Author Topic: HELP-8 mo old screams hysterically before naps!  (Read 8454 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline JennVanessa1083

  • Proud FTM
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 3
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 1057
  • Thank you!
  • Location: New York City
Re: HELP-8 mo old screams hysterically before naps!
« Reply #60 on: February 16, 2016, 11:52:03 am »
Thank you for the response! This helps. His overall sleep has been declining in the last few days from 13.5-14 to 11-12 hours and I'm seeing the effects of it.   I was worried that there was nothing I can do and I just had to ride it out!

So in general, how do I lengthen the day enough when I have two short naps to avoid UT wakings?

Ok so with the 3.75 A today will be my third consecutive day so I can definitely give it another day or so. I decided to do s short am since part of me was thinking the long am nap enforced a EMW so this too will be the 3rd day doing short am/long pm nap. Hopefully this works.

Yesterday I did:
WU 7:30
S 11:15-11:45 (A 3.75; stroller; he woke right at 30)
S 3-4:30 pm (he pushed his own A to 3.25)
BT almost 8pm (definitely a little OT. Woke up twice before midnigh; bringing A back 15 minutes to eliminate OT wakings)

I had a pretty good night except for a diaper leak around 5 am which led to an hour of trying to get him back to sleep sigh. At least no other long NW so I'm going to try the same routine today. Do you think 3.25A is too much after a 30 minute am nap?
« Last Edit: February 16, 2016, 17:43:52 pm by JennVanessa1083 »
Jennifer xx

Offline becj86

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 346
  • Posts: 10859
  • Location: Brisbane, Australia
Re: HELP-8 mo old screams hysterically before naps!
« Reply #61 on: February 17, 2016, 08:52:09 am »
Do you think 3.25A is too much after a 30 minute am nap?
Nope, if it works, it works. Do watch it though, that 30min on the dot nap for the AM - is that OT or is it habit from being woken then?

So in general, how do I lengthen the day enough when I have two short naps to avoid UT wakings?
A times go up... Basically, its just a matter of keeping that first A time long enough and not getting him too OT.

Offline JennVanessa1083

  • Proud FTM
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 3
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 1057
  • Thank you!
  • Location: New York City
Re: HELP-8 mo old screams hysterically before naps!
« Reply #62 on: February 17, 2016, 11:56:53 am »
The 30 minutes am nap in the am is an OT nap. I'm thinking of scaling it back since its been 3 days on a 3.75 A and its still 30 minutes. I feel as though I have been having OT wakings. Last night it was 9:16, 11:15, 3,and a EMW at 6. Overall his sleep has been averaging between 11-12 hours which is low for him.

Not sure what to do with the wakings.
Jennifer xx

Offline becj86

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 346
  • Posts: 10859
  • Location: Brisbane, Australia
Re: HELP-8 mo old screams hysterically before naps!
« Reply #63 on: February 17, 2016, 19:31:54 pm »
Yes, worth dialling back and seeing what happens - he could be getting a bit OT there. Was that a 10hr night?

Offline JennVanessa1083

  • Proud FTM
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 3
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 1057
  • Thank you!
  • Location: New York City
Re: HELP-8 mo old screams hysterically before naps!
« Reply #64 on: February 17, 2016, 20:10:05 pm »
Its been an almost 11 hour night each night where not including NW he gets 9.5-10 hrs of sleep with only 1.5-2 hrs of day sleep. I know around the 2-1 transition LOs drop in sleep needs but he went from an average of 14 hrs per day to 11.5-12.5 which seems low.

I scaled back the morning A and got a better nap. He's also under the weather so I let him sleep a bit more. He slept for around an hour so we will see how the pm nap ends.
Jennifer xx

Offline JennVanessa1083

  • Proud FTM
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 3
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 1057
  • Thank you!
  • Location: New York City
Re: HELP-8 mo old screams hysterically before naps!
« Reply #65 on: February 19, 2016, 19:48:17 pm »
I have a general question: does any one switch back and forth between long am/short pm nap and short am/long pm nap as long as the total day sleep hours stay relatively the same?

Has anyone done that successfully but eventually have to choose between the two?
Jennifer xx

Offline becj86

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 346
  • Posts: 10859
  • Location: Brisbane, Australia
Re: HELP-8 mo old screams hysterically before naps!
« Reply #66 on: February 19, 2016, 22:31:14 pm »
Yes, its possible, depending upon the child - some children need the consistency, some are fine with shooting for long AM and doing long PM if that doesn't work out for whatever reason. Mostly, they end up going short AM/long PM close to the change to one nap.

Offline JennVanessa1083

  • Proud FTM
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 3
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 1057
  • Thank you!
  • Location: New York City
Re: HELP-8 mo old screams hysterically before naps!
« Reply #67 on: February 20, 2016, 01:08:56 am »
Ok that definitely helps bc I have been switching it when I know he won't be able to take a long afternoon nap such as when we are out during that time. I wonder bc he's doing a 3.5 A for the am which seems to suit him well, if I would do a 3.5 A before the pm if the am is longer than an hour. Does that sound typical of what people do?
Jennifer xx

Offline becj86

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 346
  • Posts: 10859
  • Location: Brisbane, Australia
Re: HELP-8 mo old screams hysterically before naps!
« Reply #68 on: February 20, 2016, 02:19:19 am »
Yep, sounds like a good plan.

