19 mo old nap schedule

[tigerlily0302]

I am really struggling with getting my 19 mo old onto a regular nap schedule. He has been all over the place since we switched to one nap (sometimes napping in AM, sometimes in PM). Shoudl I just pick a time and force the schedule on him? He goes to bed between 7:15 and 7:45 and gets up between 6:30 and 7.  What would be a good nap time during the day to aim for? I have been putting him down at about noon the past several days and he has napped about an hour and 15 minutes, but he wakes up crying hard every time! It is so heartbreaking. any suggestions?

[Harrisonsmummy]

I worked backwards from bedtime knowing that harrison went to bed easiest roughly 5hrs after wakeup from nap. I started with a nap at 12.30pm and forced the schedule on him. He only napped for 1hr 15mins for a short while, and I would do everything I could to get him to nap longer - he sleeps in pram so I would walk him around etc. If you can use hand on back etc just at the point they start to stir that can help roll them into the next sleep cycle. I found that once I was consistently putting him down for 1 nap he lengthened to 1 3/4hrs and he still mostly naps for that amount of time unless he is v. tired. Eventually however most of them lengthen on their own I believe. I found it took 2 weeks of keeping H awake until the desired time for it to take ie he stayed awake without a struggle. I give him a snack or juice for energy at the time he would normally sleep.

Until this happens, most of us have done the early to bed thing, say 4.5 hours after wake-up, to compensate for the short naps. Once you get longer naps, push the bedtime back or you get early wake-ups!

HTH

[imsmum]

A good ultimate nap time for your lo would likely be around 12:30 or so.  I read in one of the sleep books that how you calculate the ideal nap time is to take the midpoint in night sleep ie. if they typically sleep 11 hours the 5.5 hour mark and move it forward 12 hours.  I agree with Justine that when you first transition the early bedtime is critical to get them a good night's sleep which will also help them pushing the nap back to the ideal time.

[tigerlily0302]

I will try to get him moved to 12:30 over the next week or so. How long should I have him stay in his bed if  he wakes up early from his nap (at 45 min or so)? I really want to set a nap time with him so I can have a consistent schedule to depend on and so he can wake happy! Napping has been such a frustrating thing for me, and I truly envy those mom's with great nappers!

[Harrisonsmummy]

I had some success with short naps by waiting just outside the door ( or in my case - pram) and  just as they are about to stir rocking, or placing hand on back etc - just to ease them into the next sleep cycle. The short naps tend to be because they are tired, so if you can extend them by any means possible, then do some early nights, they may well lengthen quite quickly.

H will still have short naps, especially after illness, but as he sleeps in his pram, I can normally rock him back to sleep and get another 45 minutes or so.

Regarding staying in the bed, in my experience, if you haven't mamaged to get them off again quite quickly ( which is why you have to get in there as soon as they stir) then I have never managed to get H back off at all, so I give up and aim for a super early bedtime!

I also envied those Mum's with good nappers! I spent the whole of last winter walking H to sleep in his pram twice a day! (Sometimes only as far as the end of the road - but still.....) I am just thankful we had a dry winter - paying for it now with bulging muscles form watering the garden with a watering can! LOL!

[imsmum]

I  agree that if you can get in there quickly before they fully awake you have the best shot of extending the nap.  Although I have been able to get Margot back on occasion after 30 minutes but never when she was first transitioning only after she was used to taking a long pm nap.

[tigerlily0302]

Thank you for all the suggestions. It seems if I go in at about 30 or 35 min and lay my hand on him, that helps him stir and get through the first transition, but then he almost always jolts awake at about an hour and 15 min or so. Should I try going in again right before that point and doing the same thing?

Also, I am having a difficult time determining what an age appropriate bedtime is for my 19 mo old.  He used to go to bed between 6:30 and 7 but since summer it has been much harder to get him to bed at that time. Last night I put him down at about 7:30, and he didn't fall asleep until 8:15! much later than I would liike. Any tips. Or is 8 pm a better bedtime? I know generally earlier is better but how early is too early at this age?

[kate585]

My lo is just about 16 months, so not sure if it's different, but I too have noticed that his bedtime is getting later.  As the sun is still out (even in our nearly totally dark room  it is interfering with his biological clock, I suspect.  After a week or so of fighthing bedtime for up to an hour and a half  , I realized, he just needs to go to bed later.  Last night, we put him down at 8:10 or so (instead of 7:30) and he did a bit of a whine and went right off to sleep.  And, he slept until nearly 7:30 instead of the very early wake ups I've had off and on over the last 5 weeks.     So, I'm thinking as they are supposed to need less night sleep as they get older, that is where he is right now.  We are about to tranisition to one nap I think (yesterday skipped am nap, has resisted naps here and there) and then I know bedtime will probably be moved up again, but for now, it's working for us.

HTH!