12 month old, switching to 1 nap causing night waking

[AlexandraW]

My DS has been fighting his 2nd nap for weeks, so we decided to try and switch him to just 1 nap. We were able to move it to about 4.5 hours after awake time (6:30-7am awake - 11:30am nap), but he still won't sleep more than 1.5 hours. Then he's awake until he goes to bed at 8pm. He doesn't seem cranky, so I assumed he was OK. BUT the past several nights have been a nightmare with wakings. He usually woke about once in the night, but if I rubbed his back for a minute, he'd go right back to sleep. Last night he stayed awake screaming from 10-11pm, woke again at 4, and then awake for good at 5:30am!!! What the heck?
He started walking a few weeks ago, but he seems used to that by now. I really think he still needs an afternoon nap, but he never really gets cranky after that morning nap. I do think that lack of sleep is causing his waking. Is it too early to switch to 1 nap? How do i fit another nap in the afternoon if he won't sleep? Could it be something else? Help. We're exhausted!  :shock:

[sacmommy]

I think it's fine to switch to one nap this early if he's fighting the second nap and can make it til 11:30. How long have you been on 1 nap? I think it took my dd close to 2 weeks to make the switch. She stayed at exactly 1.5 hrs during that time, then gradually transitioned to 2-3 hrs around 2 or 3 weeks. She also woke up earlier during this transition time (so in total, much less sleep than before), so that was hard, but again I think it only took a couple weeks to iron that out as well.

So I would say if you're in that 2 week timeframe, wait it out a bit longer.

Also, it sounds like you're having more serious nighttime waking issues, which may or may not be related. It's probably due to your baby being overtired. Walking is certainly a big milestone, so it could be that, or teething, ... it always seems like there's a good 10 reasons why they might wake up in the night!!

[AlexandraW]

Thanks for your advice!
Yes, we're in that 2 week time period. It's the 2nd week of doing 1 nap, although, today he woke so early that he'll have to have 2 naps again. How do you avoid them being overtired if they are getting overall so much less sleep? And if he wakes too early from being over-tired, then how can I extend his 1 nap into the afternoon, because he's tired earlier than normal now from waking at night. Such a vicious cycle!

Will he catch up in a few weeks when he's used to only 1 nap? He was never really a night waker before... so I can only assume it's related - but of course, you could be right with the walking, teeth (although no molars to be seen and he is fine during the day when he's not in bed). Ugg...

[elfin]

I would move his bedtime up so he's not overtired.  Try for even between 7 and 7:30.  When we did the one nap transition we moved Myles' bedtime up to 6:30 from 7 for awhile until he settled into it.  To be honest he didn't wake any earlier because of it as well.

Just a thought!

[AlexandraW]

Thank you. I will try that. You're right, i assumed he'd wake up even earlier, b/c he has never slept more than 10.5-11 hours at night his whole life.

[sacmommy]

I definitely agree with moving up the bedtime to avoid the overtired thing as much as possible. Also, feel free to go back and forth between 1 and 2 naps if that works for you; on those days when he's extra tired from waking in the night, maybe you can squeeze out 2. I found that we had to do that a bit those first few weeks.

[AlexandraW]

Agreed. He took 2 naps today - although they still only added up to 1.5 hours. He was exhausted today from being up all night, so I did a very long wind-down with as much sitting still as possible (something my super-Spirited type rarely does) and put him to bed by 7:30pm. Fingers crossed - we'll see what happens tonight.

[sacmommy]

Good luck! Let us know how it goes. I found that we got much better night sleep on our 2-nap days during this transition time. I hope you benefit from the naps you got today!

[AlexandraW]

Yes, much better last night. He only half-woke at around 3am for about 2 minutes. He did wake too early - 5am, but sort of dozed until 6am. New problem is that he has gotten a miserable cold and can't breathe now! If it's not one thing, it's another!    But i do think the very subdued pre-bed ritual and earlier bedtime helped a lot. He's much happier this AM - besides the sniffing. Thanks!

[Khyan & Sahria's mum]

I have to admit that the wakings you were getting a couple of days ago may very well have been a lead up to the cold that he now has !

I ALWAYS find that Khyan wakes in the night a couple of days before he gets sick - I'm assuming its that sore throat thing that you get before you get a full blown cold  :cry:

Saying this, it is also very possible that the cold has nothing to do with it and that it is just overtiredness (hmmm is that a word)  :wink: 

Transitioning to 1 nap is hard but just take each day at a time and in a couple of weeks things should be pretty much back on track. I must admit though that Khyan only has 1 nap of 1.5hrs per day so I guess some LO's don't need as much sleep as others.

I hope your LO is feeling better really soon.
Let us know how you go

[elfin]

Glad to hear he had a better night, and I hope he's not coming down with something.