Teething pain cause of wakings?

[momofclaire]

I really wouldn't go to one nap yet.  He is still doing a ton of growing and milestones and will probably just end up being overtired.  I think he refused the pm nap because the am nap was too long.  I would try to wake after an hour or even 45 min and then work on getting a 1.5-2 hour afternoon nap.  Some babies do the opposit but it seems that if yours has a long am he will certainly refuse the pm nap. 
That is great about his sleep last night!
His two wakings were probably because he had such a long A time before bedtime.  If they have a longer A time then they can handle their body becomes overstimulated and won't settle into a deep sleep well at night.
Claire seemed to do everything early as well but she wasn't on one nap until 12 months. I am pretty sure no one would advise only one nap at his age. 

[lukegwsmom]

I totally agree that it is too early for one nap.  I just hate fighting with him over pm nap!  Hopefully this helps, I think it will!  I just got him down for pm nap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It took us 35min, but it worked!  It means he had a 3.5hr A time before wind down, but I watched him like a hawk!  I did not look at the clock until I saw the first tired sign.  As soon as I saw him rub his eye, I picked him up to start our wind down
So, to continue our day...
10-11 am nap
11:30 BF (should I BF when I wake him after the hour, or wait until 11:30?)
1:15 lunch
2:35 wind down
3:10 pm nap

I have been keeping a log and he recently seems to be doing this:
3hrs a, nap, 3.5 to 4 hrs a, nap, 3.5hrs a, bed

I feel so silly(and like a terrable mom) going back and looking at this log.  There seems to be a pattern forming and I am just now seeing it!  If I would have seen it sooner, we probably would not be fighting so hard for pm nap.

So, do you think this is a realistic goal for 10mo:

7:30 Wake BF
10:30 - 11:15 am nap
2:45-4:15 pm nap
7:15 in bed
7:30-45 sleep

[momofclaire]

I think that routine looks good.
Don't feel like a bad mom.  Sometimes it is hard to see what's really going on when you are in the middle of it. 
Keep me posted on the progress. 
Myia

[lukegwsmom]

Hi Myia!
How was your weekend?  Ours was GREAT!!!!!!!!  DS is doing really well with our routine, even with teething.  This whole time I kept thinking he couldn't last long and was OT and that's why he would fight me so hard at pm nap.  I also really believed that his NW and EM were do to teething!!!  He is definitely teething, but thanks to your suggestion about the routing tweaking, we are doing so much better.  Here's how our weekend went:
Fri
7 - Awake
10-11 am nap
3:10 - 4:25 pm nap
7:45 Asleep for night

No NW  , but he did wake up at 5:45 sat morning   We tried to get him to go back to sleep and it was on and off until 7.  He only got in about 10min from 5:45-7.

Sat
5:45 Awake
9:40-10:45 am nap
2:45-4:15 pm nap
8 Asleep for night(we put him down early, but he did not fall asleep til
9 NW(he put himself right back to sleep, we did not have to go in)

He woke at 5:45am again, but he put himself right back to sleep and slept until 7:30!! We did not have to go in!

Sun
7:30 Awake
10:30-11:20 am nap
3:10-4:15 pm nap
8:10 Asleep for night(not sure why it took him so long to fall asleep again?)

He has been consistent (besides the last two nights at bedtime)the last couple days with:
3hr A, nap, 4hr A, nap, 3.5hr A

He has actually been doing this for a while, I just didn’t realize it until I really looked at the log I had been keeping.  I thought he was tired at about 2.5hr A time between naps, but then we would struggle for a good hour or longer before he would fall asleep.  It seems as though he really needs this amount of A time, otherwise it is a struggle to get him to sleep.

With this much A time, is he getting enough sleep?  If he sleeps for 12hrs at night, then he will only get about 1.5hrs TOTAL of sleep in day.  I know this sounds crazy, but should we only let him have 11 hrs at night so he can have more during the day?

All in all things are getting much better!  Thank you!!!!!!!!

[momofclaire]

I am so happy to hear that things are going better!   
I would not rob from night sleep to add to day sleep.  I only wake Claire when she has slept 12 hours at night and I will sometimes let her go 12.5 if she has a good reason to be tired. 
He may be one of those babies that needs slightly less than average sleep.  I would continue to really watch his cues.  I would work on getting him to bed 12 hours after he wakes in the morning to give him the opportunity to sleep more. 
Let me know how the next couple of days go.

Our weekend was good. We just hung out and did some stuff around the house mostly.  Claire played in the poop as it is soooo very hot and being outside and not being wet is just miserable.
Keep me posted ok.
Myia

[lukegwsmom]

Hi Myia!
Glad you and Claire had a good weekend playing in the "poop"!  I'm sure you meant pool...although Luke has been known to play in his poop

Sorry I am just now getting a chance to update you.  It has been CRAZY.  The last few days have awful.  I have been sticking with the 45/1hr am nap, and for the last TWO days he has refused pm nap.  He is exhausted…poor baby!  So needless to say, he has been waking quite a bit at night.  Luckily it does not take much to get him back to sleep, he usually does it himself.  He also has been sleeping at least 12 hrs, which I know does not make up for the lost daytime sleep, but it helps.

I have been reading a lot about the 2-1nap transition and think I might start shorting his am nap even more, to 30min.  Hopefully this helps him take a pm nap.  What do you think?

Hope you’ve been having a good week!

Meagan

[momofclaire]

You can try shortening it more but he really will need a pm nap.  Are you putting him to bed early the days where he isn't getting much day sleep?  Are you doing a long windown for the pm nap?  How long do you try to get him to go down? 

