8mo struggling to nap

[rosikaos]

I’ve been following BW since my LO was about 3 months old and, after some initial difficulties all was going well. Then about 6weeks ago my LO’s napping seemed to fall away. One of the issues for this may be because she suddenly decided to stop sucking her thumb which was her method of getting to sleep herself. As such I’ve spent the last 6 weeks trying to teach her to get to sleep herself.

We are now at the stage where my 8mo can get to sleep herself for bedtime but seems to struggle at nap times and I often have to go in and put a hand on her to help her get to sleep. I think this may be linked to the other issue I am having which is that my LO doesn’t seem to show any cues for being tired. From the sample schedules she should be on around 3hr A time but she doesn’t seem tired then. I’ve tried putting her down just before 3 hours, or leaving her longer until I see the first possible tired cue (sometimes over 3.5h). What then happens is that she plays around quite happily in her cot, sometimes for nearly 45mins. I eventually go back in and reassuringly tell her it’s nap time and walk out again. This sometimes results in her starting to cry and me going back in to soothe her before she is falling asleep by the time I manage to calm her. For example this morning I finally got her to sleep after 3h45m and she slept for 1h25m. Then this afternoon I put her down after 3h15m but she didn’t go to sleep for another 45mins. I had to wake her from this nap to avoid a very late BT.

So I’m wondering what to do. Do I continue to leave my LO to play happily in her cot for that long? Should I be going in even if she doesn’t start crying, just so she does have a nap?

Thanks

[Kellyjs]

Hi there, it definitely sounds like an increase in A times are on the cards. My 8mo is currently on 4hrs first A to get a decent first nap in. The sample schedules are just that, samples. Individual bubbas are all different and we have to read their cues and what they are trying to tell us. I would aim to put down around 3hrs 45mins as that yielded a good nap beforehand. Prepare to either accept a longer day with two long naps and those A times, or shorten one of the naps to get to your preferred BT. HTH xx

[rosikaos]

Thanks that’s helpful to know about your LO. I think you are correct about the A time - it just seemed a lot different from the sample routines and also she seems to have got there really quickly. It wasn’t that long ago we had 2h30 A time. I got a 1h10 nap today after 3h20 A time so I think if I push it a bit more then that will result in a 1h30 nap which is roughly what I’d like her to have in the morning and then a shorter PM nap.

Thanks

[rosikaos]

Just wanted to say thank you for giving me the confidence to let my LO go longer between naps - she is doing well on an A time of 3h30m to 3h45m.