Please Help-Bedtime Issues Worsening-ENW and NW

[JennVanessa1083]

Yes very true...

I do have two questions:

After a bad night of sleep like really bad, should I still wake up at normal wake up or should I just let my LO sleep in? Do I shorten A for the rest of the day to avoid accumulating more OT?

How do I know if A throughout the day needs to be extended?

Thank you again!

[Shiv52]

I would let him sleep on a bit. EASY is a routine not a schedule so it can be adapted and you can start your normal A time when he's up.

You'd know if you need an A time increase by naps shortening, difficulty settling for naps and lots of NWs is another one.

How is he handling the 2 hours? Easily or struggling? If easily it may be worth adding 10 minutes and seeing how he does. Would help push the day out a bit too.

[JennVanessa1083]

Hi Shiv!

Ok I can definitely let him sleep in a bit and work on getting back to an earlier wake up when NW lessen a bit more. Last night lots of ENW but after 1am it has been 3 hr chunks.

I think he can use a push. He does 2 hrs easily even though around the 1.75 mark he gets fussy but then again it could just be wanting a change of scenery.  I noticed his naps are slowly getting shorter. Not by much but where you used to take 1.5-175 now it's 1.25. He is also having a hard time settling for naps so it makes me wonder if he's just not tired enough. Yesterday he pushed out his A himself in the afternoon. He was not sleepy. I can try his first A and see how it goes.

Should I push out all A times or just the first one?

[Shiv52]

I'd push out the first by 15 minutes. I know I said 10 but reading your description I think he does need a push. If you get a decent so more than 1.5 I'd do 2h15 again and maybe 2 the next time. You may need to resettle then naps slightly but don't worry about that.

[JennVanessa1083]

Thank you!

Ok that makes sense. So if he takes less than 1.5 for the first nap, let's say 1hr 20 then do I keep second A at 2hrs and not 2:15? Also you mean keep the A at 2hr before the CN correct? What would you recommend as a starting point for A after CN?

Sorry for so many questions, I do find this very helpful

[Shiv52]

Yes stick to 2 hours if nap is less than 1.5.
So first A-2.15
Nap
Then nap more than 1.5: 2.15 A time
Nap less than 1.5: 2 hours A time

And so on

After the CN Id probably do 1.15/1.30 but depends. Remind me how long you do the CN for?

[JennVanessa1083]

Ok yes that's great stuff!

He usually sleeps from 30-40; sometimes (rarely) 45 minutes.

[Shiv52]

So maybe aim at starting winddown about 1.15/1.20 with the hope he's asleep by 1.30 or shortly after?

[JennVanessa1083]

Yes I can definitely try that! And let you know how it goes with the new A times 

I imagine that when the two morning and afternoon naps lengthen then I push the A before CN to 2:15 as well...correct?

[Shiv52]

Yep and again if by a miracle you get longer naps for both today then go ahead and push the A time before the CN now xx

[JennVanessa1083]

Ok great! Thank you so much!

Sorry one more question: if LO sleeps less than 10 hrs cumulative, like 7 or 8 (that's what he slept last night), should I carry on with normal A times? I know he should get more but he sprung up wide awake. So in wondering in instances like this how should I carry on.

[Shiv52]

Yeah I would otherwise you'll get into a vicious cycle of short a times to make up for lost night sleep and then crappy nights as hasn't had enough A time and so on xx

[JennVanessa1083]

Very true!

Ok I will give all these suggestions a try for the next couple of days. I tried extending to 2:15 today but he still woke after a nap of 1:15; perhaps he just needs a couple of days for the nap to lengthen.

[JennVanessa1083]

Yesterday he managed to transition just fine during his first morning nap after 2:15 A. However today for naps he woke up at about the 35 mark and I had to resettle for both naps (morning was after 2:15 A and afternoon was about 2 hrs A)The last two days for his first nap he needed help settling rather than the usual self soothing. Is this for me pushing the A? I'm just wondering if I'm on the right track.

Also is it normal during a growth spurt that he wants a shorter A?

[Shiv52]

How have his nights been? 

How'd today go? 

A little OT is inevitable when pushing A times and it will take  a few days to see if it's going to work xx