Taking 45+mins to fall asleep for naps and they are short!

[chomer]

Hi all,

Would love some feedback on my 10 mth old DS.  A bit of background...  Since he turned 2.5 mths he became a 45 min napper.  For the following 6.5 months I tried to extend his naps.  I tried it all.  Every stinking day!  So, finally, a few short weeks ago, I resigned myself to the fact that he does not need a lot of daytime sleep.  So, all has been less stressful this past month.  My DS would nap for however long he would nap (20-45 min and, oh so occationally, longer), however I always made sure he'd be in his crib for at least 1 hour to ensure he was at least getting some "rest".  BTW, he has consistently slept 7 PM to 7 AM.  Enough background, now to the present challenge...

For the last two weeks I've been puting my DS down for his naps and rather than drifting off to nap after a few mintues, he plays for about 45 minutes and then naps for about 20 mins.  It was suggested that I try extending his awake time, which I've done, but it just ends up pushing his playing routine back by a few minutes.  Do you think it's possible that he is trying to transition to 1 nap?  He's just shy of 10 months old.

Follows is his current routine:

6:45/7 AM awake, formula, breakfast then play
10 AM ish in crib
10:45/11 to 11:15 AM nap
11:30/noon lunch
3 PM in crib
3:45 to 4 PM nap
4:30 Dinner
7 PM bed and right to sleep

I'd love some thoughts.  I feel like his schedule is not working!  Thanks!

[albertasweetpea]

Hi there! My DD gave us a world of trouble with 45 minute naps as well. She did start taking longer naps when we transitioned to one nap at about 9 months. She started daycare at this time and they don't do 2 naps, just one about mid day. Her schedule looks about the same as your DS's with a 12 hour night time stretch of sleep (thank goodness for that!!).

My suggestion would be to try the one nap, putting him down a wee bit later...we always aim at 5 hours after wake time. This way we often will get one long nap (1.5 - 3 hours depending on how she's feeling).
You may have to move his bedtime up to a bit earlier for a few days if he has a short nap the first few times or even try a 2nd nap around 3:30 or 4 pm. Just make sure the 2nd nap is only 30-45 minutes long.

Good luck and hang in there!! You'll find a solution. 

[chomer]

Thanks, Michelle.  My husband and I are taking this week off from work, so it's good timing to try to see if this will work.  I'll shoot for 5 hours after wake time.  Do you feed her lunch prior to her nap?  We'll see how it goes.  My mother babysat him today.  She put him down for his first nap at 10:30 AM and he fell asleep a noon and for only 10 mins!  Then when I came home, I put him in his crib at 3 PM and then at 3:30 went it and put him to sleep (back rubbing, etc).  He slept for 20 mins.  So, I'm thinking one nap is the way to go.  We'll see.  Thanks for your thoughts!  It's good to hear another baby went to one nap at 9 months too!

[chomer]

So today was day one!  My DS awoke around 6:45 AM and I put him down for his nap at 11:40 AM.  He fell asleep at noon!  Much better that the 45 min it was previously taking him to fall asleep.  Unfortunately, he woke up at 12:40 PM.  How long did it take for your DD's nap to elongate?  Naturally, since he'd been up since 12:40 PM, I put him down for the night at 5:45 PM.  He fell asleep at 6 PM.  I hope this doesn't translate into a 6 AM wake up!

[albertasweetpea]

Hi again. It sounds like your DS is having trouble getting himself back to sleep after that 45 minute jolt? Just wondering, when he woke after the 45 minutes, was he crying or just fussing in his crib? I have read that if they are crying when they wake up, they are still tired and perhaps going in and trying to get him back to sleep may work. I have tried it a couple of times with Molly and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't  . Sometimes I do leave her to fuss it out and she falls back asleep for another 45 minutes or longer.
These kids just like to keep us guessing don't they?? 
How are you at reading your son's sleep cues? Just want to give you a scenario on why it is so important to be able to read their tiredness cues:
Friday night Molly had a restless night, teething I think and waking and moaning through the night. She was up for the day on Saturday at about 6:45 am. Normally we would aim for a nap around noon-ish but by 8:30 am she was acting tired, cranky, rubbing her eyes etc. We put her down at 9 am and she then slept for 2 hours!!    She woke up very happy and playful and remained so for most of the day. By about 4:30 pm she was showing sleepy cues so we had her fed and bathed and in bed by 6 pm. She woke this morning at 7:45 am!! Remember...an early bedtime does not necessarily mean an early wake time.
Keep at it and hopefully your DS will get himself over that 45 minute jolt and surprise you with a nice long mid-day nap!    If you have more questions or need more support, please feel free to post again or PM me. 

[chomer]

Yes, that 45 min mark is a killer!  So, after going down last night at 6 PM he awoke at 6:30 this AM.  No, he usually awakes from his naps all happy and playing...  Thanks for sharing your scenario re sleep cues.  That's a helpful reminder that following their needs is more important than following a routine!  Assuming he can make it, I'm going to see if he can handle one nap today.  Hopefully he'll begin catching on that it's his only nap of the day and therefore needs to be longer.
Thanks for your support!