Awake time for nearly 7 month old

[Aria2010]

Soooo a couple of weeks ago I couldn't get more than half  hour naps out of my lo. I came to this forum and was given some great advice to extend my lo's awake time to around 2 hours. I did this and it worked great, his naps transformed! I put him down 2 hours after waking and then put him down 2.5 hours after his first nap. Both naps were between 1.5 - 2 hours.

The last two days my lo is back to napping just 30 - 45 mins. He's a week away from being 7 months - do I need to adjust his awake time again? might it need tweaking again? Any advice would be much appreciated.

[creations]

Hi
A time might be more like 3hrs now.
This is a great link to keep an eye on:
Average A times- BOOKMARK ME!

If you are still at 2hr A I wouldn't increase immediately up to 3hrs but rather go in 15  min increments.  You can likely do the first couple quite quickly, day 1 2hr 15, day 2 2hr 30 then hold for at that for another day or so, then move another 15 mins say day 4 or 5.  You might see the nap lengthen at this point as LO becomes more tired with the longer A time but after a couple of days nap might go short again as the A isn't quite long enough.
You might find 2hr 45 is enough for now or you might need to go up to 3hr or even 3hr 15...it depends on the Lo as the times are a guide not a strict rule.

If you found previously that a slightly longer second A time was needed (you said 2hr first A with 2hr 30 second A) then you might follow this again with the A time increase.

See how you go over the next few days with the increase - but do post again if you need more support

[Aria2010]

Thanks for the reply, I'll give it a try tomorrow and increase the morning awake time to 2 hrs 15 mins. Really hoping I can get this sorted this week as I start work again in a week! Just when I think o have it down! My boy likes to keep me on my toes!

[creations]

Oh yes, they do keep us on our toes all right!
Will you be able to ask your day care (or whoever is caring for LO whilst you are working) to jot down sleep times?  It might be useful for you so you can ask they move the nap time accordingly when the routine needs a tweak.

[Aria2010]

Ok, so two days in a row now I've increased his first wake up time to 2 hours and 15 minutes and he's napped well (2 hours yesterday and 1.5 hours today). The afternoon nap is still short, yesterday I tried 2.45 hours and today nearer the 3 hour mark and only got 45 mins wash time. Do I keep increasing the second wake time or do I keep trying the same time for a few days? Also if the 2.25 awake time first thing is resulting in a good nap do I stick to that fo a while? He's so hard to keep going first thing because he acts tired after only 45 mins! Thanks in advance for any replies.

[creations]

I would hold on both times for another day and see how it goes.
There is a chance he needs longer for the second A time to get a good nap, or you could increase physical activity in the A time this can also help, more tummy time and floor time, kicking around on his back, that sort of thing. If he is not crawling yet you might see him get more tired when he is more physically active with crawling (or trying to crawl which takes effort!).

Acting tired shortly after Wu could actually be a sign he's slept well and feeling a bit dopey.  Or that he'd like a change of scene or activity.

[Aria2010]

Thank you! Will try another day and see what happens...

[Aria2010]

So it's been a few days and the morning nap seems mostly ok. I'm now giving him 2.5 hours of awake time first thing and usually getting a 1.5 hour nap. The afternoon nap is soooo much harder though. He definitely has more energy so have been trying a 3 hour awake time and he's waking after about 40 mins. Some days he can be persuaded back to sleep and other days not. Should I try stretching him to 3.25 hours?

Also if his morning nap is a bust and he ales early (after say 30 mins), do I reduce his awake time for the next nap? Today my husband was looking after him and despite giving him 2.5 hours of awake time he's woken early. I suspect he is overtired because my husband is much more active with him and he was crying his eyes out before his nap. Never sure how to pull the day back when this happens! Thanks in advance for any replies.

[creations]

It's quite a big difference to have the first A time at 2hr 30 and the second A at 3hr 15 but it sounds like you think it's worth a try so I'd say go for it

WRT reducing the second A if first nap is short, I would not reduce too much maybe 15 mins, everyone does it differently though. I would be wary napping too early getting an UT short nap and then a long stretch to BT.