Author Topic: Confused (Quite long - sorry)  (Read 2228 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Samanthas mum

  • BW Devotee
  • ****
  • Showing Appreciation 13
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 291
  • Location: England
Confused (Quite long - sorry)
« on: July 21, 2005, 17:14:13 pm »
Hi,

Wondering if anyone can help as I am getting a little confused.  :?

My dd is just over 6.5 months old and on the whole is a good little sleeper. She goes down for her first 2 naps generally very quickly and without any fuss at all and sleeps for anywhere between 1.25 hrs to 2 hrs which is great.  :D Up until recently she would go down for her catnap of around 30 mins with no trouble and then although bedtime would take a little longer she would go off on her own or just require a little back rubbing.  :D

Now all of a sudden she gets quite worked up when I try and put her down for her catnap (even though she is tired) and out of the last 10 days has got seriously worked up 6/7 of those days at bedtime???

I have had it in the back of my mind that she should be starting to drop her catnap but she hasn't shown any signs of being ready to do this. I have looked at trying to extend her "A" time beyond 2 - 2.25 hrs but if I do then putting her down for her main naps can become hard work so basically I am chickening out and putting her down at the first sign of tiredness which is always around the 2 hour mark. This then means that the latest she wakes from her 2nd nap is 3/3:30pm and there is no way she could make it all the way to bedtime without her catnap - when it has been missed the meltdown at bedtime has been bad  :(

My dd is an active little thing - on the verge of crawling, never stops rolling and even when she is sat in her little chair there is an arm or a leg jiggling about  :lol:  :lol: - I don't want to change that as she is a happy little soul and that is just the way she is. I have always thought this contributed to why should could never really go beyond the 2 hour mark???

Anyway do you think it is because she is still having her late afternoon catnap that is the root of the problem??? If so does anyone have any advice on extending the "A" time without too much trauma and without too much of a knock on effect on the other naps - or do I just need to accept that it will be a bit difficult until she adjusts????

Alternatively can anyone identify another reason for the problem? I have thought about developmental changes etc but if they were an issue wouldn't it be difficult putting her down for every nap??

As background her daily routine goes something like this:-

7:00/7:30am    wakes up
7:30/8:00am    milk and solids
9:00/9:30am    sleep
11:00/11:30am milk
12:30pm           solids
1:00/1:30pm     sleep
3:00/3:30pm     milk
5:00/5:30pm     sleep
6:00/6:15pm     solids
6:30/6:45pm     bath
7:00/7:15pm     milk
7:15:7:30om     bed

(Currently cutting back on DF - now at 9:30pm)

I had thought about bringing her bedtime back but if I did then I would be putting her down around 5:30/6pm which is surely too early??? Also she would then wake earlier in the morning and her bedtime would then keep on creeping back - would it not???? or am I going crazy!!! (Also from a selfish point of view I don't really want to put her to bed any earlier or my dh wouldn't get to see her during the week)  :(

Any comments would be gratefully received.
Sam's Mum


Offline Matthew's Mommy

  • BW Devotee
  • ****
  • Showing Appreciation 22
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 483
  • Location: Toronto, Canada
Confused (Quite long - sorry)
« Reply #1 on: July 21, 2005, 18:57:45 pm »
Yep, sounds like it's time to drop the cat nap.

To increase awake time, a quiet-low key activity helps.
-- Taking a little walk (not a stroller walk, just a carry around walk) around the neighbourhood-- looking at the trees, birds etc.
-- Slow dancing to music
-- Looking at a book, or mirror, or pictures
--Cuddling with a soft stuffed animal, lying together on the floor or cuddling in the couch or chair

It'll be a little wonky for a bit, but everything will settle down.

Hope this helps!
Jane
Whispering since 2001
Matthew July 27th, 2001
Brendan October 21st, 2004

Offline sa

  • BW Aficionado
  • ***
  • Showing Appreciation 7
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 245
  • Location: london
Confused (Quite long - sorry)
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2005, 21:37:25 pm »
hi, my DS samuel will be 6 months in a few days time. his routine is exactly like yours. he dropped his catnap a couple of weeks ago as he was fighting really hard for it.

we start our day at 7am too. and he too has 2 long naps, one at 9.15 am to 9.30am, one at around 1.45pm - 2pm.

i try to put sam down for his second nap closer to 2pm. so he will wake around 4pm. then he will be able to last for 3 hours plus until his bedtime. actually sam's bedtime has moved to 8pm recently. yeah! he stays up for nearly 4 hours ! unbelieveable !

some days (e.g. if there is visitor, or if we go out) when he does one long nap in the morning, one short nap (one hour) in the afternoon  (or vice versa), or if the 2nd nap ends before 3pm, he will want a catnap around 5pm. so the total daytime sleep he is having is always around 4 hours.

if you think your DD really needs her catnap in the evening, may be try wake her up from the 2nd nap before 3pm. but who wants to wake a sleeping baby ?  :wink: so i think it's better to extend her afternoon A time before 2nd nap.

when he wakes up from his 2nd nap, we do all quiet-low key activities as jane suggest. go for a walk with him in the stroller, cuddle quietly and let him play (chew !) with his toys..etc.

HTH
mum to samuel 25JAN05
textbook/angel baby

Offline Samanthas mum

  • BW Devotee
  • ****
  • Showing Appreciation 13
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 291
  • Location: England
Confused (Quite long - sorry)
« Reply #3 on: July 27, 2005, 20:24:50 pm »
The site went a bit wonky so I am writing this for the second time!!

Anyway just wanted to say thank you for reading and responding to my posting. It gave me the push and confirmation I needed to drop the catnap.

Over the last few days I have extended her awake time to 2.5 hours in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. I have tried to keep the last 15 minutes at least as quiet and relaxed as possible (which can be quite difficult with my little one  :lol: ).

Although it has taken her slightly longer to go down for her naps she has still settled and gone off on her own  :D I did have visions of us going back to the old days of fighting every nap.

Bedtime has also improved - although she still needs a little help she isn't getting quite as worked up as before and is settling much quicker  :D . I think part of the problem with bedtime now is that she knows it is the end of the day because of the routine (bath, bottle & cuddle etc) and she just doesn't want it to be  :D .

Anyway thanks again
Sam's Mum