Offline JennVanessa1083

  • Proud FTM
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 3
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 1057
  • Thank you!
  • Location: New York City
Re: HELP-8 mo old screams hysterically before naps!
« Reply #69 on: February 20, 2016, 20:58:18 pm »
Today was day two of having a longer am nap and a short pm. Both days DS rejected the naps after a 3.5 A and pushed his A close to 3.75; however he ends up with OT 30 minute naps. When I put him down he plays and sits up (just learned) or tried to stand. I do PD but it increasingly makes him angry then by the end of it he's cries hysterically and I end up having to hold him. Both days it was close to 3.75 A. Yesterday's am nap was 1.75 and today was 1:25. Both pm naps ended up the same with the same reaction.

What does this mean? Is he already OT? Is he UT then gets OT? Is this a sign that I need to cap the am nap?

Thank you again for all the great insight! I honestly would be clueless without all the great suggestions on this board.
Jennifer xx

Offline becj86

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 346
  • Posts: 10859
  • Location: Brisbane, Australia
Re: HELP-8 mo old screams hysterically before naps!
« Reply #70 on: February 20, 2016, 21:32:39 pm »
When I put him down he plays and sits up (just learned) or tried to stand. I do PD
PD is not meant to be used when LO is happy, only if he's crying.

Is he UT then gets OT?
I would say probably this^ coupled with the developmental stuff - lots of practise at that during A time will help but it can take a couple of days to a week or so before it stops interfering with going to sleep. Its fine to follow his lead with A time increase if he's increasing by a bit here and there.

Offline JennVanessa1083

  • Proud FTM
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 3
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 1057
  • Thank you!
  • Location: New York City
Re: HELP-8 mo old screams hysterically before naps!
« Reply #71 on: February 20, 2016, 21:40:25 pm »
Oh I see so I guess I just let him play until he gets fussy or puts himself to sleep.

Ok so I might be going in circles here (Forgive me if I am), so after a long am nap I should try out a 3.75 A for him to get tired enough to take the pm nap?

 Do you think if you were me you would cap the am to 45-1hr then work on a longer pm at this point? My DS unfortunately doesn't show any preference for a long nap which is why I have been experimenting. Doesn't help that he has a cold so I have been extra sensitive about not having him cry too much as he has a sore throat and is coughing badly.
Jennifer xx

Offline becj86

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 346
  • Posts: 10859
  • Location: Brisbane, Australia
Re: HELP-8 mo old screams hysterically before naps!
« Reply #72 on: February 21, 2016, 06:20:42 am »
Oh I see so I guess I just let him play until he gets fussy or puts himself to sleep.
Yep, exactly :)

Ok so I might be going in circles here (Forgive me if I am), so after a long am nap I should try out a 3.75 A for him to get tired enough to take the pm nap?
Circles are fine :) We all do it ;) Yes, precisely this. After a long AM nap, give him that 3.75hr A time to the PM nap.

Totally fine to be helping him through while he's ill. I think if I were you, with LO this age, I would go for long AM, short PM as a general rule - that way you know you've achieved one good nap in the day and have another chance if the AM nap is a bust, yk?

Offline JennVanessa1083

  • Proud FTM
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 3
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 1057
  • Thank you!
  • Location: New York City
Re: HELP-8 mo old screams hysterically before naps!
« Reply #73 on: February 21, 2016, 14:53:26 pm »
Ok I like that plan  :D

In general is a 12.5-13 hour daily sleep enough? He used to average 13.5-14. He's always been on the lower end of the average but according to all the "experts" 14 hours daily is still average. Have you found that at his age many LOs sleep around this range?

Also can 30-35 minute naps ever mean UT? I'm doing a 3.5 A in the am and sometimes get shorter naps that I resettle then he sleeps (sometimes 1:15 sometimes around 1.5-1.75) Do 5 minutes of putting him down make a difference at his age? Or maybe it depends if he gets 10 hours of sleep versus 11 hrs of sleep?
« Last Edit: February 21, 2016, 17:43:31 pm by JennVanessa1083 »
Jennifer xx

Offline becj86

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 346
  • Posts: 10859
  • Location: Brisbane, Australia
Re: HELP-8 mo old screams hysterically before naps!
« Reply #74 on: February 22, 2016, 01:27:27 am »
I find some LOs drop needs temporarily just before and during a developmental leap and go back to 'normal' thereafter. Also, night sleep is just counted as one block, say 8-7 rather than subtracting time for NWs unless they're very long.

My DS certainly slept like your LO is doing at that age. I asked the same questions then.

Its more likely to be a cumulative thing with many factors now affecting his nap length. 30 is typically OT and i think in your LO is probably OT. Some babies who have shorter sleep cycles than average and for those babies, 35min can be UT.