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

[BabyBsMommy]

Thanks, Kelly.  I was thinking I maybe waited too long on that pm nap, too so today we were out to try to put him down earlier for the AM nap so we could straighten out the PM one as well.  It bombed!   DH put him down at 9:30 and he played and played until 10:15 when he started to cry because he had managed a poopy diaper!  He kept crying after DH had changed him and put him back down so I went in to do pd and finally gave up at 11:00!  He obviously was overtired but had a second wind so he had some milk at 11:30, lunch at 12:00 and was down in bed at about 12:45.  He fell asleep around 1:00 and woke up at 2:45.  This was so obviously not enough sleep since he was getting cranky about an hour after the nap and then again around dinner time.  He went to bed about a half hour early.  Do you think 9:30 was too early?  Too late?

So now tomorrow I have no idea what to do.  My gut tells me to just stick with the regular AM nap time of about 10am and let him sleep for 40 min but then I'm not sure when to put him down after that.  It just blows my mind to think that he would go to sleep within 2.5 hours A time of getting up from that 45 min nap.  I just don't know if the freak out for an hour and a half a few days ago when I tried 1:30 was because of overtired or because he wasn't ready.  How did you fine the right time if Zander didn't show sleepy signs either?  Did you just keep playing around with times until you found one where he fell asleep quickly?  Also, do you think it's possible to do a 3 hour A time (7am-10am) then do the 40 min nap and then the PM nap at 1:00?  Sigh, I have no idea what to do with all of this!  Tomorrow I'm just going to let him sleep til whenever with the AM one since we are going out for the afternoon to a friends' house as an early New Year's Eve thing so I can't count on him napping over there in the afternoon.  Starting Monday I want to get back into figuring this thing out, though!

Thanks again and sorry for all of the questions!

[~Angie~]

BabyBsMommy-My LO is the same. I know she won't go down for a nap at 9:30. This is what we are going to try starting on Tuesday (we have a crazy day planned tomorrow and will need Monday to recover). Anyway, we are going to try nap from 10:00-10:30. Then for our second nap somewhere between 1 and 1:30. I know from previous experience that Abby can go almost three hours even with a short AM nap. If the PM is too short, then I'll adjust the times a little.

Let me know how things go for you tomorrow!!!!

[KellyC]

I was going to suggest the same as Angie!  Reduce the am nap to 30 minutes (less than one full sleep cycle could make a difference) and then go for 1/1.30 for the pm nap.  If that bombs too we'll keep at it until we figure out what works for him!  Btw, 1-2.45 isn't too shabby even if he did wake up cranky!!

Kelly x

[BabyBsMommy]

Sounds good, girls!  I am putting our plan on hold for today as our original plan was to head over for the first half of a new year's bash for an afternoon of football and then head home with ds in time for bed (since it's going to be a very noisy gathering and 3 other babies will be going down there for bedtime already) but we just had a big dump of snow overnight so I'm not sure if we're (well, I since I'D be the one driving while DH revels in the festivities) up to heading the 30 min out of town.  Regardless, our plan was to let him sleep as long as he wants this morning since he will likely throw a fit when we try to put him down for a pm nap there.  If we end up not going, we'll just cross our fingers for a 30 min cat nap somewhere between 3 and 4.  His birthday is on Tuesday so I'm not sure whether we'll try your plan starting tomorrow or the day after his birthday.  We are keeping it low key since he is so spirited and easily wound up (just my brother and his fiance and two other couples that we are close to with each of their babies). 

I really like your idea, though and that is what we will definitely go for!  I put him down at 9:55 and he didn't go to sleep until almost 10:30.  If this were a "plan in action" day, I would wake him up at 11 and then do you think I would aim for a nap between 1:30-2:00?  On the first day I try this out, I'm going to try a 9:45 in bed time as he usually falls asleep by 10 when I do that.

