8.5 mo old dissolved naps-tyrant- running the "asylum&q

[cliffrose]

Used to be the best napper in the world- heck the best baby in the world- we had a terrific routine--

7 AM wake, bottle
7:30 bfast
9:15 to 9:30 nap
10:45 to 11 wake, bottle
12 noon lunch
1PM bottle
2:15 to 2:30 nap
3:30 to 3:45 wake
4:15 bottle
6PM dinner
7PM bath, bottle, bed by 7:30

EASY indeed.

his napping degenerated in the last month- first, the afternoon nap became a fight- he just wouldn't go down, I'd be tryinig to get him down until 3:30 by which time he was too tired and woke after 30 minutes. he just kept trying to get up out of my arms during the routine. the morning nap shortened as well, to one hour ten minutes, generally.

now in the last day or two the morning nap has become a nightmare as well- he fights that too- screaming and crying- there is no PUPD here as he doesn't stop crying even if you pick him up. i've had to take him out and distract him with a toy to get him to stop (he is so clearly tired...)

he is fussy and irritable all the time, won't eat solids either, hates his high chair, and I am at my wits end to figure out where my sweet, textbook baby went!?!

PLEASE, anyone, WHAT can i do to address this?

[deb]

Three thoughts:

Teeth - if he's already got 'em, could be more, and if he hasn't got any yet, he might be miserable with 'em.

Separation anxiety - 9 months is when many babies start, some sooner, some later.

Might also be a cold or latent ear infection - 'tis the season, here in the northern hemisphere, that is.

[cliffrose]

Thanks:

I've thought about the separation anxiety, but that is a different sounding cry.

he has two teeth-- would teething last a month? his first two came in with no issues, at all.

sickness- not this long, surely? he has had a cold, but only for about 5 days.....

[deb]

Well..... I don't think Natalie has STOPPED teething, and her first two came in around what, 4-5 months? She's 7.5 months now and has 5 or 6 teeth (she won't let me check to see if the 3rd top one has come in yet :roll:). Every sleep time we have the same routine: Tylenol (Motrin at bedtime if I can remember, but the Tylenol comes w/a dropper which is easier to administer with her on my lap), Hyland's teething tablets (2 or 3), and her pacifier. She freaks out at Orajel, although I haven't tried it for a while.

Anyway, yes, even if he has two teeth, he could be working on the next batch. Boy, will I be happy when the incisors are done here -although at this rate she'll be cutting her molars in another month whether she's done w/incisors or not! :?

[Meg's Mom]

Hi,

I agree with Deb's ideas and def address them so we know that it isn't it.  Do you use Teething tabs?  When i forget to give them for a while i can see a difference in my LOs mood...start them again and she snaps right back.

I saw this post by Taylor's Mom (she is a nap mod) who has a LO the same age and it think it fits here.  Have you tried extending A time?

1. It is impossible to extend Taylor's naps now that she is older. pat/shush, pu/pd, wake to sleep and all the other techniques that worked like a charm before she was 6 months will absolutely not work on her. I have tried pu/pd for 45 minutes days on end, and it just ends up with a very sad and tired baby and mommy. When taylor reverts back to short naps, the ONLY thing that fixes them is adjusting awake times and once we get the right A time going, she goes back to normal. so it sounds like william may be like Taylor, so he may not respond to "extensions". Which means you have to move on with your day and try for tomorrow.

2. I strongly believe that at 9 months he can handle a 3 hour A time and just needs a little extra help from mom to adjust his internal biological clock. Right now at 8.5 months our a times are:

3 hours in the am making first nap at about 10 am. She will usually sleep for about 1-1.5 hours (I don't let her sleep longer than 1.5 hours as it will affect her afternoon nap).

3.5 hours in the afternoon making her 2nd nap about 2:30/3:00 pm. She will then usually sleep till 4ish and bed at 7ish.

****For the last 3 days she has been taking a 30 minute afternoon nap  I racked my brain and remembered that most of the time at this age a 30 minute nap is because they were overtired. So I put 2 and 2 together and rememberd taht she has been doing a lot of stuff developmentally this week (sitting up on own, standing up on own, crawling for real), so by the time her 2nd nap came around she was overtired. Today I shaved 15 minutes off of both A times and voila! A 1 hour 15 minute am nap and a 1.5 hour pm nap!  So the moral is that when sick, learnign something new, etc., A times may need to be readjsuted for a few days.

SO, I think you need to stick with increasing A time, which by the way, are you doing it 15 minutes every few days??? If not, and you are trying at the 3 hours straight away he will get overtired and will have a battle. So slowly increas the A time to the 3 hour goal over the next week or so. Also, keep the extra A time VERY MELLOW. Walk outside, or around the house. Play on the floor in his room.

Also, like michelle said, it can take 2 weeks to reset a clock, so please give it some time.

Let me know if that helps.

[cliffrose]

I have been trying to extend A time, yes, although i forgot to do it in 15 minute intervals. i have been keeping him up for 2.5 hours, so if he gets up at 7, down at 9:30- i have also been watching what time he actually falls asleep in relation to when he got up.

what happens is that i carry tired baby into his room and as soon as i shut the door (meaning, nap)- he gets very upset with me- i do the same routine as always, but he just doesn't want to go down for a nap! he is so excited with all that is going on- trying to crawl, move, play- that he doesn't want to sleep and miss something (i think).

does this go away? will he eventually sleep because he is tired?

thanks for your input!

[deb]

Try having baby in room BEFORE he gets tired. Maybe take him in there for a diaper change and don't leave, just play on the floor with a stuffed toy and watch for sleepy cues right there. Worked a treat with Josie when she had her reflux and knew by the routine that naptime was coming - when we changed the routine, she didn't know when to cry, and since we were already in her room it was easier to watch her cues and get her to bed nice and relaxed.

[cliffrose]

i'll try that this afternoon, thanks.

i waited over three hours for nap today- til i SAW some grizzly sleepy signs, instead of going by the clock, and although we had some crying, it was alot easier than it has been.

these are all great suggestions....thanks!

elizabeth

[cliffrose]

Deb and Meg, I have to thank you both..... great suggestions!

today I took lo into his room about after about 3 hours of A, and we played for a few minutes until i saw him get more tired, then started the nap ritual- smoother than it has been in weeks- TERRIFIC. took maybe 5-6 minutes of a few whimpers instead of crying and misery for 15-20.

i think he just isn't tired anymore before 3 hours of A.....and the transition is easier for both of us.

you are GENIUSES. thank you. i feel like i have more control of the situation, and he is happier too.

hopefully this afternoon will be smoother too.

thank you thank you THANK YOU.

elizabeth

[deb]

you are GENIUSES. thank you. i feel like i have more control of the situation, and he is happier too.

hopefully this afternoon will be smoother too.

thank you thank you THANK YOU.

elizabeth

You're welcome! Wish I could take credit for the idea, but we actually got it from Tracy when we broke down and called her for a consult - waaaaaay back in the day. I was really reluctant to change the routine - I wanted to MAKE the routine work for us - but I tried it her way once and BINGO!

So glad it helped you out - here's hoping it continues!

[Meg's Mom]

excellent news, i can't take credit either..i got it from Deb when she posted how Tracy helped her :-).