anyone want to chat about the 2-1 nap switch?

[gcmomma]

so my lo took 1.5 nap this morning and we are going on 2 hours now this afternoon - he slept 11.5 hours last night...I can't figure this nap thing out!  Yesterday he went with one nap, but it was only about 1.5 hours total...i know he needs more, but man, this is killing me!  Any suggestions helping him take a longer one nap?

[CaedensMama]

well - we are at 2 hours for the pm right now! Not sure what it is - the rain or the wts I tried at 20 minutes?

Hang in there Bec - tomorrow has to be better

[Mom to M&M]

Has been in interesting few days. On Thursday DD took a one hour 15 minute am nap (I woke her) and then totally refused second nap. But actually went to bed fine at 7pm and other than babbling to herself for 15-20 minutes at 4am slept until 6:30. Friday she took 1.5 hours in am and took forever to fall asleep in pm - finally did but then I had to wake her after one hour as it was getting late and she was none too happy. Saturday she took 1.25 in am and a 40 minute car nap in pm. Today she refused am nap and stayed up pretty happily until napping at 12:05 (almost 5.5 hours awake) and then slept for 1.75 hours. I think we may be in between one and two naps!

[Mydreamcametrue]

So glad to see that I am not alone.  Looks like we are all in the same boat.

Question:  Does anyone do a long AM nap and a short or no PM nap?  My lo has ALWAYS taken his morning nap with no problem at all and the afternoons have always been a struggle.

I am fine with him taking a long AM nap (normally 2 hours) and a car catnap or no nap in the afternoon.  The only reason I say this is because no matter what, if he takes that afternoon nap or not he is SO FUSSY in the evenings. 

I think he will eventually work himself to one nap.  He wakes about 7:00 and used to go to sleep by 8:30, now he can stay awake until 9:30/10:00.  I think as time goes on he will keep moving that later and later until he has one nap.

Gosh, the whole nap thing is driving me up the wall....

[yaya]

hi guys! just wonderign what the sugegsted age for this transition is? I think DS may be ready too but not sure...

[CaedensMama]

Yaya - I have heard it is somewhere between 12-15 months, but 10 months is not "unheard of" and neither is 18 months. I have heard the biggest sign is consistently short naps with no other reasons.  I would say perhaps for you there are days when one nap is all you'll get, but then the rest of the days it will be 2. It does vary from baby to baby!

As for long am and short pm - that has always been us too - and I thought we would end up doing what you said, but the last week or so had somewhat convinced me the pm nap will get longer with elimating or keep short the am nap. It's hard to wake them up in the am when you know that's when they sleep best, but by default it happened a couple times for me and the pm nap has been good twice!  We are still working on it, but I am seeing some hopeful signs. Depending on your little one, if you can move that one up every few days and the pm nap is somewhat gone anyway, it may work well for you. For us, we couldn't ever get past needing a nap by 10

[Mydreamcametrue]

CaedensMama:  Yeah I have been thinking about doing that.  Just limiting the AM nap to 1 hour and then make sure he gets a good afternoon nap.  Like you said it is just so hard to wake them up... 

I thik the days that we have errands to run, I will let him sleep until he wakes on his own and then he will take his afternoon nap (about an hour) in the car on the way home.  Then the days we are at home or close by, I will wake him after 1 hour and then make sure he is at home to get his afternoon nap.

Yesterday though.  He took a 1.5 morning nap and then I layed him down again in the afternoon at 2:30.  He cried and cried.  I got him back up and tried again at 3:00.  He went right to sleep, slept 1 hour, BUT woke up SO CRANKY... WHY?  No matter what unless he takes that afternoon nap in the car he wakes up so cranky.  He never does that for the AM nap.

Does any of your lo's do that?

[CaedensMama]

Caeden often wakes up cranky in the pm - not sure if the nap is too short or what - it's been like this for awhile though. He always wakes up kinda cranky from this nap.................

[rebecaq]

Ok, been sleeping one nap for the past 4 days. YAY!!!  Buuuuut, he wakes at the 1 hour mark and wants to play. I;ve been able to get him back to sleep, but today he only had that one hour!    I hope he makes it till bedtime without a meltdown.

[corrina01]

I'm going to join this fully now, as my DD is now able to stay awake for 4hours+.

I gave her 1 nap yesterday, awake at 6.30am sleep at 11.45am, wake at 1.55pm then bed at 6.40pm. I thought yes we have finally got there, it went better than expected.

But she woke at 5.40am with a dirty nappy  so I will have to give her 2 naps today, oh well, tomorrow is another day.

[KellyC]

I'm still here 

Zander started nursery this week and he fell asleep (on the floor in the playroom!) at 10.30 in the morning.  He slept for 40 minutes and then didn't want another nap all day until he fell asleep in the car on the way home at 5pm and then we had to wake him to put him to bed    The next day I told them to wake him after 20 minutes if he fell asleep in the morning which they did and then he only had 50 minutes in the afternoon.  Today DH had him and gave him his lunch at 11.45 and into bed for 12 and he slept for 2 1/4 hours though he was apparently quite fussy during his lunch.  The plan now is to give lunch at 11.30 and into bed for 12 for a while.  At nursery they don't have lunch until 12 so I don't know whether to tell them to try and keep him awake all morning or whether that's asking for disaster!  What do you guys think?

Kelly x

[Messa]

Ok I have a couple questions.

DD wakes between 7:30-8:00am she has a harder time in the AM staying awake so her A time is around 3.5-4hrs, but in the evening she can have an A time of around 5.

Because of this she is down for a nap at 11:30 ish and she is seeming pretty tired then.  Do you think this is ok?

Also how long of a nap should they be taking?  I have been shooting for 3ish, is that too much to expect?

Some days she does ok and some days she wakes too early (after 1ish hrs)  so we have to do 2 naps that day, I am not sure if she is going down too tired and that is why she is waking or what...

This is the schedule I have been trying for (PLEASE correct if you see a problem)

7:30-8am>>> Wake
8>>>Bottle
9:30>>>Solid B-fast
11>>>Bottle
11:30>>>Nap
2-2:30ish>>>Wake
2:45ish>>>Solid Lunch 
5:00>>>Solid Dinner
7:10ish>>>Bottle
7:30ish>>>In bed

TIA

[lucmom]

If the perfect time for a single nap is halfway between wake up and bedtime, how do you handle early wake ups (like 5) if bedtime is normally at 7 pm? 

thanks!

[corrina01]

Today has been a disaster. This morning she woke at 6.30am I put her to bed at 11.40am she was busy talking to her toys, then she fell asleep round about 12 noon, she woke again at 1pm, I tried for an hour to ger her back to sleep.  Then at 2pm I thought forget it, with all that crying she must be hungry/thirsty, gave her a bottle, she drank it all.  Put her back to bed she was quiet for 20mins then the crying started, a sort of a pain cry.  She is getting one of her molars, breaking through the gum, so I think that is that waking her up.   Well now she is up for the rest of the afternoon.

What time should I put her to bed?

[Mom to M&M]

Teething can do that - my DD is getting her eye teeth right now 

I'd get her to bed as early as 6pm tonight. Or if she'll doze in the car I'd give a car catnap of 15-20 minutes around 4pm and get her to bed at 7 or so.