Author Topic: Newbie needing help 2-1 nap  (Read 2363 times)

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Offline Marie-Josee

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Newbie needing help 2-1 nap
« on: April 24, 2006, 17:30:12 pm »
I've been lurking for a while now. Was wondering if someone might be able to help. DD is 14 months. Great sleeper. Was on the 9/1/5 schedule , then we moved it to 10/2. We always made she she was up by 11:30am in order to keep the pm nap. She's in bed by 7:30-7:45pm and sleeps 12hrs. Sometimes I wake her up if she sleeps past 8am.

There are sometimes she fights the am nap. Usually its because we trying to put her down too early. Don't want the pm nap to be pushed too far in the pm. Or when she's at the sitter and is having too much fun.

We've started pushing the am nap to 10:15-10:30am. I think I want to keep this nap short and bring the pm nap back up to 1pm. Our plan is to keep moving the am nap ahead until it come after lunch. What happens when the nap reaches 11/11:30ish?  Do we let her sleep as long was she wants and then to an extra early bedtime?
I've noticed when she's had bad naps at the sitter during the week, she will wake up in the night. Something she rarely does. (Only with ear infections, she gets them all the time, currently waiting for tubes)

Reading all the great posts on this site has been very helpful already. I forget how much work we put into extending naps from 45 minutes, to setting up the 3 naps schedule, to moving to the 2 naps. I guess we've been on the same nice easy routine for so long I'm sad to see it end. Happy for the new freedom we'll have in the am but not looking forward to the hard move to 1 nap.

Any suggestions? Am I on the right track?

Thanks!

Jorja's Mom
MJ

Offline imsmum

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Re: Newbie needing help 2-1 nap
« Reply #1 on: April 24, 2006, 19:02:59 pm »
Sounds like you have a real textbook baby on your hands--lucky you! Trying to remember now how Tracy set it out in BWSAYP's--she goes thru it in detail there if you have that book.  I know it's pushing the am nap back for a time.  I'm pretty sure that when you reach the 11+ mark the idea was that the nap would be fairly long and you just put lo down early.

Offline ella kays mum

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Re: Newbie needing help 2-1 nap
« Reply #2 on: April 24, 2006, 19:53:44 pm »
Hi there, we have just gone through a very similar situation with my dd. I was very aware of transitioning from 2 to 1 nap but she managed to do most of the work herself. When her morning nap got to 11 i would let her sleep for 2 hours and give her her lunch late. Also some early bedtimes . Gradually manged to push it to 12 or 1230 and she usually goes to bed at 7 though if she wakes early in the morning the routine can be thrown. I have to be quite flexible with her nap and lunch and luckily she doesn't seem to mind. If we have been to toddler group in the morning she is sometimes sooo tired that she falls asleep in the buggy on the way home but it'e usually about 1130am so iy's not too bad. We are ahving lots of problems with night wakings for no apparent reason. Only once most nights between 1030 and 1130. I usually just have to sit in her room by her cot and she goes back off but it's unusual as she has always been a great sleeper. She has just learnt to walk so that may have something to do with it.

Hope you get there soon, 1 nap is very nice though i usually just end up doing housework !!!

Tracey and Ella x

Offline imsmum

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Re: Newbie needing help 2-1 nap
« Reply #3 on: April 24, 2006, 20:21:09 pm »
Tracey--the night waking--especially at that time--was always overtiredness for my dd.  I'd keep trying to push the nap back or an earlier bedtime if you can.

Offline ella kays mum

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Re: Newbie needing help 2-1 nap
« Reply #4 on: April 25, 2006, 07:41:42 am »
Hi imsmum, i also wondered if it was overtiredness causing the night wakings. Last night she looked as though she was tired when she woke at 1130pm but then kept playing and standing up. She didn't need me to pick her up or anything but if i tried to leave the room she cried. Went on for a good souple of hours. In the end i fell asleep on her floor and when i woke up she was asleep. Very bizarre showing signs of tiredness but also looking wide awake. She is still in a sleeping bag and i wondered if this may be restricting her movements in bed. She is a very fidgety sleeper though and i know she would end up with no covers on her and it's still a bit cool at night.

Thanks for your help
Tracey and ella x

Offline cashar

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Re: Newbie needing help 2-1 nap
« Reply #5 on: April 25, 2006, 08:42:58 am »
Hi MJ

My ds transitioned to 1 nap about 1mth ago so thought this might help. I did not do it little by little, I was lucky enough that ds could stay awake ok until about 12noon with a big walk in the am and lunch about 11am. I always had him down by 12 to sleep as long as possible (2hrs hopefully). An early bedtime was crucial and I still put him down 1/2 hr early if his sleep has been shorter than 2hrs.

It was not easy and we are still having the occassional bad day but I am hoping he is getting used to the 1 sleep as they seem to be getting a little longer (even had 3hrs a couple of days ago, very exciting).

These few little things helped us, good luck, it will be over before you know it and the flexibility in the morning is nice.

Cas

Offline DJs mummy

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Re: Newbie needing help 2-1 nap
« Reply #6 on: April 25, 2006, 10:23:33 am »
MJ, we too are in the same boat as you.  Daniel is transitioning to one nap now.  In fact he did do for about a week back when he was 13 months old but then seemed to need to go back to two until now and I think he's ready for one again so we're making the change over the next few days.

I think it does really make it easier if you are starting with a textbook or angel baby.  I am lucky to have a textbook baby.

