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Offline lgliser

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what to do?
« on: May 16, 2007, 20:31:25 pm »
It seems like my girls may be ready to go to 2 naps instead of 3.  At least some days!  Our day looks like this:
7 wake up and eat
8 rice cereal
9/9:30 nap (if any nap is long, it's this one.  it can be as long as 2 hours)
10:30 wake
11 eat
12:30 nap
1:30 wake and I try to hold them off to eat until:
2:30 eat (though I wish it was more like 3 but it's very hard to hold them off)
3:30 nap
4:30ish wake
5 eat again... grrrr still cluster feeding at 7 months!!!???
5:45 rice cereal
6:15 baths
6:45 breastfeed once more and then to bed

But the girls are actually doing a little better - they take a good 2 hr nap most mornings, have good awake time and then often can take over 2 hours for the afternoon nap.
My dilema is this:  right now, as I type, it has been 4 hours since their last feed.  So should I wake them to eat?  It's 3:30.  So it's about 10 min past time to eat today.  They have been down over 2 hours.  I will still nurse them when they wake up, and then just assume they don't need a catnap.  Then we'll still do solids and they'll still get nursed before bed.  So they'd be getting the same calories.  Is this a good plan, to just let them sleep a little more?
thanks!
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Offline malialeanne

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Re: what to do?
« Reply #1 on: May 16, 2007, 20:45:05 pm »
Hi there. Do you have triplets??? And you're nursing? My goodness, you must be supermom! :) I'm in awe!

What's their adjusted age--assuming they were at least a bit early. :)

In order to drop the catnap, A times need to extend in addition to naps. When A times approach 3 hours, the catnap usually gets "squeezed" out. Is there a reason you're doing just 2 hours of A? At 7 months a lot of babies are doing close to 3, and this allows them to drop the catnap. Of course, if their adjusted age is quite a bit younger than 7 months and they can only make 2 hours, you might have to wait a bit to drop the catnap. 3.5 hours of A before bed is a long time for your babes if they can only do 2 hours for their other A times...

A lot of people feel that naps longer than 2 hours cut into night sleep. I wouldn't allow it unless you have an exceptionally tired day, illness, etc.
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Malia


Offline lgliser

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Re: what to do?
« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2007, 21:42:11 pm »
Yes triplets and yes nursing!   :-*

Thank you very much for the fast reply.  I took your advice and went ahead and woke them up. 

Well, I try to do more than 2 hours of awake time, and often it is.  But it's never 3 hours.  I just watch for their cues and they just can't make it.  Their adjusted age is just over 5 months.  They were born at 33 weeks.  But anyway, extending awake time is what we're working on right now.  It's really hard with three - to keep them all entertained and happy.  LOL.  But I try. 

So do you think that a nap longer than 2 hours, even if there is no catnap, cuts into night sleep?  And does this go for when they're older as well?  Because it seems like all my friends who have toddlers that take one or two naps a day, the naps are a good 2 hours and often 3.
Thanks again!
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Offline malialeanne

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Re: what to do?
« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2007, 23:57:03 pm »
OK, so for an adjusted age of just over 5 months, 2.25 hours or so is more realistic than 3 hours. Of course, each one is probably a bit different in terms of what they can handle, right?

I can't imagine extending A times with three--we have to walk our dd around in the Bjorn carrier for the last part of her A time when we're extending to keep her happy. That would be impossible with three! :)

Three hours is a pretty long nap. Every baby/toddler is different, and when they're down to one nap a day it is more common for it to be a longer one. Some babies just need more sleep, but with babies you're trying to get them to distribute sleep appropriately and most people prefer it to be in the nighttime! Two hours is more than long enough to be restorative for most babies, so it's probably long enough. I'm totally not an expert on toddler sleep, though. Maybe next year! :)
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Malia


Offline lgliser

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Re: what to do?
« Reply #4 on: May 17, 2007, 01:22:45 am »
Well it's good to know that I am not alone in having to really pull out all the stops to extend awake time and keep them happy!  Every once in a while, I will have friends come by to visit and I find that when they are there to play with the babies that they stay awake longer.  I wish they could just come every day!
Thanks SO much for helping me out with this.  It's so nice to be able to bounce ideas around.  :)
Laney
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Offline malialeanne

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Re: what to do?
« Reply #5 on: May 17, 2007, 02:23:25 am »
:) Anytime. Good luck with those adorable babies!
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Malia


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