Thanks again for all of your advice, girls!  I will keep you up to date on what is happening and hope we don't have to do too much troubleshooting!  We are nuts and are taking him to Mexico for a week at the beginning of February so my only goal is to at least have figured out his AM and PM naptimes by then so we can keep him on a good, solid routine while we are away!  We have travelled with him 4 times now but 3 times have been only a 3 hour plane ride away to our parents' homes and one 2 night weekend at a hotel.

Anyways, Happy New Year!
Miranda

[Zoey]

Hi Kelly and other gals!

We didn't fall off the planet over here... Owen got one hell of a cold and molars and yuck!  We were AP family 2006 for a bit but he is feeling somewhat better now and back to sleeping Indep again so we will be starting our transition again this week.  I'm going to start over again with 40m AM and the PM 2.5h after the wake up.  Does that sound good to everyone lol?  Then I'll shorten the AM again and bring the PM earlier as we get on. 

That's my plan!

Happy New Year!
Z

[UNCMomma]

Hey everyone! My problem is similar to BabyB'sMommy... I've been doing a little reading but haven't had a lot of time b/c...

Our nap schedule is a MESS!  Here's a little history... Kinley always goes down great for her morning nap but in the past several weeks has continuously pushed her PM nap later, some days not taking it... SO, for 2 weeks we have tried cutting the AM nap short (45 min usually) to ensure a long PM nap.  Was working like a charm til she got sick right before Christmas, when I went back to letting her have 2 long naps a day, she was sleeping more b/c she was sick. 

Okay, so she started feeling better towards the end of last week (Thurs/Fri) so Thurs she started herself back on the short AM nap, long PM nap thing.  Here was Friday's schedule...

7:30 Wake
10:10 in bed, 10:35-11:20 (woke her) AM NAP
1:45 in bed, 3:30-4:30 (woke her) PM NAP   (notice the 1 hr and 45 min in bed awake) 
7:15 in bed, asleep 7:30

And here's Saturday (yesterday)...
6:45 Wake
9:30 in bed, 9:30-10:15 (woke her) AM NAP
1:15 in bed, 2:45-4:30 (woke her) PM NAP (1 1/2 hours in bed awake)
7:15 in bed, asleep 7:30

WHAT??? WHY is the kid not going to sleep for her PM nap??  She plays for a while in her bed, then starts whining, then starts crying.  So I go in, lay her down, give her lovie, and the cycle starts again (play, whine, cry).  This is the baby who rarely has a rough time going to sleep on her own, usually just plays a while then goes on to sleep.    It ends up being about 4 hours 15 min awake time til she finally crashes and goes to sleep.  No problem at AM nap or bedtime going to sleep. 

So my question is, too much A time (is she getting overtired) or not enough???  I'm stumped. 

Today she got a 1/2 hour AM nap in the car on our way home from MIL's and was OH SO CRANKY so I put her down 2 hrs 15 min after her wake from that, trying to see if it's overtiredness.  She's up there doing the SAME THING as before now, and if she keeps on I guess I'll get her up and put her back down in a while.  Don't know if crankiness is being tired, or maybe ear infection cropping up after last week's cold...

Any suggestions?  She has always seemed to need a little more sleep than the "norm" so I'm desparately trying to avoid overtired...

TIA! 

(I posted this on naps board too, but I think this is where we really need to be...)

[UNCMomma]

Hmmmm, thank you Stacy.  I wonder about yesterday though, with the short 30 min AM nap in the car and nap attempt 2 hrs 15 min later, with no luck.

She ended up falling asleep easily 4 hours after her wake up in the car (at 1:45) and slept 2 1/2 hours.  I'm beginning to wonder if she doesn't need extended A times without going for this transition quite yet.  Like maybe I should stay at 2 naps, just with a longer A time in the middle.  Who knows, it's a complete guessing game sometimes, I remember this with DD1 around this time. 

I appreciate and value your advice, thank you SOOOO much!    I'll keep you updated...
 

[KellyC]

Hi Zoey - I'm glad Owen's feeling better.

