11.5 month old fighting second nap

[Layla]

Jodie, I'd be careful cutting the nap to 20mins. He's still very young & this is what I was saying before, that I had to do a few days of 30mins but then noticed she was getting overtired & went back to 45mins.

I agree, you'll find the combo that works for you but don't be dissapointed if he only takes 2 short naps becuase even now (4 months of cutting this & that she still does 2 short naps some days. Its extremely frustrating but the best you can do is offer an earlier bedtime.

I also think you shoudl join the 2-1 thread. The ladies there will keep you sane through all of this

[Jodieplus2]

ok thanks, I'll stick with at least 30min am nap for now & maybe try putting him down for his pm nap a bit earlier, as I may have been leaving A time too long & he was getting over tired.

If that fails, do you think I should move back to 45min AM nap for a bit?

Jxx

[Layla]

If it were me, I would. I had to & only just now (about 2 weeks ago) went back to 30mins & she is handling it much better than before. If you are doing 30mins in the morning, you don't want to extend his A time more than 3hrs. SO have hiim back in the cot at 2.75hrs, give him 15mins to fall asleep. He might be overtired by the pm nap

Let us know how he goes

[Jodieplus2]

thanks Isabella&JasminesMum.

I did 30min am nap today & back in cot at 3hours A time & it took him an hour to go to sleep still! So I think you're right & he may be overtired by pm nap (he is alseep now & gone past 45mins, which is good!). I will try 45min am nap tomorrow & see how he goes then.

Thanks for your help (again!)
I'll keep you updated
Jxx

[Jodieplus2]

well we're still having troubles! We tried 45min PM nap again & he still fought his PM nap the same. Today he has totally refused PM nap, so we're going for a 6pm bedtime.

I have posted on the 2-1 thread as well, but any other suggestions would be much appreciated, otherwise I think I'm going to get a very grumpy baby on my hands!

Thanks
Jxx 

[Layla]

Well if he's refusing the pm nao on 45min am nap, I'd try 30mins again & put him in the cot at say 2.75hrs so that he is asleep by the 3hr mark

IF cutting the am nap does not produce a pm nap, the other thing you can do is let him sleep a long nap in the morning & try for a catnap. If no catnap, do an earlier bedtime. You can then push that long nap in increments (add 10mins every 3 days or so) until its close to noon. Keep offering the catnap & if not do an earlier bedtime.

Cutting naps doesn't work for everyone. So if you are finding in the next say 4-5 days (give some time for adjustment) that 30mins is NOT working either, you can try the other method.

hth
Layla

[Jodieplus2]

Great, thanks Layla- you are being a massive help!

I persist with the 30mins for a few more days then, with a 2.75 A time, & if that doesn't work I'll give your second suggestion a try. How long should I leave A time after a long nap before the catnap? && what is the latest time I should give the catnap?

Thanks again

Jxx

[Layla]

I would probably try for a catnap 3-3.5hrs later. The latest you probably want him sleeping is till 4.30pm for a 7.30/8pm bedtime.

[Jodieplus2]

Hi

well I gave-in following 4 days with only 30mins am nap & no pm nap, I thought I was heading for a REALLY OT baby! I let him have a long AM nap & he slept nearly 2hours. However, he has now refused the pm catnap. I will get him to bed early, but feel that he is never going to settle for his PM nap anymore! Shall I persist with trying for the catnap?

many thanks
Jx

[Layla]

Depends on how late the catnap is. I probably woudln't want the catnap to end any later than 4.30pm, for an 8pm bedtime. See how you go. Tracy writes in her book that when doing the transition you wudl let them have a long morning nap & offer the catnap but push the morning nap every 3-4 days (in say 10-15min increments) until its close to noon. Natasha (another member) did that successfully & I am sure there are others as well. You might want to try that for a couple of weeks & if he's getting overtired/nightwakings or waking up earlier to start the day, you can always go back to 2 naps

 

[Jodieplus2]

sorry, I meant that he won't settle for his catnap after 2hour AM nap. Should I persist with trying to get him to settle (eg putting him in his cot & leaving him to see if he will eventually sleep) or do you have any ideas how I can tweek his rotuine so he will have the catnap?

With the long AM nap his routine is as follows:

WAKE- 6.15AM
NAP- 9.45AM (FOR 2 HOURS)
WAKE- 11.45AM
CATNAP- 2.45PM (THIS IS WHAT I DID YESTERDAY BUT AFTER 1 HOUR HE STILL DID NOT SLEEP!)
BED- 6.30PM (USUALLY 7PM)

I hope this makes sense to you, very confusing I know!
Thanks
Jxx

[Layla]

sorry, I meant that he won't settle for his catnap after 2hour AM nap. Should I persist with trying to get him to settle (eg putting him in his cot & leaving him to see if he will eventually sleep) or do you have any ideas how I can tweek his rotuine so he will have the catnap?

Thats how I understood it as well & this is the common problem with letting them have a long morning nap.

Ok, you have a few options:
1. Let him have the morning nap (long) & push it out in increments. Add 10-15mins every 3 days or so to avoid overtiredness. Chances are that he won't have a catnap (although you can/should still try). In this case if no catnap, do a super early bedtime (be it 5/5.30pm). Its only temporary & will keep him from getting overtired. Some babies don't add onto night sleep so I am not sure if he will. Jasmine always have so I am not really worried about a super early bedtime - its always worked out well for us.
2. You could again try for a 30min morning nap & maybe shorten the A time again. Put in the cot 2.5hrs later to give him time to tire out & be asleep hopefully by 2.75-3hrs. You'll probably have to wear him out before the pm nap. Give him lots of time to crawl around, etc.... so that he is tired enough for a nap
3. You could try to shorten the morning nap even more - say 20mins & pm nap at the end of 2hrs A time. He shoudl definitely be tired on just 20min morning nap but wether he will have a long pm nap is a hit & miss. Give it about 3-4 days to see if he will have a longer pm nap. An earlier bedtime a must if he's only taking a short nap.

Thats really all I can think of  . Its either 2 naps or 1 nap. If he is dead set refusing the pm nap on a short morning nap, your option is to push the long morning nap closer to noon. He might only get to 11ish (which is fine for an 11/12mo) & you'll probably be on an early beditme (say 6pm) for a while.

[Jodieplus2]

Thanks Layla, I will stick with the long am nap for now then (pushing it towards noon), as I prefer knowing that he has had at least 2hours during the day rather than risking anymore 30min am naps & no pm nap.
I will keep trying for the catnap too, if not, then early to bed it is!

Thanks again, you're being a great help!
Jxx

[Layla]

Good luck Jodie! I've pmd another member (who I "think" did the same thing - that is long am nap pushed towards noon) to see if she can help you out & tell her story  .

Keep me posted 

[EsMum]

Hi again Jodie,

Ella also preferred a longer am nap than pm one, so we went with that and moved it forward. We also use the early bedtime if we have to and find it works well (yesterday she only took a 1.5hr nap because we were in the car so last night she was asleep at 5:40 and she slept til 6:15 this morning).  Also I find really watching A times is the way to go for us - we try to put her down at about 4.75 hrs (or a little earlier if she's really tired) so she's asleep by 5hrs.

I hope that helps!
Michelle.