Base naps on time of day or awake time?

[cam621]

I am really struggling with naps lately and I think I may have broken the code, but it seems as if my dd is going down too early for naps. She is 14 mo and I have tried transitioning her to one nap a day for about 1 month now.  It definitely started off shaky, and she only seemed to be getting an hour and a half the most per day.  WEll, then she started waking up earlier but I was still keeping her up until around 11:30-noon even though she was getting up at 6am.  Well, that didn't work out too well since she was clearly overtired and only slept for about 40 mins. 

Then I started to put her down whenever I saw the sleepy cues which were between 10-10:30am.  Usually around 4-4.5 hours after she got up.  She started sleeping for 1.5-2.5 hours!  So, she didn't even need an afternoon nap since she was sleeping so long.  Should I keep it as is or keep trying to push it to noon or after lunch?  I know I should be pushing toward noon, but she gets so overtired that she doesn't sleep well at all!  Not sure if I am doing the right thing in transitioning her to one nap a day...

Thanks a lot! 
Jackie

[imsmum]

Why did you start the transition?  Was she skipping naps? You may be right that she is not quite ready yet but I suspect that since she is used to taking a long nap early you may have difficulty going back to 2.  Have you tried offering a cat npa late in the afternoon?  What time does she go down for the night ?

[cam621]

Thanks for your reply.  She goes to bed between 7-7:30 depending on whether she gets a nap in the afternoon (that is, bedtime routine starts between 6:30-7).  The reason why we started the transition is because she was FIGHTING the afternoon naps so badly. 

It all changes from day to day.  Yesterday, she went to sleep at 10:15am and woke up at 12:45 and didn't need an afternoon nap at all.  She was fine by 7 and went down without a peep.  Some days she sleeps from 10 until 11 or 11:30, and then gets tired at around 4 at which time I am hesitant to put her down for a nap as I am afraid she won't sleep at night.  SHe is a good sleeper at night so I don't want to mess with that.  Do I put her down for a catnap at 4 and keep the bedtime at 7-7:30?  Or skip the nap and put her down to bed earlier? (which is what I have been doing)  I always read never to put a baby down for a nap after 4.  But who knows?? 

ANy advice??

Thanks a lot in advance!
Jackie

[imsmum]

If her night sleep isn't disrupted I would keep offering one nap and putting her down super early on those days when her nap is short.

I know the initial jump to a later nap time didn't work for your lo but maybe you could try slowly pushing the nap back--I know that's the approach Tracy advocates but some lo's don't give us much choice but to move immediately to that later nap!   I think she suggests moving the nap back 15 to 30 minutes every 3 days. It sounds like your lo did quite well with the nap 15 minutes later.

It's tough when they first transition--it usually seems to be the case of "2 naps are too many, 1 not enough" but it sounds like she was giving one up on her own.  I would just continue on and slowly push the nap back--it sounds like you are doing a great job! 

[Andys mum]

Hi,

Just wanted to let you know that we are/were in the same situation.  Andy (15 mths) wanted to go to sleep at 10.30-11am after waking at 7am and was sleeping for 1.5-2 hours.  The problem was that he was really tired by bedtime -7pm.

I gave him opportunities to have an afternoon nap in the pram and he never took me up on it!  So I knew I was on the right track.  I did this routine for about a month.

I posted here and found that the ideal was 7 wake up, nap from 1-3, the bed at 7.30pm.  I took the plunge and kept him up until 1pm....he was very tired for the first 3-4 days but has now settled into his new routine and has been napping for 2 hours.  It has been just over a week now...early days I know....but it seems to work for us...he is now heaps happier during his awake time and goes to bed tired but not exhausted.

Good luck with your transition.
Andy's mum.

[Catharine]

During our transition days, I learnt that I had to do whatever it takes to keep her up till, at least, noon. Earlier nap meant a very grumpy girl throughout the day and a meltdown in the evening. She was hysterical when I tried t force a cat nap & if she did sleep would wake up crying & really grumpy because I had to wake her to protect her bedtime.

My dd also napped for 40mins in the beginning (due to being over tired) but as her body gets used staying up later, the short nap fixed itself.

She would have an early lunch around 11ish, a bit grumpy & tired but I kept with it and after a few weeks we were napping at 12.30pm and that gradually increased every couple of weeks until now 1.30pm.