BabyBsMommy - I meant to say yesterday that I think you did the right thing giving up on the morning nap that time.  I personally would have him in his cot for the 30 minutes you're planning for him to nap and get him up at the end of that time no matter how long he's been asleep and then adjust the pm nap according to what happens.  Next time he doesn't nap at all in the am bring lunch forward to around 11.30 and have him down for his nap at 12/12.15 and if he only takes a short 15-20 minute am nap I'd also do a slightly early lunch at around 11.45 and have him down no later than 12.30.  Happy Birthday to little "B" for Tuesday!

Kelly x

[~Angie~]

Well, I was going to do the am catnap. Went in to wake A up, she was sleeping SO peacefully, just couldn't do it.    So, new plan. I am going to try and let her sleep as long as possible in AM, then 30 min. catnap somewhere between 3-4. Then, slowly push AM nap later and later until we don't need the catnap in the pm.

[~Angie~]

Thanks Stacy, I'll watch for the early wakes and change the plan if we need to.

[BabyBsMommy]

Kelly, thanks for the consensus.  I sometimes wonder about getting him up out of bed when he hasn't gone to sleep because I think that maybe if I'd left him just 5 more min he would have been asleep KWIM?  Anyways, yesterday he had a 2 hour AM nap starting at 10:30 bc we went out for the afternoon and he didn't sleep again until 8pm when he fell asleep on the way home in the car!  I hated doing that but once in a while it's gotta happen!  Today we put him down at 9:15 for his nap because he was sooooo tired from going to sleep late the night before and missing the pm nap but he wouldn't go to sleep so we got him up at 10:30.  He never really cried, just the odd fuss in between playing.  He was happy enough so I put him down at 12:45 and he konked out about 5 min later.  This is so weird, first it was the pm nap he wouldn't take and now it's the am one!

That being said, Angie, I was considering doing what you mentioned you are going to do, the long am with a late pm catnap as long as night sleep stays fine and then slowly push the am nap further and further but now he's not doing the am nap for a few days now!  If this keeps up, I'm just going to do as Kelly said and only leave him in for a half hour-45 min and if he doesn't sleep just do lunch early and put him in bed shortly after 12.  So far, the past few times he's balked at the am nap, I have put him down at 1 and he went down fine the first time and today I tried about 10 min earlier and he went down fine again.  I think I'll just keep trying 5 min or so earlier each time he misses the am nap and see how much closer to 12:15 I can get him down.

I guess it will all be worth it when he is finally taking a nice, long afternoon nap, right!   

[KellyC]

I guess it will all be worth it when he is finally taking a nice, long afternoon nap, right!  

Yes it will be, then you'll have to start cutting back the length of the nap, then next thing you know he won't need a nap at all

Good luck,
Kelly x

[~Angie~]

Hope you get a good nap Stacy! A woke at 11:30 from her morning nap. It's usually two hours, just 1.5 today. It's now 2:30, put her down and she is talking. Hope she goes to sleep.

BBMummy-Yes, the one long nap is GREAT!! Can't wait to get there with Abby. DS was there at 1 year-taking a three hour nap (most days) and still does at 3 years!!

[UNCMomma]

ANGIE!  You lucky girl... DD1 made the transition at 1 year too, but stopped napping consistently at 2 years old and altogether at 2 1/2!  Oh well, at least she still "rests"  in her room...

Stacy, good luck with the one-nap day!  Hope you'll be getting more of those...

Here's our update today...
6 AM wake up tells me she's clearly overtired (much earlier than usual) SOOOO...
8:45-11 Nap
3:15-4:14 Nap (will wake at 4:15)
7:00 bed

I think I'm going to leave yall on this thread til we get to a better spot to do the transition, maybe LO is just not ready like I thought... maybe we just need a longer A time in the middle of our 2 naps.  HA!  I say that, and then next week I'll be right back here.  We'll see!  Thanks for all the help and advice, good luck to everyone!

[UNCMomma]

Stacy, glad you didn't puke, and glad he didn't wake at an hour and 15!    Good advice about the overtiredness... again, it's much appreciated!!