Author Topic: Bedtime or another cat nap??  (Read 1128 times)

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Offline gwc1023

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Bedtime or another cat nap??
« on: December 21, 2005, 16:03:10 pm »
I'm beginning to think that our early evening wakings are at least partly due to Abby being overtired, so I'm working through how to solve that.

We're still going by her cues, rather than by the clock for naps, but most days it will work out something like this (just showing sleep times):

7:45 - awake
9:15-10:45  NAP
12:30 -1:30 NAP
3:15- 4:00  NAP

But then I get stuck.  Bedtime has been usually between 7 and 8, so at the very least it would be three hours until bedtime on this kind of schedule.  Should I put her down for another nap at 5:30 or so?  Or put her to bed really early?  Four naps seems like too many for a 5mo.  Any ideas??
Dawn mommy to Gavin (5/2/02), Abby (7/8/05), and Rachel (5/28/07)

Offline jenni

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Bedtime or another cat nap??
« Reply #1 on: December 21, 2005, 21:06:46 pm »
Hi

my lo managed on 3 naps at this age... she switched to even shorter am one's at 6 months with no warning - it freaked me!

anyway, what i suggest is pushing your morning nap a little later if you can (start by 15 min increments) - by this age, she should manage a 2.5 hour gap between naps.  The problem with looking for cues is that they tend to change with age - and I think our lo's work out what works for them also.... so if she's showing signs of tiredness, see if you can distract her a little day by day. even an extra 15 mins to each shift should sort out your evening routine.

A good tip I picked up somewhere was that most babies are happier earlier in the day than later (although mine was definitely a morning sleeper), so if you can keep the evening "shift" shorter than say morning or afternoon, you should find it easier to cope with as well.

One final suggestion - this has been a recent discovery.  my lo was suddenly waking after 45 mins every evening.  so, i took a little longer settling her at night.  i did the nappy change, gave a bottle and then spent about 15 mins chatting and bonding with her, before putting her to bed (this meant i worked by clock for bed time, not cues).  i think some of the reason for the sudden wake ups is that around 5-6 mnths tehy work out mummy can go away (not same as separation anxiety), tehy also start getting nightmares..... if yours seems to fit this - try taking a little longer in the evenings.

but good luck, it makes a huge difference suddenly getting your evenigs back!
Jenni

Hope this helps
Jenni

Offline albertasweetpea

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Bedtime or another cat nap??
« Reply #2 on: December 21, 2005, 22:25:38 pm »
Hi Dawn. I would suggest an earlier bedtime, instead of another catnap. At this age you might not want to be introducing another short sleep. If your DD can stay awake approx. 2 hours, then I would aim for a 6 pm - 6:15 pm bedtime (if that works for you!).
Molly is now 8 months old (tomorrow - wow, where does the time go??) and she still goes to bed at anywhere between 6-7 pm. If we put her to bed later, she actually wakes up earlier. With a typical bedtime of 6:30, she consistently wakes at 6:30 am. This early waking works for us as I am going back to work in the new year.
Where in Alberta are you BTW?
Love the name Abby too!! Is it short for Abigail??
~Michelle (Spruce Grove, AB, Canada)

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