Yep, I meant pool.      I am certainly glad she wasn't playing in her poop, esp since her poop is in the potty...that would be a real mess. EWWW

[lukegwsmom]

I know he needs a pm nap.  I am trying sooooooooooooooooooo hard for these darn pm naps.

tues I tried for 1hr 45 min
wed I tried for 1hr30min
today, I tried for almost 2hrs!!!!!!!!!!!  HE WON'T SLEEP, and I am going INSANE

I am so frustrated.  I now have him in the swing, that he is to big for, HOPING SOMETHING WILL WORK

Our wind down takes about 15min.  Is that long enough?

Yes we are putting him to bed 1 to 1.5hrs early when he does not take pm nap.  He has been asleep by 6:15 the last 2 night.  Usually he goes to sleep between 7:30 and 8.

Maybe it is just his teeth and when(IF) they come in, it will solve our problems?

[momofclaire]

Teeth are tough!  I hate them.    Some children need a longer windown.  I am starting to thing that Luke is one of them.  If you put him in bed and it takes that long for him to be asleep then he probably needs more quiet/down time before bed so he can get relaxed.  Do you leave the room at night and let him put himself to sleep or do you sit there the whole time until he is asleep?  How are you trying to get him to nap? What do you do?

[lukegwsmom]

We do sit with him until he is asleep, unless he is really fidgety.  If he is fidgety, and not settling down we usually leave the room until he cries. This usually happens for pm nap and bedtime, not am nap.

Occasionally he will fall asleep on his own for am nap, but more often than not he needs to hold my hand.  I use to let him try and do it himself, but for the last few weeks I have just sat with him.  He goes to sleep much quicker this way.  It got to be that every time I would leave, he would be fine for about 10min then start crying so I would have to go back in.  Lately I have been staying with him and he usually goes right to sleep...with in 5 min of laying him down.

For pm nap, it is a different story.  We do the exact same thing as am nap, but he can't seem to settle.

nap routine: clean up toys, walk around house not saying anything but that it is time to settle down for nap time, diaper change, read 2 books, close window shades, sing one song, lay down in crib, say night-night. 
Then I use to walk out…usually cries when I walk out for a second then settles down and either goes right to sleep or plays for 5min or so then cries for me, sits up, stands up etc crying, until I go back in and lay him down and hold his hand.  It got to the point where he would NEVER go right to sleep.  So now, I will stay with him for a while, but when he gets really fidgety and I can’t get him to relax, I will walk out and let him roll around, sit up, stand up, play with his binky, throw his binky out of his crib, play with his lovey, etc, until he gets upset again.  Then I will go back in, calm him down, lay him down, hold his hand and pray that he will GO TO SLEEP!!!!!!!  This goes on and on.  As you know, for pm nap we will do this for 2hrs sometimes. 

Occasionally at bedtime it will take him on hour, but I think this only happens we he does not have enough A time before bed.

Our bedtime routine is pretty simple: bath, pj's, read one book, walk around for a min to calm, BF, sing song w/mommy and daddy, in crib, mommy says night night, daddy stays.

What do you think?

[lukegwsmom]

Just wanted to add one more thing...sorry!

After adjusting his A time and putting him down at 4hr A time between naps, he was not doing all that i just said.  He was going down easy for pm nap too, besides the last three days  

He woke early this am...6:30.  So for am nap I got him down at 9:20...less than 5min after putting him in his crib.  I woke him after 45min, 10:05am.  Soooo...since he woke so early from am nap I was able to give him more A time before pm nap.  Right at 3.5hrs A time (1:35pm) he yawned for the first time and we started winding down.  We did wind down for about 20 min(1:55pm), he was asleep by 2:00pm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It is now 3:25 and he is still asleep!

Now that i have a clear head today...since he is sleeping and I have time to think  ... I really think it is my fault he has not taken pm nap the last few days.

tues - I did not give him enough A time, I guess I miss read his tired signs and thought he was tired before he actually was
wed - he fell asleep in the car for 5min on the way home from running errands and threw everything off(not sure how to fix this, unless I NEVER go out)
thurs - I think I did not give him enough A time again.  I tried shortening his nap to 30min and putting him down for pm nap at only 3hrs of A time

So maybe his refusing pm nap has more to do with me than with him???!!!

Thanks again for all of your help.  Sorry I can be such a whiney mess sometimes!

[momofclaire]

From you last post it seems that you have started to figure things out!  That's great!!!
It really is about finding the right amount of A time for our baby. 
How have the last couple of days gone? 

I would make sure that you aren't doing too much for him, ie holding his hand...you don't want to become a prop. 
Sorry it took me a couple of days to respond. I was out of town for the weekend.

Oh, and don't worry about being a whiney mess, we are glad to help and most of us have had our whiney times as well.

[lukegwsmom]

I think we really are starting to figure things out!  The last few days have been really good!!  Last night he slept 12 straight hours...not one little peep!

I am trying really hard not to become a prop.  Sometimes I think I might already be, but he goes to sleep so much quicker this way.  I usually let go of his hands just before he falls asleep all the way.  Hopefully soon we'll get back to the point of laying him down and leaving the room.

I hope you had a great weekend.  It's nice to get away sometimes!

Thanks for being so understanding!!!

[momofclaire]

I think you are really making progress.  I would just try to slowly remove yourself from the sleep equation.  So maybe hold his hand and let go sooner and sooner.  As long as you are trying to not be a prop then you probably wont become one.

My weekend was quick and busy but we did "get away" so I can't really complain.
No problem, keep posting for help and support. This site is great for that.