Over the last few days/weeks Daniel has been starting to wake a lot earlier in the morning (sometimes as early as 5 :o) and genuinely seems ready to start the day so that's what made us start the transition again now.  I can't cope with 5am starts!  What I think we've noticed is that if he sleeps too late in the afternoon it makes him wake earlier.  He never fights bedtime and always goes straight to sleep but I think it just affects the morning. 

So we are putting him down at about 11am after having a snack.  Ocasionally he sleps til about 2pm although usually it's about a 2 hour nap with him waking at about 1pm.  His usual bedtime is 7pm but until this one nap extends we'll probably get him in bed for about 6.30, if not 6pm. 

We did originally try to let him have a very short morning sleep (like 45/30 mins) at about 10 and then wake him up and then go for a longer afternoon sleep(about 1.30), but it just didn't suit him.  He always seems to have his best sleep first time round.  So what was happening was we were waking him after about 45 mins, then putting him back down in the afternoon but he started then fighting that sleep and was obviously getting overtired and exhausted.  I think you have to find what works for your lo, although I'd say you definitely seem to be on the right track.

All the best.

Offline imsmum

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Re: Newbie needing help 2-1 nap
« Reply #7 on: April 26, 2006, 14:04:26 pm »
Tracey--My dd did exactly the same thing.  If she woke around 11:30 or 12 and if I could in there super quick and put my hand on her she would go back right away but if she wakes at 1 am or later--even now--she will cry a little at first--then babble for a while start drifting off usually around the one hour mark start herself awake and eventually fall asleep from sheer exhaustion around the 2 to 2.5 hour mark.  I wouldn't need to do anything either except be there so I know that feeling of drifting  off on the floor!    After they have slept 2 to3 hours they come out of their deep night sleep into their lighter sleep.  If they are overtired they have trouble with the transtion. Can you try a bedtime an 1/2 hour earlier?

Offline Marie-Josee

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Re: Newbie needing help 2-1 nap
« Reply #8 on: April 28, 2006, 03:54:02 am »
Wow, you've all been so helpful. I'm so happy to hear we're not alone in this battle. Thanks for input.

MJ

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Re: Newbie needing help 2-1 nap
« Reply #9 on: April 28, 2006, 20:52:17 pm »
hi
we are in the middle of the switch as well, so if you want to compare notes (or war stories  ::) ) then let me know!  my dd is 17 months now so i think it is time, but she is giving me such a hard time with it.  whenever she takes only 1 nap she also wakes up a few times as night and i do think this is from being overtired.  it is so hard!  i'm glad this is the last nap transition we'll have to make!

Offline imsmum

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Re: Newbie needing help 2-1 nap
« Reply #10 on: May 01, 2006, 14:42:33 pm »
Lindsey--I think I wrote the same post as you did about 4 or 5 months ago!  I did find that the night wakings were from overtiredness and that they were helped tremendously by a super early bedtime and me going in to help settle dd when she woke at night.  Hang in there, my dd usually sleeps 10 hours at night with a 2 hour nap--not perfect but at least the night wakings are now few and far between, so it will get better.  My advice is just to do whatever you can to maximze her sleep right now to avoid that overtiredness spiral.  Good Luck!   

Offline ella kays mum

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Re: Newbie needing help 2-1 nap
« Reply #11 on: May 02, 2006, 07:59:22 am »
Hi imsmum. The night wakings seem to have settled down, fingers crossed. She is still stirring but settling herself down. The problem we now have is a 6am wake up. I am an early riser myself so don't mind getting up at that time but it messes up her beatiful nap routine and we are back on 2 naps at the moment, neither of which are very long. Seems as though as soon as one sleep problem sorted out another one crops up. I think i was spoilt really as for about 8 months she slept 12/13 hours a night with no wakings at all!!!
Tracey and Ella

Offline imsmum

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Re: Newbie needing help 2-1 nap
« Reply #12 on: May 02, 2006, 14:48:05 pm »
You know, the exact same thing happened with Margot and the early to bed--no more night wakings but stuck with an early wakeup.    We stuck with the one nap though because I didn't want the same thing to happen the next time we tried going to one nap--you know, getting overtired, putting down early to bed, and then an even earlier wakeup. :o But that was a frustrating process too because for ages Margot wouldn't nap longer than 1.5 hours and then she suddenly started taking longer naps--the time change helped with that one ;).    You may find that some days, especially when she gets caught up a bit on sleep that she won't do 2 naps and that you'll go back and forth for a while.  If you're finding that that means pushing back bedtime earlier and earlier you may want to try sticking it out with the one nap.  I think that worked better for Margot b/c she is spirited and needs her routine and was never a long sleeper.  Your lo sounds like a good sleeper tho' so maybe the occasional 2 nap day will help her get through some of those rough spots.       

Offline kiersten's mom

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Re: Newbie needing help 2-1 nap
« Reply #13 on: May 04, 2006, 20:13:52 pm »
I too am making the transition to one nap, I am on day 5 and my DD is taking only about an hour and forty-five minutes and is night waking as well.  I do some days try to put her down in the afternoon if I see her yawn but she will just play. I am going to put her to bed 1/2 hour early tonight as she is very tired and I see that is what others have suggested. I guess my questions is, is a 1:45 min normal for the beginning of this transition and will she gradually make her nap longer.

Offline DJs mummy

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Re: Newbie needing help 2-1 nap
« Reply #14 on: May 04, 2006, 21:12:42 pm »
Kiersten's mom - I know others have said that it can take a while for the nap to gradually lengthen, so I guess 1hr 45 mins is not too bad a place to start.  I think that's why they suggest having an earlier bedtime to make up for the decrease in day sleep.  Once the nap extends then bedtime should be able to return to normal. 

All the best.