Author Topic: Opinions on my 10 month old's routine  (Read 2721 times)

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Offline mrsroberts4

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Opinions on my 10 month old's routine
« on: January 24, 2018, 01:13:15 am »
Hello Everyone,

My 10month old (11months on the 1st of Feb) used to be a great sleeper. Going down on his own etc. We got into a few bad habits after illness etc and right now he's a work in progress.

I am trying out some sleep training methods and wanted to check that his routine looks okay before I continue.

It's a bit crazy because I have to leave and pick up DD from school at 3.10pm which is really messing everything up.

Here goes:
>He wakes up at  either 2am or 3am or 4.30am each night and recently at 10pm where I feed him and sometimes it takes 2hrs to get him back to sleep!<

7.15am - lights on, I wake up him.
7.50am - breakfast
10.00am - milk 6oz and nap1
11.00am wake him up from his nap. (Sometimes late at 11.20am)
11.40am - lunch
2.00pm - milk 6oz and nap2
3.05pm - wake him up to get sister from school
4.30pm - dinner
6.30pm - milk 6oz and bedtime. (Sometimes at 7pm but makes no difference to night wakings

I'm worried he is over tired which is causing him to wake up at night, so sleep training won't work.
Do you think it would be better to just give him one long nap in the middle of the day and an early bed time? There isn't really a way to work around the school run  :'(

Thank you so much!!

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Re: Opinions on my 10 month old's routine
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2018, 15:03:01 pm »
Hi there
It sounds like the beginning of the transition towards 1 nap.  This doesn't mean he is ready for one nap yet and you could find a suitable routine where he is on two naps for a long time but it does seem you need to look at routine to try to eliminate those NWs and provide enough day and night sleep.

That morning A time is pretty short in your plan.  How about a longer (more age appropriate A time) followed by a later longer nap then a CN later in the day after the school run?
It also looks like you are expecting a very long night of almost 13hrs, unless your LO happily does 13 hr nights consistently this is not something I'd plan on.  It could be better to plan for a later BT, shorter night of around 11hrs (but allow for longer if LO wants it). A shorter night of restful sleep is better than a longer night of broken sleep - for everyone.

Here's a FAQ may help with the 2-1:
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=163278.0
and A times:
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=84884.0
You could for example look at a morning A time of around 4hrs, a 2 hr nap and 3hrs A before a CN and again before BT. Around a 13hr day and 11hr night.

What do you think?


Offline mrsroberts4

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Re: Opinions on my 10 month old's routine
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2018, 19:51:09 pm »
Creations!!! You're an absolute gem!

What you said makes complete sense! You always lay it out in such a simple way !

Thank You so much!

I'm going to try that tomorrow. Long morning A time with a longer nap and a cat nap after the school run and see how that goes!

Thank You once again!  :-*

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Re: Opinions on my 10 month old's routine
« Reply #3 on: January 25, 2018, 19:03:22 pm »
I'm going to try that tomorrow. Long morning A time with a longer nap
Oops is it too late to remind you that a big leap in A times all in one can backfire?? eek!
If you've done the 4hr and it went fine then great. If you had a terribly cranky LO then perhaps backtrack a bit.  If your LO is used to less than 3hrs you might need to increase in increments. You could shift 15 mins per day or every other day (or even every 3 days if he's sensitive to changes) so that the overall change in routine happens spread across a week or so.
Having said that some people do prefer to just jump in and then hang in there whilst LO adapts.

At around 12 months or when LO moves to 1 nap per day instead of 2 we usually suggest set nap times rather than working with A times.  Although your LO is younger and still on two naps you might find set times work better for your family and the school run.  With set times you can still accommodate particularly tired days or illness/teething etc by letting LO sleep sooner or longer where needed and then return to your "set" times when appropriate.  There's no knowing how long one routine can be "set" before it needs a tweaks in the routine but if/when there are issues you can shift gradually towards a new "set" routine. Each time it is a routine which suits your LO and you family rather than being dictated by a parenting book or schedule.
I hope that makes sense.

And I hope your day and night go okay and LO is not having an OT meltdown!


