20 weeks routine and refusing afternoon nap

[Nic75]

Hi All. My baby girl is 20 weeks and recently started refusing her afternoon nap. I tried driving in the car and usually this would work but instead she just babbles the whole time and won't nap. She had also started waking early in the morning. I'm confused as I thought it would be too early to transition to 2 naps. She has been sleeping through the night for about 6 weeks now and her daytime naps are usually good. She can sleep up to 2.5 hrs during the day for a nap. Her awake time has recently also jumped and she can stay awake between 2hr15 to 2hr30. Do I wake her to fit in 3 naps or let her sleep and start the transition to 2 naps now? I had been trying this for a few days but then last night she woke at 4.30am and it took a while to resettle her. I'm not sure if it's a growth spurt as she was hungry or related to the nap changes. Any advice would be much appreciated.

[creations]

Hello and welcome to BW forums

The transition to 2 naps can start a bit earlier.
Here's a link with some info:
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=246541.0
See what you think. It may answer your question but feel free to ask more too.

Chances are your LO is moving towards dropping the CN because her naps are so long at 2hr+
If it was me I'd keep at least one nap nice and long, possibly cap one to fit in a CN.
To drop to 2 naps you really need to be looking at an A time of 3hrs which your LO isn't ready for.  Until your LO can handle 3hr you may need to have a longer day and later BT to fit in the 2 naps plus a CN rather than trying to jump to 2 naps right away.

hope this helps

[Nic75]

Thanks for the welcome.  Thanks also for the link. I had a look at the link and during the day she definitely isn't ready for 3hr A time during the day. She can stay awake that long though at the end of the day (i.e. her her last nap around 3:30 - 4pm). Yesterday she ended up having a 20 min catnap in her swing around 4:45pm. It seems like she is in a transition phase where she is almost ready but not quite.

[creations]

A short CN like that should help you to get through the day whilst you go through this transition period.  It may stay like this a while without needing changing or it might be obvious sooner than you think that more changes are needed (eg nap refusal or short naps due to UT, under tired).

Let us know if you need more help.

[Nic75]

I'm seriously confused now because she's just gone 5 months and I don't seem to be getting her wake times right. This morning she was awake from 7am and I put her in her cot at 9:20am. She slept for 1hr 40min so that was ok. This afternoon. she was awake from 11:10am and I put her in her cot at 1:40pm. She didn't sleep more than an hour. She can stay awake now until just after 6pm so will go close to 3 hours awake time.

So she is definitely onto 2 naps a day now. Should I be pushing the second awake time more now? Seems like a lot but she's in her cot babbling happily.

[creations]

If you get a good first nap quite consistently on the current A time of 2hr 20min I'd probably leave that as it is for now and only increase the second A time to try to lengthen nap 2.  Be aware though that with a shorter first A time you might end up with a lot of time remaining at the end of the day which is too long to wait for BT but too short to fit in a CN.  As you have said she can manage a longer A time before BT then this might not be a problem for you. Some LOs start the day with a shorter A time and end on longer, and some are the total opposite. Either way is fine so long as things are running pretty well for you all. If you end up with too much time at the end of the day you might have to increase the first A time despite it giving a good nap.

For now, I'd increase the second A time by 15 mins and see how it goes for a few days.  If the nap lengthens then great. If not and you see some regular short napping maybe try a W2S to help rebuild the habit of longer napping.

[Nic75]

So my LO is now 6.5 months and on 2 naps a day. She has been consistently napping 1.5 to 2 hours both morning and afternoon with an A time of 2.45hrs in the morning and 3hrs at lunch. The last few days the nap times have decreased closer to an hour and today both 45 minutes. What has happened?

She sleeps 12 hours overnight. This morning I tried an A time closer to 3hrs and she ended up talking to herself in her cot and didn't go to sleep until 3.5hrs. Then a 45 minute nap so I am thinking OT. So I put her to sleep a bit earlier this afternoon after such a short sleep and another 45 minute nap.

I'm wondering if this is developmental? Any ideas?

[creations]

Hi there
Looking at what your LO has done up to now I would guess her day sleep is more like that of a LO at least a month older.  There's nothing wrong with this at all,but I'd probably use that as guidance when thinking about A times and nap length rather than looking at her real age on the guidance times.
Here's the A times, see if you agree with what I've said:
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=84884.0

If I assume this to be the case then a LO a month+ older would now need a longer A time to be able to nap well.  When the A times start to get longer there isn't time in the day to have 2 long naps and still keep BT the same time for a 12hr night.  So either:
- increase A times and both naps but BT moves later and night is shorter
or
- increase one A time and one nap, the other nap stays short with a suitable A time either side so that LO is still well rested.  BT stays the same and continue a 12hr night (I would choose this!!)

It doesn't matter which nap you increase the length of, some LOs have a preference for longer am or longer pm nap, you might have a feeling which would be the best to have as the long nap.
If you choose long am nap then:
Increase first A time in increments until you find the sweet spot for a long nap.  Use W2S to sooth through the 45 min transition to build the sleep habit and show her she is expected to sleep longer. Then normal length A time (3hr you were doing) let her nap the shorter nap (maybe 45 mi or 1hr) and normal BT, hopefully that all fits in ok.

If you choose long pm nap then:
Do not increase first A time, leave at 2hr 45 or 3hr whichever she accepts the nap on. Let her CN do not attempt to lengthen.  After the CN do a slightly longer A time, she will already be more tired from the shorter nap but do not reduce the A significantly instead keep it 3hr, and increase in increments to the point she does a good pm nap, again use W2S to help the habit. Normal BT and 12hr night.

Whilst the short naps and routine going off track is frustrating I must say you've had a remarkably good routine compared to some because often LOs between 4 -6 months go through a phase of 40 min naps and you've managed to avoid that AND have 12hr nights. I am jealous!
I think you can get back on track relatively soon if you follow these signals that she needs longer awake in the day.

hope this helps

[Nic75]

Thanks. Yes on the whole I've been fairly lucky with the night time sleeps. We had early waking for a while but that sorted out when we moved to 2 naps. I've had trouble figuring out her A times and she catnapped for a little while until she got back on track. Someone suggested to me that I'm keeping her up for too long for her age but she's almost 7 months now and that doesn't seem to be the case to me. I just wanted to see what you guys thought because winding back her A time didn't seem to be the right thing to me to do.

[creations]

It's understandable that someone may suggest her A times are too long as she does seem to need A times of an older LO.
It's good you know what to look out for too