Rant - Feeling so hopeless about sleep!

[bananaz]

My friend's little girl who is 2 years 8 months has just learnt how to open doors. She says she can hear her thundering around her room for a while, then the door handle slowly goes down and there she is in their room saying 'get up mummy' ! Not looking forward to those days either!

Anabella was up at 9am this morning, but managed just one 30 min nap all day.....urgh this is so frustrating! If I put her down when she is not sleepy, she will either just play or scream.

Do you think it's possible she just doesn't need as much sleep? (I do appreciate she sleeps later in the morning so this may be a contributing factor, but surely 30 mins ALL DAY is not right?!)

I think the late mornings may be partly to blame here. Most babies your LO's age only need around 14 hours of sleep a day, so if she's getting 13.5-14.5 hours of sleep at night she probably isn't going to be tired enough to take decent naps during the day. I guess it's up to you whether you want to try getting her up at a set time to see if she sleeps better during the day, or whether you want to keep those lovely late mornings!

 

[Noelle610]

my friend's little girl who is 2 years 8 months has just learnt how to open doors. She says she can hear her thundering around her room for a while, then the door handle slowly goes down and there she is in their room saying 'get up mummy' ! Not looking forward to those days either!

Anabella was up at 9am this morning, but managed just one 30 min nap all day.....urgh this is so frustrating! If i put her down when she is not sleepy, she will either just play or scream.

Do you think it's possible she just doesn't need as much sleep? (i do appreciate she sleeps later in the morning so this may be a contributing factor, but surely 30 mins all day is not right?!)

i think the late mornings may be partly to blame here. Most babies your lo's age only need around 14 hours of sleep a day, so if she's getting 13.5-14.5 hours of sleep at night she probably isn't going to be tired enough to take decent naps during the day. I guess it's up to you whether you want to try getting her up at a set time to see if she sleeps better during the day, or whether you want to keep those lovely late mornings!

wss

 

[bananaz]

Shadowy - Hooray for no early morning poops! Did you change anything or did the problem just resolve on its own?

Vikki - Glad you had a good night


Yesterday I completely messed up LO's schedule by taking her to a play group during her morning nap time so she ended up only taking one 1.5 hour nap the whole day and was awake for 6 hours before bedtime. I was expecting a horrible night but she slept almost 10 hours straight! Unfortunately she then decided to be up for the day at 5am. Can't have it all I suppose

 

[Noelle610]

Maybe she will be an early transitioner to one nap Bananaz!

 

[Shadowy Lady]

Bananaz - I moved her cereal feeding to the morning and also started giving her dinner earlier (at 4:30 pm). I did all this maybe 6 days ago though so not sure if it's related.

At what age do babies drop to one nap?

 

[Noelle610]

At what age do babies drop to one nap?

Usually between 12 and 18 months.

 

[bananaz]

Maybe she will be an early transitioner to one nap Bananaz!

I was thinking that too. Her awake periods seem to have gotten a lot longer recently, and when I put her down for her one nap after 4 hours of awake time yesterday she went to sleep quite quickly and without much of a fight. She didn't seem too unhappy about being up so long in the afternoon either.

If she only has one nap I want it to be at least a couple hours long though. I'm not ready to only have a single 1-1.5 hour break a day!

 

[Noelle610]

Maybe she will be an early transitioner to one nap Bananaz!

I was thinking that too. Her awake periods seem to have gotten a lot longer recently, and when I put her down for her one nap after 4 hours of awake time yesterday she went to sleep quite quickly and without much of a fight. She didn't seem too unhappy about being up so long in the afternoon either.

If she only has one nap I want it to be at least a couple hours long though. I'm not ready to only have a single 1-1.5 hour break a day!

Oh, I hear you. I'm not ready. Here's some great advice on how to do it from a sleep guru friend of mine:

And this is the basic advice for moving to one nap:

Just starting 1 nap (still having some 2 nap days): The first WT is stretched from 3-3.25 WT by 15-20min every 3-7 days until you get to a 4hr WT. If first nap ends before 12pm, do a 30-45 min catnap/quiet time ~3pm or 3.5hrs WT, whichever comes first.

Just recently on 1 nap: 4-4.25/6 (nap starting between 10am and 11am, depending on WU) Every 3-5 days, extend first WT by 15 min until he/she can cope with a 5hr WT

A couple weeks on 1 nap: 5/5 (eg. 6am WU, 11am nap, 7pm BT)

A few weeks more on 1 nap: 5.5/4.5-5(?) (eg. 6am WU, 11:30am nap, 7pm BT) 1 nap is well-established; No need to push the first WT unless there are signs that more WT is needed (lengthy monkey business before nap and/or shorter naps)

A couple months on 1 nap:: 6/4.5-5(?) (eg. 6am WU, 12pm nap, 7:30pm BT)

A few more months on 1 nap: 6.5/4.5-5(?)

