23.5 mo LSN help and input

[-Maya-]

Happy birthday to M!

[athenasmom]

Happy birthday Max!

I wish I could help you. I thought I knew things ... that was a few days ago. Now I feel totally incompetent as we are going through our own struggles (very similar to yours) and I am just totally confused. 

How did the night go? I hope you got to a good WU time. We had no NND's yet but a couple of times A refused to take a nap at her normal nap time and we ended up with a catnap around 4-5 pm.

[trimbler]

Happy birthday M

Oh yes, how I'd just love an algorithm for sleep Problem is, there are just too many variables I haven't found a way to keep all but one constant so that I can work out the ideal setting for each one - and then most are not even in any way within our control so instead I have to try and see these things as character building and focus on our bond, rather than just seeing them as a problem to solve - not saying you do that but I know I got really tied up in that way of thinking with DS, especially with PPD and all that blah blah... But when you're sleep deprived, a magic formula does sound nice, doesn't it?

Sorry, just waffled on and don't feel I have much useful to say other than that nap capping can take a little while to get into a new rhythm, when mine were reluctant to be woken, I've done things like take them immediately out (.well, I had no choice with DD when waking her to do school run ) or giving a drink or snack, or watching some toddler videos on YouTube (nursery rhymes etc), which helped them to snap out of feeling groggy and miserable and transition into the rest of the afternoon. But I know some LOs who apparently always hated being woken and just kept a long nap and had late BTs instead - you know M best

Hope he's having/had (I guess he'd still be up now, your side of the 'pond'?) a lovely birthday

[ginger428]

Great ideas for the nap capping routine... already on day 3 of nap capping, he was doing better. Thanks! We had a very lovely bday, thank you!

Suzanna, sorry to hear about the struggles! Let me know if you want to bounce ideas, but like you said, it is soo confusing. And like Trimbler said, too many head spinning variables.

We did end up getting WU between 6-6:30 the past few days and BT between 8-8:30, naps 1.15/1.30. Today, however, was another shortish night and longish nap. =/ M was spent. We are also having huge struggles with what seems like SA with daddy. We'll see if the really short nights have passed though... it's been about 2 weeks or so.

[jessmum46]

Fingers crossed x

[athenasmom]

We also started capping naps to 1.5 - 1 hr. 45 min.

[ginger428]

Another short night. So we had a long nap today. Gonna push BT slightly later to get back on track with a decent WU. Not fun. Suzanna, how was your night and day?

[jessmum46]

Just watch giving too many of those long naps......may restart another short night spiral   I know you want him to catch up, but there's a point for LSN ones where it becomes counter-productive yk?  ((hugs))

[athenasmom]

We are in a mess right now. Friday she did not nap at the daycare again so it was just a catnap in the car. Then Saturday late nap due to family function. Sunday was a normal nap day but we had 3 NW's. I think it was slight OT from the no napping before and maybe some discomfort  Then yesterday she woke due to a poo after 40 min into her nap and would not go back. As a result she fell asleep at 7:30 (the earliest ever) and we had an 11 hour night. So that was great but I need to make sure we hit some kind of a balance between nap and night and get back to a stable routine. 

I agree with Katherine ... Max is a true LSN kid so letting him catch up with naps will cost you night sleep. As hard as it seems you will have to cap naps and keep BT stable and hope the WU moves back to an acceptable time. It's so hard, isn't it ... always balancing on the edge, trying to get to a routine that works for everybody but avoid OT 

[ginger428]

*update- long NW at 4-5:30 last night. fell asleep for 30 min and woke screaming. 8ish hr night! =O
Screamed and shrieked, maybe gas? Did 2nd year molars cause this for anyone? I medicated at BT and at the NW.
Nap was fine, long again because he was wrecked. I know... I'm not doing anyone any favors by not capping this nap. But he was still tired and laying there after I woke him at 2 hrs. =O





Katherine and Suz, I needed to hear that!

Last night was short, but no NWs at all. So, onward for nap capping. I'm posting our EAS to remind me what happens if I don't!

4/29
6:01 wu
12:50-2:20 nap 1.30
8:05 asleep

4/30
6:20 wu (best night)
1:24-2:39 nap 1.15
8:25 asleep

5/01
6:27 wu
1:02-2:45 nap 1.43
8:25 asleep

5/02
5:39 wu
12:35-2:32 nap 1.57
8:25 asleep

5/03
5:45 wu
12:42- 2:25 (broken today, total 1.30) woke him to itsy bitsy spider song. lol
aim for 8:00 asleep

As a mom who've tried to extend naps for over a year, it's kind of traumatizing to shorten them! Hahaha, but I'm resetting my brain on all that. RESET!

Suzanna, ugh, sorry! Yes, the 11 hr night is great, but I know it's hard to sustain... our kiddos aren't quite ready to drop and too many short naps cause OT. HUGS and holding your hand!

[trimbler]

Sounds like you've found a key, Ginger Know what you mean about nap capping! Neither of mine were really LSN (DD more HSN) but both, it seems, dropped their overall sleep requirements considerably somewhere between the ages of 18-24mo. I remember it took me so long to come to terms with that for DS, and perhaps I'm just struggling to do the same wth DD now But honestly, she was doing 15h TS in January, I'd suspected she'd drop to 14h soon, since she needed a bit more dropping down to one nap - but really, it's been far less than that recently and hard to tell how much is UT/OT, teething or disruption caused by travelling etc. May have to cap that nap below 2h now to improve her nights...taking too long to settle now, so they're getting short but then she's really tired the next morning - sound familiar?

[ginger428]

So so familiar. But 15 hrs and 14 hrs is so foreign to me. Haha. That was what M did as an infant! If that. But guess what? Yesterday was almost perfect!
So Bt was 8:15,
6:30 WU (insert happy dance)
1:15-2:45 Nap (woke for a few mins at hr mark)
8:30 BT (expecting, he's still kicking)

Fingers crossed for another good night.

[trimbler]