45 instead of 7:15 ish but slept through until 6:30am!
She woke up babbling, happy and stayed in her crib until I got her at 6:55a.  Brought her in to our room for cuddles and then started the day.
Super peaceful. Ahh.

So we need to stretch A times.
f she technically woke at 6:30a do we shoot for 3 hours after that time? I think we need to stretch her to 3 1/2h of A but we're getting there

What do you do with EW (before our goal of 7am)? It's not crazy early so I'm not worried too much as long as she doesn't cry and get grumpy.  I go and get her before I think she's heading that way... I always keep lights off and no talking until after 7a. just cuddles to extend a bit.

[becj86]

Yeah, it's what you're comfortable with. She's not a robot, I don't know a child who wakes bang on WU time very day except those who have an habitual EW...

The more you push that first A time out (til it's right for her), the less you'll see those EWs as she will see that as the start of her morning and not cut her night short in anticipation of a nap that's too early.

Glad she had a good sleep last night