Hi
I am not sure whether to post on naps, night waking or general sleep issues! I posted on night wakings last week but the issues are now wider spread and so I thought i would update to get some more specific advice. My LO is 9 months and 1 week although was 10 days late and has often started things earlier (i.e. in line with his due date). Prior to three weeks ago his sleep has been amazing so I probably have nothing to complain about. From 7 weeks he slept from 7.30-7 with no night wakings and aside from v brief spurts of illness this remained the case. He is a textbook baby so he has responded v well to the baby whisperer ideas. I was EBF until about 8 weeks ago, and then gradually dropped 1 feed per week for 4 weeks until he was taking bottle only. I have since dropped his feeds from 4 to 3 / day, taking 7-8 oz at each feed. He eats 3 meals/day and snacks and is v active, crawling, standing etc. About 3 weeks ago he began to wake in the night, and it was different because it took a long time to get him back to sleep, variations of sssh pat weren't working and so I ended up having to hold him until he was almost asleep before putting him back in the cot. This has continued since, with NW being 1-3/night, although appear to have decreased to 1-2 in the last week. These changes preceded nursery, however he has also since started nursery and his naps are all over the place whilst he settles into the nursery routine. For example, yesterday he was put down for a nap at 9.15-10, 12.15-12.50 and 3-3.40 (he was previously on 3h A time, with 2 naps per day at 10am-11/11.30 then afternoon nap at 2.30/3). The afternoon nap has always been shorter but he seemed to cope with this and lasted until 7 ish until bath without this affecting his night sleep. However a week after the night wakings started the naps also started to change, which I think is due to nursery naps being different. I suspect he is going through a sleep regression as he will sit up/stand up v frequently when he wakes, and I know his teeth have also been playing a part. My questions are how to manage naps on non-nursery days (do I do what I normally do or what the nursery are working towards...i,e, short morning nap and longer lunchtime nap), and also i am worried about creating a habit by holding him when he wakes to get him back to sleep so not sure if there are alternative techniques for getting him back to sleep at night/in the day when he is sitting/standing, and/or distressed. As I say, i have used a variation of sssh pat in the past with success but this doesn't seem to be working. My concern is that the nursery naps are now having an impact on night sleep, so if he is passing the sleep regression we may still be left with NW's? I have also brought bedtime forward esp on nursery days (to 6.30/6.45) as he is totally exhausted but for example this morning he woke at 6.10 (rather than 7), and I am now thinking this is because he was put down for a nap too early at nursery yesterday? Sorry for my ramble, any advice v welcome!