2nd nap 30 min for 8.5 month old?!

[jamm]

Hi everyone!

My frustration level has reached its peak!! For the past 5 days, my 8 month old lo has shifted her naps....both used to be 1 - 1h20 hrs long, and now the 1st nap has lengthened (yesterday it was 2 hrs) but the 2nd one is no longer than 30 min! Not only that, she FIGHTS like crazy when I try to put her down (usually she'll go down in <5 min, as she does with the 1st nap)! It is soooo frustrating! I've searched other threads and noticed some los that shift to 30 min naps as well but what I don't understand is how she can have one long then one super short one! Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated! Here's a sample of our EASY schedule (this was todays):

6:45 am - wake up
7:15 - bf
8:00 - breakfast
9:55- 1st nap (1.5 hrs)
11:30 - bf
12:15 - lunch
2:40 - showed tired signs, tried to put down but put up a HUGE fight to nap
3:20 - finally fell asleep for 2nd nap (30 min)
4:00 - bf
5:00 - dinner
6:30 - bath, massage, etc.
7:00 - bf
7:30 - bed
10:30 - df

She has no problems sleeping at night (thank goodness). Please help!!

[debo620]

Jen,
the only thing to maybe try is:
limit the am nap to 1hr max 10-11am
2nd nap 2:30-4

I would suggest this because as she gets older (4 or 5months from now) the am nap should getter shorter to gear up for the switch to one nap.
HTH

[Kate A]

My LO did the same thing.  She started about this age. Alot of people shorten the morning nap to lengthen the afternoon and that didn't work for us.  She was always a morning napper.  I started to move her morning nap later by 15 minutes or so.  then I would still allow her to nap for the 30 minutes or so in the afternoon.  I would make sure that I put her to sleep earlier to accomodate overtiredness.  She did this short afternoon nap until 13 months when she went to one nap.

I understand that it's so frustrating, but I came to appreciate the longer nap in the morning.  then i would do things in the afternoon with her.

I don't know if any of this helps.  You may find that shortening the morning nap works for you, but wanted to you know what our situation was.

[jamm]

Thank you so much for your replies.

We did go ahead and try to shorten her AM nap and it worked!! For the past 3 days I have been waking her up from her AM nap after 50 min. Then after 3.25 - 3.5 hours she shows tired signs and goes down without a fight! The first 2 days she only napped for about 1 hr in the afternoon but today she slept for 1h40!!

Hopefully it will continue this way because it has made all of us much happier!! =)

Thanks again - I'll be sure to keep you updated!