Really struggling to read my 7 month old's signs for naps / how long A time????

[obi1d]

Hi

I wonder if anyone has any advice, my lo really doesn't like her naps or give me many clues that she's ready for one until it seems too late and she goes into melt down if I try to put her down in her cot.  I feel terrible that at 7 months I've lost my way on her A time and how much it should be.  I did seem to hit on the right time at one point and she'd generally go down fine, but have lost it again.

She was ill at Christmas and then from New Years Day started waking at night (been sleeping thru since 3 months), fortunately that is all over and she's back to her great nights again.  But I really need help with her naps, how to spot the signs in a spirited little one and how to get her from falling asleep in the pushchair to falling asleep in her cot again.  She goes down fine at night now, after getting her back on track with that.  She generally starts her day at 7ish and goes down at around 7.15 / 7.30. 

She takes 3 naps a day but I have to force her to take these even though she's clearly tired.  Her naps are generally 30 or 45 mins and I've learnt not to let her sleep past 5pm to enable her to go down in the evening.

I feel like its all hit and miss and every day's a challenge.  I've tried pu/pd but it just seems to make her worse and more stressed.  I've read on a few threads that spirited ones don't take to pu/pd.

Any help would be great.

TIA

Karen & Lara
13.06.05

[Colesmom]

Hi there,

It certainly can be difficult reading their cues at this age.  My DS rarely yawns or rubs his eyes until I start to sing his lullaby!  I had a very rough time with sleep and guaging awake time from 7-9 months so you are not alone in this!  Even Tracy acknowledges it in her book saying on page 36 "six-nine months-Riding Out the Inconsistencies" so it is a tough period to get through.

Could you please post your typical day.  A 7 month old should be able to stay up around 2.25-2.5 hours for each awake interval.  Some less, some more but I think that's the average.

How dark is her room?  Spirited ones like a dark room and maybe now that she's more aware of her surroundings it is distracting to her?  just a thought.

I'll check back soon for your sched.

[obi1d]

Hi Sorry for delay in replying, been a mad couple of days!!

DD day is 'roughly' and I mean 'roughly' which is obviously where I'm going wrong, I think she needs more structure being so spirited:

0700 Wake
0730 Milk
0815 Breakfast
0900/0930 Nap usually sleeps for anything between 30 mins and 50 mins
1130 Solids and water (although today refused solids, also milk - thought she was too tired - see after next nap)
1215/1230 Nap sleeps anywhere from 30 mins to 1 hour (tried again with solids, but still not wanting it)
1415/1430 Milk
1600 Catnap usually just 30 mins
1730 Solids
1900 Milk

I desperately NEED a proper schedule but also want it to fit with dd, plus also need to get naps from pushchair to cot.

Sorry, asking for so much help but everyday is such a challenge and so tiring at the moment, and we don't know where we are and its so unfair on LO.

Thanks so much for any help

Karen

[Aarismom]

I'll second what Traci said!!

I've spent the last few months trying to sort out Aari's day schedule too...I couldn't find a wake time that was working. At 9 months we finally settled on 3 hrs.-3.5 hours. I remember just 2 weeks ago I had her up to 3.5-4 hours, and she still took 1-2 hr. naps every couple of days, which really threw me off, especially when she switched back to 40 min naps! I just kept increasing her wake time toward 3 hours during that 6-9 month phase for the most part. It's a transitional period from 3 naps to 2, and it's a rough ride. Naps were hit and miss.

Your schedule looks good for a 7.5 mo. old...I really don't have much advice except to say you just might want to ride it out. Accept that his naps are going to be hit and miss and compensate the best you can by giving him that third nap if he needs it. If he seems pretty tired in the late afternoon, consider putting him down a half hour early for bedtime.

Best I can add! Hope your lo gets through this soon!!!

*HUGS*
Sonya =P

[Colesmom]

Your schedule looks fine.  I would try to extend her naps, particularly the afternoon one if you can to have her more rested.  Maybe try the PUPD board to ask for help re: spirited babies and how to adapt.  You didn't mention if her room is dark, I think this is quite important.

the dropping of the catnap phase is difficult to say the least.  It will get better!

[Lucysmom]

Just want to say that I am also experiencing the same thing.  My dd is almost 8 months and her naps are all over the place.  I kept her up 2.75 hours this morning before her nap and really played with her and then did the wind down.  She fell asleep no problem but has just awoken.    Very annoying and I don't know if it was too much or too little awake time.  Hate to hijack this post but does anyone have any thoughts?  This is not fun to say the least! 

[obi1d]

Traci / Sonya - thank you for the reassurance!  It helps having just that sometimes .

Room is fairly dark, but I guess not dark enough, I'll do something about that. 

Still a little unclear on LO's Awake time between naps and when to put her down, I've tried the 2 hours, 2.5 hours, 2.75 and back again!!!   I'm just finding it a struggle each day and I'm sure it shouldn't be like this.  Everyone else, and I mean all friends and new friends met thru having LO, seem to have had babies that nap and just go to sleep in their cots fairly easily.  What am I doing wrong?    Lara's not been a strong napper from the beginning, but things were getting better and longer, but something clicked in her and it all stopped.   

Sorry, getting desperate as I've spent the afternoon with a friend whose baby just seems to be perfect at the moment with all sleeps etc., I not envious in a bad way, just frustrated that I can't find my LO's routine and help her out.

Incidentally, at the top of the Naps board there's a topic of Teaching sleep to 6 MO and overcoming 45 mins naps that Matthew's Mom has created in Sept 05, I've tried clicking on the link in her first post and it just take me back to the home page, any chance someone can either mail it to be direct, post it on here or just re-paste the correct link as I think that would be really useful to me and a lot of other frustrated mothers.

TIA

Karen

P.S.  I will go over to PUPD board now and ask about technique for spirited ones.  Sometimes feel like I'm the only person in the UK with a spirited child!!!

[Colesmom]

Everyone else, and I mean all friends and new friends met thru having LO, seem to have had babies that nap and just go to sleep in their cots fairly easily.  What am I doing wrong?

big hugs out to you karen.  you are not doing anything wrong.  I struggled from 4.5-5.5 months then again from 7.5-9 months with naps and night sleep.  I know that doesn't sound encouraging...but you are NOT alone, not in the slightest. Just look at the activity on this board!  We are all in this together and we WILL get through it.

MY DS has been great the last two weeks and just SCREAMED the house down for 40 minutes before his afternoon nap and I held him to sleep Not very BW but he just couldn't settle.

please know that you are doing the very best for your DD.  She will catch on soon.

I'll look into the issue with the posts at the top of the forum...something must have happened when the website changed over the other day.

[Colesmom]

hmmm, could you try clicking on the posts again...they worked for me

[obi1d]

Hi just tried the link, still back to the boards home page

this is it right??....

http://www.babywhisperer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34310&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

[Caroline-Charlies Mummy]

Hi,

Are you still having problems with the links? They seem to be working now from the top of the naps forum, but the one in your post doesn't. Let us know if you still can't view them