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  1. #1
    okinawama is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
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    Default setting nap times even though the naps are only 30 minutes

    I am at the end of my rope with my 8 month old sons napping and night sleeping. He takes three 30 minute naps a day and wakes anywhere from 2-10 times a night. I know he is over tired, but I have no idea how to get him out of this total overtired spiral.

    I try and go on "cues" but clearly, that's not working. He will only sleep 30 minutes and it makes the entire day a guessing game. I don't get out of the house because I'm trying to "protect" (as weissbluth would say) his sleep, and he never sleeps at the same time.

    So, I'd love to just set the nap times (like 9ish and 1ish based on Weissbluth) and go with it. Do you think that it will only make my sleep problems worse? I'm loosing my my mind and my toddler is missing out on SO much with the way things are right now.

  2. #2
    mmsmom is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    So sorry you are going through this... I had a similar experience. My DD was a cat napper too and it was hard BUT it did get better! Since your DC is 8 months I would set a morning and afternoon nap time; 9:00 and 1:00 are good times if that works with your schedule. I also had an older DC that wanted to be out so what I did was commit to being home for my younger DC morning & afternoon nap and if she fell asleep while we were out at another time then so be it. I would put her down around 9:00... sometimes it would take quite a while to get her to sleep. She would usually only sleep 30-45 min. In that time I would shower & get dressed so we would be ready to go when she woke up. Since the nap was short she would often fall asleep before lunch time again while we were out but I would just let her sleep... stroller, car, where ever while older DC and I finished whatever we were doing. If she did sleep while we were out then afternoon nap was around 3:00. It too was just 30-45 minutes. Somehow we made it to 15 months when she went to 1 nap and now she loves her nap and it is 1.5-2.5 hours and she asks for a nap (she is almost 3 now).

    Hang in there! I know it is hard to figure out a balance to being fair to both DC but just remember there are many #3's and 4's and even 5's who never get to nap at home due to older kids schedules & I think they all turn out okay.

    ETA: My DD also frequently woke at night. I was still nursing & she really liked to eat at night vs. during the day. Around 8 months I stopped nursing her at night which made her get on a daytime eating schedule then around 9 months I did the Ferber method. I think it was a great age to do it... one bad night (2 hours crying), night 2 about 20 minutes crying, night 3 was 10 minutes and she has been sleeping great at night (besides when she is sick) ever since.
    Last edited by mmsmom; 12-10-2011 at 08:41 PM. Reason: nighttime

  3. #3
    okinawama is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
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    thanks for your reply! When you did just the two naps ( 9 & 1) if she woke from the afternoon nap at 130, did you push through all the way until BT? Did you ever see the naps lengthen on their own? I am hoping that setting his body clock to sleep at 9 & 1 that he'll be "trained" (not the word I'm looking for but can't thin of another one) to sleep at those times and his body will naturally lengthen the naps and hopefully we'll be rid of this cat napping business.

    I am trying to relax about the whole sleep/nap thing, I just know he's not getting the sleep he needs, and it totally stresses me out.

  4. #4
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    I would start by cutting out that third nap, even if his other two naps are only 30 minutes a piece. A later afternoon catnap at that age is probably not helping with the night wakings. What time does he usually wake in the mornings? I would set his first am nap about 3 hours after he wakes up in the morning, and see how he does with that.

    If he sleeps a short while in the afternoon like from 1- 1:30, I would push thorugh until an very early bedtime. I have been known to put my DS to sleep as early as 545. It seems counter intuitive, but for a very overtired baby, early bedtimes are often key.

    Good luck! I know how hard it is. DS is just over 10 months, and we are starting to transition to one nap. As soon as you get the schedule figured out, something else changes!

  5. #5
    mmsmom is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    [QUOTE=okinawama;3359707]thanks for your reply! When you did just the two naps ( 9 & 1) if she woke from the afternoon nap at 130, did you push through all the way until BT? QUOTE]

    Yes, I would just push through to bed time but make bed time very early. Normal bedtime was 7:00 but I would put her down as early as 6:00 if she had been up for a while. She would still wake at night (until I did Ferber) but the earlier bedtime did not change her morning wake up time.

    I think finding a schedule that works for you & then sticking to it will make things better. But it may take a while & could get worse before it gets better. Hang in there! I know it is tough.

  6. #6
    okinawama is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
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    alright, I'm going to do it...ahhhhhhh.....I'm so nervous of creating this over tired, screaming mess of a baby, but really, what I'm doing right now isn't working either. I'm not afraid of an early bedtime, we've recently been doing as early as 6pm if he's been up for a while, hopefully, we'll see the naps lengthen and nights improve a little.

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