Author Topic: Afternoon nap silliness  (Read 3328 times)

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Offline lily_layne

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Afternoon nap silliness
« on: October 13, 2015, 02:49:00 am »
Over the last few weeks DS (10.5 months) has decided that his pm nap time is the perfect time to play. At first he would just stand up for a bit and then cry (little turkey can't get himself down) so I would settle him and PD and he'd be asleep in 15-20 minutes. Now it's turned into a 30-60 minute drawn out affair of me going in and laying him down repeatedly. He rarely cries - just chats and chews the crib rail. I am sure we've hit the early stages of the 2-1 and he's UT. His morning nap has been shortening a bit on it's own lately too.

This is what we were doing a few weeks ago:
WU: 645/7
S: 9:30-11
S: 1:30/1:45-3/3:15
BT: 7

Now it's more like:
WU: 645/7
S: 9:30-10:45 (goes down easily and some days is ready to sleep at 9:15)
S: 2/2:15-3:30-3:45 (in bed at 1:45)
BT: 7

I know the day is actually pretty good but I'm invested in his pm nap being around the same time as DD's (so 1/1:30) so that I get a break and we have time to get out in the afternoon. I'm sure capping the am nap is the way to go (correct me if I'm wrong) but I just need someone to hold me accountable for waking him as I'm rubbish at waking babies. How long should I let him nap in the morning and how much A time after?

Also, how can I teach him to get down on his own? He's tried a few times but ends up banging his chin or head on the rail on the way down.
DD - August 2012
DS - November 2014

Offline lauradj

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Re: Afternoon nap silliness
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2015, 04:07:32 am »
Honestly hon, I think he's just not tired for his second nap and that's why he's playing in his crib.  He should be able to stay up a solid 3-4hrs at this age.  I know it makes the afternoons messy, my kids naps currently overlap in the afternoon but it's temporary.  I make it a point to get us out and about early in the morning or I have DS2 nap on the go in the morning so DS1 is tired for his nap mid-day.  It all works out. 


Offline Kellyjs

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Re: Afternoon nap silliness
« Reply #2 on: October 13, 2015, 06:52:32 am »
I'd go straight in and cap that first nap to 45mins hun. So wake at 10.15 and he should be ready for a nap,at 1pm or even 1.15/30 hopefully (this will need playing around with I'm sure). Saying that my DD never did well with this way round as she could do a full A time on one sleep cycle, but we can always try and see? Here to hold your hand xx

Eta wrt helping him get down... We used to play ring a ring a roses during A time (without going round), just holding her hands and allowing her to bounce to the song. When it came to the bit where they all fall down, I just eased her down whilst holding her hands. Think she had it on her own after a week. It is a tough time when they're in bed, but hopefully with the new routine he'll be more tired and less likely to stand in the first place xx
« Last Edit: October 13, 2015, 06:55:52 am by Kellyjs »



Offline lily_layne

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Re: Afternoon nap silliness
« Reply #3 on: October 13, 2015, 20:01:15 pm »
I'd go straight in and cap that first nap to 45mins hun. So wake at 10.15 and he should be ready for a nap,at 1pm or even 1.15/30 hopefully
That sounds like a great plan. I will dive in and wake him tomorrow.

He woke at 5 this am and didn't settle until 6 so then he slept in a bit and ended up with only an hr am nap (although a bit later than usual). He did this once last week and then went right to sleep for his pm nap and I was hoping for the same today but it doesn't look like it's going to happen as I hear him chatting as I type.

