Author Topic: Long naps and short nights? Is this the issue?  (Read 1111 times)

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Offline Fifilottie

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Long naps and short nights? Is this the issue?
« on: October 18, 2016, 08:38:24 am »
Hi,

After months of this and that finally my good oil' 35 minute napper is down to one 2 to 2 and a half hour nap a day. He is 15 mo. Thing is no matter what time he goes to bed he wakes between 5 and 5.30 and I am dreading the impact of the uk clock changes...back an hour argh. I wondered if his short nights are due to his long nap( which I love argh)

Here is his general routine( food included in case this may effect things)

5.30 ish WU and about 4 oz of milk
7.30 breakfast( very fussy not always interested)
11.15 early lunch
11. 40/50 until 2/2.30 nap, falls asleep in minutes
3 little snack
4.30/5 tea
6.30 supper if he wants it
7 bedtime milk can down nearly the equiv of 8 oz!!!
7.30 asleep but more recently won't settle until 8!!!! Long day but he has such a good nap he sometimes doesn't seem tired.

I have a feeling something needs to change to stop that early waking. Will be awful if it changes to after 4 am when the clocks go back. On this routine a few months ago he was sleeping until 6 am, and sometime 7.

Any thoughts much appreciated or ideal routines for a 15 mo.

Ps two naps is a definite no no now so I gave up with it x

Offline Scottishmummy

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Re: Long naps and short nights? Is this the issue?
« Reply #1 on: October 22, 2016, 05:21:36 am »
Hi!

Sorry your post has been missed.  How have things been going this week? I feel for you with the EW, my 12mo DD is also an early riser & I'm also not looking forward to clock change. A 6am start is a good day for us!

For your DS:
How long has he been on 1 nap? Sometimes EW happen when getting used to just 1 nap.

Is there anything other than routine that could be waking him early? Teething? Developmental stuff? External noise? Cold or warm?

If you rule all that out then maybe a routine change is worth a try.  I think my first thing tontry would be a slightly later start to his nap. Maybe see if you could push it to 12? If that works then possibly even 1230. Sometimes EW-early nap gets into a bit of a cycle. Try it for at least a week to see if there are any changes.

If that doesn't work then keep the later start but you might need to cap the nap at 2hrs. I hesitate to say that as I think after the 2-1 LOs just need all the nap they can get as they get used to 1 nap but some LSN LOs do a longer night with a shorter nap.

A few options to try.

ETA- see also this link on daylight savings:  How to Adjust to Daylight Savings
« Last Edit: October 22, 2016, 05:23:11 am by Scottishmummy »
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Offline Fifilottie

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Re: Long naps and short nights? Is this the issue?
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2016, 06:58:04 am »
Thank you so much for your reply. I don't think it is teething as he wakes happy really. I do keave him to shuffle around in his cot until 6 and only get him after that. I will be pushing that nap andr lunch later, he will manage, and that will at least be pushing it out in line with clock change. Should I still put him to bed at the same time or later( in line with clock change etc....) worth a try.

Doesn't help that when he goes to the cm twice a week he has NO Nap, sets him back and the wake up is earlier. However I am off work this week so fingers crossed.

Also, he has been transitioning 2/1 since 12 months, early I know but two naps was becoming very stressful for him, he fought and fought sleep, and he would only take short naps. One long stretch means more sleep and SS in minutes.

X x

Offline Scottishmummy

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Re: Long naps and short nights? Is this the issue?
« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2016, 13:45:15 pm »
Yes stick to 1 nap. Sounds like that's the stage he's at.

I'd keep BT the same tbh (7-7.30). Too late and you might get sleep disruption from OT.  Lots of LOs do well on set times for & naps and BT at this age. On no nap days you might need earlierBT however to combat OT.

For daylight savings I usually just try to push on through to as close to the set time for naps and meals as possible and found my DS adjusted after a day or 2. I'm hoping it will be the same this year!
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Offline -Maya-

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Re: Long naps and short nights? Is this the issue?
« Reply #4 on: October 22, 2016, 18:27:44 pm »
My ds loves to nap and when he's tired or need to sleep more it is always at nap time. So I know what you mean.
If you lo does not sleep at cm, in my opinion he is ot and his early wu are due to ot. When my lo is ot I give him all the possible option to sleep more, but I try to preserve bt hour. So I put him in bed at bt earlier so that he has the opportunity to recover and also I put him to nap a little earlier and let him sleep a little more without interfering with bt. Even if in your case you already have quite an early and long nap.
As pp said, when you choose what to try be consistent as it takes time to adjust.

Let us know what happens!

Offline Fifilottie

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Re: Long naps and short nights? Is this the issue?
« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2016, 05:25:06 am »
Thank you Maya. Yesterday i put Him down for a nap at 12 .15 in the end as he was showing very grumpy tired signs ;) he slept for a staggering three hours but I didn't wake him as the previous 2 days he was at the cm so he needed to recover from OT. Unfortunately though he went to bed late as didn't seems tired until 8 ish.

6.20 now( yes why am I doing this now, I always wake early) anyway he has been stirring in his ciot for 10 mins, which is slightly later I guess. Ah let's see what happens. :-X

Offline Scottishmummy

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Re: Long naps and short nights? Is this the issue?
« Reply #6 on: October 23, 2016, 18:50:09 pm »
That's a great nap and I count any Wu after 6 as a win! Maybe he just needs that later, long nap and the slightly later BT?

Hope the good naps and nights continue

Xxx
"Touchy/Spirited" DS


"Textbook" DD