18+ months: 5.5-6/4.5-5(?) ~BTC nap starting at ~12:30-1:00pm

24 months: 6+/5(?) ~BTC nap starting at ~1-1:30pm

To translate -
BTC = By the Clock
WU= Wake up
WT = Wake time

 

[Boo44]

^^so basically just copied and pasted that (for when the time comes!)

 

[Noelle610]

^^so basically just copied and pasted that (for when the time comes!)

I just did myself I like that it's a gradual approach rather than cold turkey to get baby used to longer wake times. I have a sensitive girl, so I think it will work well for us.

 

[bananaz]

Oh, I hear you. I'm not ready. Here's some great advice on how to do it from a sleep guru friend of mine:

And this is the basic advice for moving to one nap:

Just starting 1 nap (still having some 2 nap days): The first WT is stretched from 3-3.25 WT by 15-20min every 3-7 days until you get to a 4hr WT. If first nap ends before 12pm, do a 30-45 min catnap/quiet time ~3pm or 3.5hrs WT, whichever comes first.

Just recently on 1 nap: 4-4.25/6 (nap starting between 10am and 11am, depending on WU) Every 3-5 days, extend first WT by 15 min until he/she can cope with a 5hr WT

A couple weeks on 1 nap: 5/5 (eg. 6am WU, 11am nap, 7pm BT)

A few weeks more on 1 nap: 5.5/4.5-5(?) (eg. 6am WU, 11:30am nap, 7pm BT) 1 nap is well-established; No need to push the first WT unless there are signs that more WT is needed (lengthy monkey business before nap and/or shorter naps)

A couple months on 1 nap:: 6/4.5-5(?) (eg. 6am WU, 12pm nap, 7:30pm BT)

A few more months on 1 nap: 6.5/4.5-5(?)

18+ months: 5.5-6/4.5-5(?) ~BTC nap starting at ~12:30-1:00pm

24 months: 6+/5(?) ~BTC nap starting at ~1-1:30pm

To translate -
BTC = By the Clock
WU= Wake up
WT = Wake time

That's awesome, thank you! Her first WT was already around 3.5 hours so I think I'm just going to push it to 4 and see how it goes. I like that that plan includes an afternoon catnap, though I wonder how I'd do "quiet time" with a hyperactive, hypersensitive 10 month old??

 

[Noelle610]

Oh, I hear you. I'm not ready. Here's some great advice on how to do it from a sleep guru friend of mine:

And this is the basic advice for moving to one nap:

Just starting 1 nap (still having some 2 nap days): The first WT is stretched from 3-3.25 WT by 15-20min every 3-7 days until you get to a 4hr WT. If first nap ends before 12pm, do a 30-45 min catnap/quiet time ~3pm or 3.5hrs WT, whichever comes first.

Just recently on 1 nap: 4-4.25/6 (nap starting between 10am and 11am, depending on WU) Every 3-5 days, extend first WT by 15 min until he/she can cope with a 5hr WT

A couple weeks on 1 nap: 5/5 (eg. 6am WU, 11am nap, 7pm BT)

A few weeks more on 1 nap: 5.5/4.5-5(?) (eg. 6am WU, 11:30am nap, 7pm BT) 1 nap is well-established; No need to push the first WT unless there are signs that more WT is needed (lengthy monkey business before nap and/or shorter naps)

A couple months on 1 nap:: 6/4.5-5(?) (eg. 6am WU, 12pm nap, 7:30pm BT)

A few more months on 1 nap: 6.5/4.5-5(?)

18+ months: 5.5-6/4.5-5(?) ~BTC nap starting at ~12:30-1:00pm

24 months: 6+/5(?) ~BTC nap starting at ~1-1:30pm

To translate -
BTC = By the Clock
WU= Wake up
WT = Wake time

That's awesome, thank you! Her first WT was already around 3.5 hours so I think I'm just going to push it to 4 and see how it goes. I like that that plan includes an afternoon catnap, though I wonder how I'd do "quiet time" with a hyperactive, hypersensitive 10 month old??

Sure! I was thinking you could skip a step and just go to the 4 hours. I'm not sure about the quiet time either.... Maybe just quiet play with dim lights and books? I know Elise likes to read.