Thanks for the tip on teaching sitting. That's a great idea. Certainly better than DD's way of "helping" him which is to just pull his hands off of the crib bars so he falls!
DD - August 2012
DS - November 2014

Offline Kellyjs

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Re: Afternoon nap silliness
« Reply #4 on: October 14, 2015, 06:16:48 am »
Ha ha well that might work?! At least he's helping  ;). Good luck hun, keep us posted xx



Offline lily_layne

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Re: Afternoon nap silliness
« Reply #5 on: October 15, 2015, 16:28:49 pm »
I went to wake him yesterday morning and lost my nerve and was about to close his door when DD barged in yelling and woke him - at least someone in this house has the guts to wake a baby! DS still monkeyed around for 45 minutes before he settled for the pm nap. I will keep at for a few more days to see if it improves and work on not getting frustrated when he plays around at nap time.
DD - August 2012
DS - November 2014

Offline Kellyjs

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Re: Afternoon nap silliness
« Reply #6 on: October 15, 2015, 17:33:27 pm »
Sorry that did make me laugh! Argh to the faffing around though. What time did you try for the nap hun? And how long was it in the end? As you said, I might try the same time for another day and see if he settles quicker xx



Offline lily_layne

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Re: Afternoon nap silliness
« Reply #7 on: October 16, 2015, 01:53:04 am »
Yesterday was:
WU: 645
S: 9:30-10:30 (I couldn't bring myself to wake him at 45 minutes)
S: 2-3:40 (PD at 115)
BT: 715 (PD at 650 and lots of crying and repeat visits to settle >:()
STTN

WU and first nap were the same today and he took ages to settle for his pm nap despite showing major tired signs at 12:30 but there were workers pulling siding off of our house which was insanely loud so I think that was the problem more than anything. We had BT drama tonight too. I know that his will pass but I am feeling quite frustrated and low on patience with all of this playing and crying.

It does seem no matter when I PD and no matter the am nap, he doesn't settle until 2/2:15 so maybe this is just our new normal. I am hesitant to keep him awake until 2 in case he still takes ages to settle which would push the nap very late.
DD - August 2012
DS - November 2014

Offline Kellyjs

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Re: Afternoon nap silliness
« Reply #8 on: October 16, 2015, 06:23:59 am »
Hmmm, you have got room in the day to make it a bit longer if you wanted hun? If you did want to keep that first nap at an hour, then actually pd for nap at say 2pm. You could just try it the once and see? BT could be closer to 7.15pm then.

The other option is to cap the nap closer to 30mins and then I would expect he'd be ready for a nap around 1pm, but as I said before I found it much easier during the transition with a long first nap. And I know you don't like waking him, so could always try the first option first  :)

I wouldn't expect he'd be ready for a nap after only 2hrs A after an hour nap at this age. Maybe with a 20 mins nap I would think so.

I wonder if he's just not ready for bed after 3hrs A before BT? Do you think he's HSN? Then again, my DD always liked a shorter A to BT but we were on 3hrs A after a short nap at 8mo, so it's hard to judge comparing yours to mine  ;) xx



Offline lily_layne

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Re: Afternoon nap silliness
« Reply #9 on: October 17, 2015, 20:29:09 pm »
Yesterday was not what I expected at all:
WU: 6:10
S: 9:15-9:45 - up crying. I tried resettling but no go
PD: 1:00 - playing, chatting, etc (probably a bit later than it should have been)
S: 1:30-3:30 - cry out and self settle at 2
BT: 7:15
Unsettled sleep from 5-6:15 when he woke.

It's been ages since he's had a 30 minute wake up so I think he's getting OT. He also has 2 teeth about to cut so that doesn't help.
Hmmm, you have got room in the day to make it a bit longer if you wanted hun? If you did want to keep that first nap at an hour, then actually pd for nap at say 2pm. You could just try it the once and see? BT could be closer to 7.15pm then.
After what happened yesterday I didn't have the guts to cap the am nap so this is what we're trying today. Usually the best bet with him is to just follow cues for a day or 2 so he can get caught up on sleep and then try the routine again. He resisted the am nap a bit but then slept from 9:45-11:15. I just nursed him and PD at 2:15. He was very drowsy on the breast and yawned when I PD but he just popped right up and was chatting - grrrrrrrrrrrr. I laid him down and gave him a stuffed animal to see if he'll stay laying and settle down with that. I also moved his crib away from the window as he was standing and playing with the curtains. It doesn't seem to have stopped the standing but it do feel it's safer as the curtains are quite long.

