7 month old first time not going to sleep at bedtime...

[dani2806]

Hello,

I need someone's advice on this. My 7 month old ds has changed his nap routine recently and I think this maybe a transition to two naps but I'm not sure and I'm not sure what to do.

For the past 10 days or so he's been taking a nap in the am and one in the pm, sometimes the am one lasts 40m and the pm one lasts 1.30 or viceversa, very odd. Then he has a catnap, only in the sling, at around 4:30 for 30m. On the days when he ended up sleeping more in the pm, like, until 2:30 or 3:00, he wouldn't want the catnap but got tired around 5:30-6pm and I put him in bed around 6:30 but he was exhausted.
Also, he always goes to sleep really easily at bedtime and today, for the first time he wants to play! His catnap was from 4:30 to 5pm and bedtime at 7:15 as usual.
What should I do? It seems difficult to cut the catnap when his pm nap finishes so early.
I hope someone can help me.
Thanks
Dani

[Karin3]

Hi Dani,

It could be time to get rid of the cat nap.  This is around the age when a lot of LOs start to drop it.  What does your whole day look like?  It would really help to take a look at your whole day, because often times, everything's interrelated.

Thanks!

[Layla]

Dani, you could try to get rid of the catnap but if his day does finish early, then you should still offer it. Jasmine has only ever not taken her catnap 3 times (somehow she slept 2hrs for both naps) but when her pm nap ends at 2.30pm (anything before 3, really), I still give her a catnap (starting no later than 5ish - 5.15pm).

What time did he end up falling asleep? Did he wake up more often at night? I think a bedtime of up to 7.30-8pm is ok.

I agree with pp - maybe post your routine so that we can see if anything else might be causing this.

Layla

[dani2806]

Thank you. Here's my routine, more or less:

6:30-7:00- wake
7:30 - feed (quantities vary because he's been nightfeeding - slept through for 3 consecutive days in the past week then it stopped...)
8:00 - fruit
9:00-9:30 - nap (but here things become tricky... yest he only managed to sleep at 10, after crying, which he never does before sleeping) This nap may last 45 - 1:20.Yest it lasted 1:20
pm nap - around 1 but on a few occasions he wanted to nap at 12:30. (Yest he slept at 1:20 for 40m)
catnap - by the end of the afternoon he feels very tired so I just go out with him at around 4:30 and he sleeps in the sling for 30m. If I stay home he fights his sleep and feels miserable by 5:30 -6pm

Now he's in his cot fighting the am nap since 9:45 when I felt he looked tired, he's exhausted.

He is also nearly managing to crawl and had his first lower tooth last week. But the tooth came out during those three nights he slept through...

I'm very confused and hope this is just a phase because he was quite easy going before...

Thanks for your suggestions

[Layla]

I think morning nap you should aim for 9am. Do the wind-down 15 mins before (so around 8.40 slow the activity down and by around 8:45 start to get him ready for a nap) and to be in cot at 9. Don't necessarily wait till tired sign. He is overtired and I think this is why he is having a hard time settling to fall asleep. The A times for my lo is always shorter than other A times so if he's up between 6.30-7am, 2hrs A time in the morning is fine. Again for the pm nap, let him have it anytime from 12.30pm (that is if he's had a short am nap) or 12.30-1pm (if he's slept longer). And then aim for a catnap. I usually put my lo to bed 15 mins earlier than I intend for her to fall asleep as a part of wind-down (I hope that makes sence). She's not too big on wind-downs and just prefers for me to kiss her and put her down in the cot. She'll talk away for 15 mins or so and will nod off.

Jasmine went through this great phase of sleeping through the night about a months ago for a whole week. I was absolutely extatic....BUT then she went on to change things (i missed 2 catnaps in a week and somehow she went from a perfect sleeper to nightwakings). She is (i think) getting back on track, woke last night at 10pm but then went on to sleep till 5:45am (which was when I started the day). This will pass....at around 7 months, Jasmine's naps went haywire as well.

Try the shorter A time in the morning and see how that goes
Good luck
Layla

[dani2806]

But shouldn't the A time be increasing at 7 months?

Well, I'll try your advice and maybe  try to make only the pm A time longer. But he may still need a catnap this way. If he does and sleeps until 5 or 5:30 maybe I could make bedtime at 8pm until his pm nap is moved a bit later with time.

Do you think this sounds ok?

The thing with nightwakings is really hard to understand. I hope your lo will start sleeping through soon again. And mine too! I've heard of people whose los slept through from 1 1/2 months!! Maybe they made it up. Good luck!

[Layla]

A times will naturally increase with age but imo if my lo is starting to wake at night after I've increased the A times, then I take a step back and go back to previous A times (thats just me thou).

If he wakes at 5.30 from the catnap, try for a 7-7.30 bedtime as they cannot do full A time between the catnap and bedtime.

Oh yeah...I'm waiting for the sleeping through the night bit myself. She woke lastnight at midnight and then up for the day at 6pm. I think its time for me to increase solids thou cause I've only been giving her a few teaspoons here and there and I know she should be having now set meals instead of a few teaspoons.

Good luck & let me know how it goes 

[dani2806]

Thank you.
Today it was funny. He had his first nap at 10:30 (was miserable, this was far too late) and slept for 2h (strange...!). Second nap from 3-4pm. Bed at 7:15 and slept straight away.
I'll see how it goes. This is the first time he has just two naps but I know that the am one was really too late.
All the best
Daniela