Let us know how it goes!

 

[Shadowy Lady]

ok stupid question guys. Do you ever wake up your LO from naps to put them back on their normal schedule? I mean when they'r a bit older (6months +)

Sofia woke up at 6:00 am today and was super sleepy at 9:30 am so I put her down for a nap. She only napped for 30 mins and was up. Then at around 11 am she got cranky again so she went to sleep and is still asleep now at 1:00 pm. She usually takes a nap from 9:30-11:00 and then another one from 2:00-3:00 pm. Should I wake her up now to get her back on track? I know the age old question....

 

[bananaz]

ok stupid question guys. Do you ever wake up your LO from naps to put them back on their normal schedule? I mean when they'r a bit older (6months +)

Sofia woke up at 6:00 am today and was super sleepy at 9:30 am so I put her down for a nap. She only napped for 30 mins and was up. Then at around 11 am she got cranky again so she went to sleep and is still asleep now at 1:00 pm. She usually takes a nap from 9:30-11:00 and then another one from 2:00-3:00 pm. Should I wake her up now to get her back on track? I know the age old question....

I will wake LO from late naps to keep her on track for bedtime, but otherwise I generally let her be. Her "schedule" is already pretty loose to begin with though, because she tends to wake up at different times in the morning and her nap lengths are pretty variable. If she was more consistent I might do things differently.

What time does Sofia go to bed? Since it's already 1pm I don't think it's likely you're going to be able to get her back on track for a 2pm-3pm nap so I would probably let her sleep and then give her a late catnap or just skip that nap altogether depending on how long she sleeps now.

 

[Shadowy Lady]

Bananaz - she's usually asleep by 6:45 pm. She ended up waking up like 2 mins after I posted this, lol! I'll see if she goes for another nap around 3:00 or so. I don't like letting her nap past 4:00 pm.

 

[Noelle610]

Same as bananaz. I'd just try for a short catnap around 3 or 3:30. If she won't go down you can just do a slightly early bedtime.

 

[NotNic]

Finlay tends to go close to 4hrs before needing his first nap which normally lasts between 1.15 and 2.15 hrs though today he ended up napping from 10.15-1.40pm (I woke him in the end). Even though he was showing signs of tiredness at 4pm he wouldn't sleep so we'll now go through to bed. I think the long one was due to the bug. I would have let him sleep longer but I didn't want it to push his mealtimes out with him not eating as much as normal. In the afternoon he's started to either refuse the nap or have a short one 20-35mins so happily going close to 7hrs pm. Every baby I hear about though has long pm sleeps not morning ones. Also I found out I went to one nap at 8mths, though I was a baby happy to sleep in much later than I'd be able to convince Finlay!

We do also do quiet time here. We cuddle, listen to music, read books or sit and have a snack in the high chair. Quite often he falls asleep on my lap for 10mins.

The other thing that's changed here is no milk. We are on Day 4 of a milk strike. He is still suffering a bit, but I am worried that the longer he refuses it, the harder it will be to get it back.

 

[Noelle610]

I don't think it's necessarily that the morning nap is dropped, per se, but that the morning and afternoon nap kind of merge into one. If I were you Notnic, I'd try gradually stretching his morning wake time to get that nap more in the center of your day.

Milk strike is going on here too.... No idea why

 

[Larkspur]

Hey all!!!!

You can probably tell by the use of exclamation marks that that was a cheery greeting and here's why: TWO WAKE UPS. Yes, that's right, just over a week into our 'preparation for starting gentle sleep training', we are down to two wakeups (post-dreamfeed).

This is a major improvement from as many as eight wakeups. Last night, I got two three-hour blocks of sleep from 10.30-1.30 and then 2-5am. Then he had one more feed and went back down till almost 6.30 (which, again, is a lot better than the recent pattern of starting his day at 5.30am and crashing out for a first nap around 7.30am.

Tonight, the proper no-tears self-settling starts. So far, I've been unlatching him before he falls asleep, and then putting him in his cot really really drowsy (eyes closed). Sometimes I've jiggled him a little to get him just awake enough. Then, if he starts stirring, I shush and pat him down in the cot (often putting my head on his chest, that calms him right down) until he goes to sleep. I've been hearing him wake during the night (hard not to, he sleeps about a foot away from me) and settling back to sleep. So tonight we're starting with putting him down eyes open. Wish me luck!

Shadowy and Noelle, glad to hear the sleep is better! Bananaz, hope it improves!!

 

[Noelle610]

Yay!!!!!