I don't know if he's HSN but he definitely sleeps more than DD did. He does best with 14.5 hours. Since we dropped the CN, he's done a long A to bed so it could be that he just needs more A time there. As much as I want to have him down earlier in the afternoon, I don't know if I can commit to capping. I did when we transitioned to set naps, but capping at 1.5 is different than 45 min, yk? What routine was your DD on at this age?

Could this also just be developmental silliness? It seems he plays no matter when I put him down, even when he's clearly tired.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2015, 03:31:01 am by lily_layne »
DD - August 2012
DS - November 2014

Offline lily_layne

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Re: Afternoon nap silliness
« Reply #10 on: October 18, 2015, 03:32:01 am »
Just since that last post wasn't long enough, here's an update ;) Complete pm nap refusal despite being obviously tired. I even tried to APOP a nap in the stroller which was a no go. Now I'm unsure what approach to take tomorrow.
DD - August 2012
DS - November 2014

Offline Emami

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Re: Afternoon nap silliness
« Reply #11 on: October 18, 2015, 07:14:25 am »
I know you have a hard time waking him (trust me, I understand that one), but I think capping the am nap is the way to go. His messing around for the pm nap has been going on a while now, and I know he seems tired but he could just be showing those signs out of habit. Everything he's doing says UT to me. Also since he mrsses around for a while but then has been doing a decent nap once he falls asleep, I think he's trying to get that extra bit of A time to be tired enough.

As Kelly said, you've got a bit of wiggle room in the day to stretch him out, but you'll end up with a later BT and longer day. I would just bite the bullet and cut the morning nap to 30mins. The time he did that naturally he did 2hrs in the afternoon. If you feel he's getting OT you could try 45mins instead, but I've found with both my two that isn't capped enough and they could both manage a full A afterwards.  I would push through and let him get used to it. If he does well with 14.5hrs sleep he would still be getting that with 2.5hrs in naps and a 12hr night (he was doing 12hrs right?)

I know Annabel isn't a shining example of how you want 11mo sleep to look, but this has been working for her for a while now and her days are pretty good. She doesn't sleep as much as Reid, so it's with a 30min, 1.5hr nap and 11hr night but she's pretty happy on it. I don't feel that her day routine has anything to do with her issues at night
Emma






Offline lily_layne

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Re: Afternoon nap silliness
« Reply #12 on: October 18, 2015, 13:52:52 pm »
Thanks, Emma. My gut tells me you're right. Can you post the times of Annabel's naps?

Should I cap this morning or let him catch up? He did get 12 hrs last night so 13.5 overall which is decent. He looks tired this morning.

Looks like I should have followed your first advice, Kelly!
DD - August 2012
DS - November 2014

Offline *Liz*

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Re: Afternoon nap silliness
« Reply #13 on: October 18, 2015, 14:09:37 pm »
Just cap it else you will start a UT/OT loop up again won't you?

Thomas doesn't have such a fixed routine (because of my 2 kids being big and out a lot), but I have managed to keep his am nap relatively stuck at 9am. It can be as short as 30 mins now, and then I do the pm nap 3hrs later and get a decent one. He often falls asleep on the school run, which is what it is so early, but that sets his body clock and means I can still get the early nap at home as well.

My boy is prone to long NWings if UT rather than nap refusal. He'd sleep all day if I let him  ;) ;).

Offline lily_layne

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Re: Afternoon nap silliness
« Reply #14 on: October 18, 2015, 15:31:34 pm »
Just cap it else you will start a UT/OT loop up again won't you?
I need to print this out and keep rereading it. When I'm tired and anxious I let the fear of OT rule the day and you are right, that will cause problems. DH is home today so I will put him in charge of waking Reidy.

Thanks for sharing your routine. It helps to see what other LOs are doing. Do you wake him in the am if he's taking a longer nap?
Nap refusal is new here. He was more like T with long NWs from UT and then great naps.
DD - August 2012
DS - November 2014