6.5 month old naps question

[daisymelan]

I was just posting for another mom in regards to getting their lo down for the night and then I realized something....

My lo naps twice a day for about 2 hours each time.  He only sleeps 10 hours at night usually.  He sleeps through the night and receives a df.  He nurses 4 times during the day.  He goes down ususally quite easy.  Question:  Should I be trying to shorten his naps and extend his night sleep?  I have to admit that it would be nicer if he went to bed at 8 instead of 10!  lol

If I should be shortening his naps, can you please advise how.

Thanks in Advance!

[Taylor's Mommy]

Hi Jodie,

So he is just about 7 months right?  4 hours of daytime sleep is quite a lot.  You may want to try shortening the naps to 1.5 hours each and start going towards a 8pm bed time and see how it goes.  You will want to do this gradually though so he doesn't get shocked by the sudden change.  Please post his routine and i can try to advise on how to make the transition.
Thanks!

[Nicola_G]

Andrea,

I think I may be having an "Aha" moment - so 4 hours is too much for this age? 

My lo is just over 6 months and I've been having NEW problems with sleep - difficult to settle, wakes regularly through the night, etc (I posted in detail on this on another forum - see https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=52211.0)

I am currently striving for around 4 hours (2 x 1.5-2 hour naps plus 30-40 minute catnap) so maybe this is my problem? Sorry to hijack this post, but as I said I had an aha moment! Maybe you could take a look at my other post and help me out with my specific situation?

[daisymelan]

Nicola:  No stress... happy we can both be helped out.... basically i had the same aha moment when I was reading another post.  lol

Andrea:  I appreciate your help.  I think I will do just that and shorten his naps during the day.  Yesterday he slept 4.5 hours during the day and will likely sleep at least 10 hours (9 and still going right now) overnight.  I will slowly cut back his awake time as you have suggested.  He is an angel baby so he adjusts really well so I'll likely move faster on this then most might feel comfortable.

His EASY is 4 hours.  wiht two hour naps almost to the hour.  So do I keep him awake longer and just shorten the S?

Here

E: 9 nurse  10 solids
S: 11
E: 1 nurse   2 solids
S:  3
E:  5 nurse
S:  7ish catnap sometimes depending on other naps
E:  8/8:30ish nurse
S:  10 or later, whenever he is tired
DF:  11 or later depending on last feed

This is just avg.  We don't have a set routine.  Actually, he's waking now and it's 8:15.  I usually have to wake him in themorning.

Thanks for any thoughts, I think I may just go to shortening the naps.

Which should I tackle first?

[Taylor's Mommy]

Hi Jodie,
Let me ask you, is there any specific reason your lo is going to bed late and waking up late in the morning?  Just wondering because if so I don't want to suggest changing the routine if you are happy with a 10-8/9ish wake up time.  If not though, the first thing I would start doing is getting  a set wake up time so that your day can start to take on teh same pattern every day and your lo's internal clock can get set.  You do want to do this slowly though because I can guaruntee taht he will fight you if you one day decide to put him to bed at 8 vs. 10 and wake him up at 7 am.  I would start by gradually starting the day earlier, so 8:15 for a few days, then 8 or 7:45 for the next few days.  His first nap would then be about 2 hours after he wakes and then limit it to 1.5 hours.  Then the next nap would be apx. 2-2.5 hours later after am nap, and limit that to 1.5 hours. 
Because you have then shaved an hour off of his nap time, shoot for an hour earlier bedtime, so say 9 pm first, then try to push it back to 8pm.  So the overall goal would then be to get about 11 hours of night sleep from say 8pm-7am with 3 hours of day sleep for a total of 15 hours of total sleep.
I would IMHO suggest shaving off the nap time in 15 minute increments for a few days so it's not too much of a jolt, but you know your lo best.

Let me know if you have any other Q's.

NICOLA-let me read your other post and then respond next.

[daisymelan]

Andrea,

Thanks for your response.  I have done jsut that...  started shaving time off his naps.  I think I mentioned before taht he is an angel baby, so I moved very quickly after you responded the first time.  Last night he went down around 9 and got up at 8 this morning.

The reason he wakes up so late is that I've been sleeping in that late too.  But I have set my alarm the past week or so to help out with the situation.  We were traveling a lto before so we got into trouble wtih crossing over time zones.. .. but i have been joking for awhile that I have a teenager!  lol

Thanks so much for your advice again.  I'm going to continue shaving minutes off until I have the right amoutn of slepe during the day.

Thanks for being so caring!

[Taylor's Mommy]

Hi Nicola,
Just had a read of your other post and saw you got a response from Jaime.  How are things going.  Have you started to cut back on the day sleep at all?
Thanks, Andrea

[Nicola_G]

Hi Andrea,

Thanks for following up!

Cutting back on the day sleep? Yes and no - I guess ds has cut back all on his own. He's sleeping right now, and has managed today to cross over into the second cycle (I heard him cough but he must have gone back to sleep on his own ) but these days I'm expecting a 1hour 15 minute nap at best (based on the rhythm he's shown me). He's still on 4 hour EASY, and even with the shorter naps, he's shown me he can stay up for 2.5 hours, so its working quite well on a modified basis.

As for the nighttimes, he is limiting the previously 2hourly wakings to just 2 last night, which were relatively easy to settle him through. But he IS still waking up, I will see how things go over the coming days.

There are a few BUTs for me which will get in the way if I'm not careful, so I aim to be vigilant:

1. I go back to work next Wednesday  fulltime, and ds will go to childcare. He has been going for a couple of hours for some days here and there for the past couple of weeks, so I've tried to ease him into it, but I expect that initially he will be a nightmare at night (excuse the pun) until he settles into this new situation.

2. When he stirs at night I have been NAUGHTY  because I wake straight away and will hear him murmur, so I go in and replug him as I know he will go straight back to sleep and let me do the same. BUT as I said to my dh this morning, this is a dangerous situation as he will expect it. So I will from tonight aim to let him try and settle himself and only go to him if he gets to really crying after about 3 minutes.

3. I think I have been sh/patting too long! Although my lo will squirm and fight initially, he is one of those bubs who will all of a sudden cross over into the next zone so he can need to be held down one minute, then be just about asleep the next. So after Jaime's response, I have been more conscious of only sh/pat until he is calm (I've found several times after stepping back from the cot that I've had to return to do more sh/pat, but I think that's better than overdoing it) and NOT asleep. This one is a work in progress 

So, fingers crossed we are getting through it. We will see how things pan out when he starts daycare next week.