Thanks so much for your reply, Florencia.
To be honest I have gone back and forth between the one and two nap idea. We have been doing one for a while and not seeing much progress. Last night it took almost one hour to get him to sleep and he woke 2 times, once for 1.5 hours. Luckily, as a result he 'slept in' until almost 6. This morning I had planned to try to catch up on sleep and go back to 2 naps. I tried for a very early am nap but after 45 minutes it was a no go. Took him out for a bit then tried again. He was asleep in less than 10minutes. This was at 9:55. I woke him after 1.5 hours to try to preserva late afternoon nap, but I think I tried too late for that one (I was tied up at the grocery store etc.). He was yawning by 2:30 or so, but I didn't get him to bed until 3:45. I am kicking myself. I didn't try too hard for that one as I didn't want to push it too late. Went for an early bedtime - started at 5:10. It wasn't good. He ended up falling asleep at 5:50 after some really hard crying, the hiccuping kind - he hasn't done that since we started sleep training
. I think he was hoping to get taken out of his room again.
I think the 2nd idea of gradually postponing the nap may be more realistic for us. Aiden rarely falls asleep in the car or stroller. I am starting to realize he is a very spirited little guy. He will happily put off sleep until he is exhausted. The problem is that he then gets beyond that into a keyed up state. I had noticed that he usually seems tired around 3-4 o'clock which was why I was hoping to get a late afternoon catnap. But if it is going to take so much effort to try for it then it may not be a good idea. I don't like the idea of him going into his crib only to get taken out again because he is not tired enough or too riled up for an easy catnap.
I suppose right now the key would be to maintain the early bedtimes (I have heard they can be as early as 5?) to ensure that he is rested enough and sleeping well at night. Then we would want to gradual move that nap. Today he fell asleep easily after 3hrs 45 minutes of A time. Maybe I should stick with that for 3 days then try moving the time. Of course when he wakes at his normal time of 5:30 that would only take us to 9:15. Hmmm, maybe I can stretch it longer if he sleeps better than last night. I have tried different times, even as late as 11:30. Once or twice he has slept longer (past 2 hours), but it is usually 1.25 or 1.5.
About the reflux - that is really interesting about the empty tummy issue. I am not sure if it applies to him only because I am still feeding him at his one wake-up, whcih really varies, unless he is overtired then there may be 2. Definitely not BW I know, but I don't think we are at the point of being able to tackle the night feeding issue. He always takes a full feed as well. I would rather keep doing that feed for a while if it keeps his tummy happy! Besides, one night waking is totally tolerable compared to the 3-4 or extended ones I used to get. The other thing with Aiden is that it can be risky if he wakes extra early. Once he was up at 3:40 for the day (of course I am sure there were other issues going on).
I do think about teething with him (he is a bad teether - makes his relux and gas much worse!). Some days he really tried to rub at his teeth and tends to make vibrating noises with his mouth (may be just for fun, but could also realieve the irritation). I do give him some meds if I think they are bothering him. Didn't know that about the Motrin, though. Too bad. It is nice to have something that lasts 8 hrs! I will probably keep away from that though. Aiden has enough tummy troubles without adding to the mix!
In some ways I hate to say that I am going to go back to try for one nap. I hate to see him so overtired he can't sleep. If I can at least get him to bed early enough each night then maybe we can start making some progress!
Thanks. I will keep in touch and let you know how it goes.