Offline Serenede

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Re: Opinions on my 10 month old's routine
« Reply #4 on: January 26, 2018, 11:42:50 am »
Hi,

I just thought I would say hi and to let you know your not alone with trying to get a routine that works around the school run! We were having issues with our 8 month old waking in the night and then having early wake ups so we have been doing  a short CN of 20-30 mins on the way back from the morning school run as often I just cant keep him awake and then 2-2.5 hours at 12.30 then bed at 7pm. This morning however he woke a bit later at 6.30am and I was able to get home without him falling asleep and I was able to keep him going until 10.30am so hoping for a good nap now and then a CN around 4pm. I have definitely seen an improvement in NW’s and early WU’s as well as nap length when extending his activity time.
Good luck, I hope you find something that works for you.

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Re: Opinions on my 10 month old's routine
« Reply #5 on: January 26, 2018, 14:26:13 pm »
Thanks for paying it forward and sharing your experience Serenede :)


Offline mrsroberts4

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Re: Opinions on my 10 month old's routine
« Reply #6 on: January 27, 2018, 12:37:15 pm »
Hi Everyone!

Thank you so much for your messages and your experience!

Just a little update here.

So, we did extend his morning A time (whoops sorry Creations, I didn't see your message in time - hehe but thank you!)

It seems to have done the trick!

So, here is how the new routine went:

7.15/30am -  wake up
11.15pm - nap
1.30pm -  wake up
4.30pm -  cat nap
5.00pm -  wake up
8.30pm -  bed

With the above he slept all the way through the night! Ideally I would like him to go to bed earlier, but that will come with time once I can get him waking up a little earlier I suspect.

I Just want to say thank you sooooooo much!

The next day was a variation of the above. Still with a long A time in the morning and a cat nap and he slept through again!

Creations! You're a gem for opening my eyes up to the longer A time.

Serenaded! Thank you so much for adding your experience! Very helpful to have another view point too. Balancing things around the school run is hard and it's frustrating when it prevents a good routine.

Thank you again to the both of you for your help and encouragement! 😘😘😘

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Re: Opinions on my 10 month old's routine
« Reply #7 on: January 27, 2018, 19:04:28 pm »
Wow, you had great results very quickly :) Brilliant news!

So - just a warning really.  As you kind of jumped to this routine there is a chance that even though it went well those couple of days/nights that it might need another tweak.  If he starts being extra cranky that might be a clue that he is too tired somewhere in the day for example.

But I hope it continues to go well for you :)


Offline Serenede

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Re: Opinions on my 10 month old's routine
« Reply #8 on: January 31, 2018, 10:56:15 am »
Good to hear things are working out for you and your LO  :)

We have started to move to a long morning nap now about 3.5-4 hours after WU and a short nap CN 3.5-4 hours later and it seems to be working and we can just fit the CN in when we get back from school. We have had a couple of occasions when he’s fallen asleep on the way home but as long as I let him have 20 minutes and do a slightly earlier BT it seems to work. I have found lettting him have a CN at 9.15/30 and trying to get him down for a long nap at 12.30/1pm wasnt working too well (not enough AT) and he would only take 1/1.5 hours then and he would need a super early BT which then meant a super early WU!

Hope you’ve settled into a pattern now too.

Offline mrsroberts4

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Re: Opinions on my 10 month old's routine
« Reply #9 on: February 03, 2018, 09:23:53 am »
Haha!

Ah you know too well! Surprise surprise I think he needs tweaking!

Either that or the fact that he has group is making him wake up again.

I've still not returned to feeding him in the night, but I do pat/rub his back to get him back to sleep.

Is that still sleep training?
Will he eventually not need me to do that? Or, is rubbing/patting him back to sleep in his cot creating a bad habit?



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Re: Opinions on my 10 month old's routine
« Reply #10 on: February 03, 2018, 10:45:03 am »
Do you want to post your routine as it stands now?

NWs and need for attention in the night can be for all sorts of reasons, illness or teething would require some support and comfort from you.  Developmental leaps can also cause NWs and need supporting but will pass.  OT/UT would need support from you plus a routine change to try to eliminate them.  Either way you are doing the right thing to comfort in the night with a pat/rub, just do what is needed and no more, keeping your goal in mine to be hands off.

Is that still sleep training?
Will he eventually not need me to do that? Or, is rubbing/patting him back to sleep in his cot creating a bad habit?
It's more to do with your approach than his.  LOs don't generally just stop needing you if you keep holding/rubbing etc but instead as you keep your goal in mind and keep reducing when possible they learn that you will always return when they need you so they are confident to go it alone.  Remember though even independent sleepers need support through nightmares (often developmental), teething, illness or OT/UT causes in the routine.  Being independent means they self sooth when their routine is suitable and they are in good health.

Hope that helps