10 month old long NWs

[trimbler]

I think you've done a lot of thinking around this and you know him best, so yes definitely go with your mummy instincts I have definitely seen long NWs caused by OT so that seems very plausible to me.

Bear in mind that day when he did the lovely long nap was on slightly less than 4h A time - that 1h 20min nap on 4h A could well have been OT, or of course hunger could have contributed.

Another thing to consider, just based on that other day when he slept better at night - you may want to go for a morning CN (UT, eg 3h A, and wake after 30-45min) and longer pm nap on days when he seems very tired in the morning or has had an especially bad night. You'll have to play it by ear a bit, but many LOs find they need to chop and change between one nap and two nap days for a while, often quite a long while, before they're ready to drop the second nap completely. Generally they need to be able to manage 4.5-5h A consistently, I think. Also bear in mind that two nap days often will have less overall sleep than one nap days, I certainly noticed mine slept a little more overall after dropping a nap. It's like they needed more total sleep to make up for the increase in A times from dropping the nap. So he may need 14h45mins on one nap days, but a bit less on two nap days, if that makes sense?

[MommyN]

Sorry for the silence. I've been ill and haven't really been keeping track. For the past few days I put him down in the morning when he seemed tired without timing A times (had no head for that- still don't actually) and he's been doing 2.5-2hr45min naps!! With those naps and the early BTs we're finally seeing some improvement. He did wake up few times during the night but at least he wasn't up for hours- we got him back to sleep quite easily. I think I'll stick with this for a few days to see if the short NWs seem habitual. Does that make sense?

I did try the morning CN but I couldn't get him to settle. I will keep in mind what you said about overall sleep based on if he takes one or two naps. Thanks!

[trimbler]

Sorry you've been ill, really hope you're feeling better soon

Sounds like you've given him a great opportunity to catch up a bit Yes carry on like that if it still seems to be working for him, although bear in mind that it's possible he may suddenly find he's caught up on sleep and needs a bit less again, or perhaps you've both found his ideal routine If you feel up to it,  you could always start noting what happens with timings, no need to act on them just yet, but it could help later so you know what to aim for.