so - how long do you have to try something new before writing it off as a bad job???

[Tutter]

ds (13mo) is an early waker - between 5am and 6am, usually closer to 5. yesterday i succeeded in getting him to have only one daytime nap (despite waking at 5:30) as i thought maybe he was using his morning nap as a catch-up for waking so early.

and what time did he wake today? 5:08.

then he crashed out in the pram at 9am when dh popped out with him to get the paper.

so - do i give up on it, or persevere? and how long do i need to give it/

any advice gratefully received!

[Moomin]

i think he's going to need that 9am sleep whatever happens and maybe one later as well. i'd say go with it to a large extent as long as his afternoon nap's not too late otherwise you'll get yourself in a state everytime you want to do something which might result in him 'sleeping at the wrong time' and you'll end up revolving your life round it.

as for the early mornings - does he scream and cry or just chatter and squeal or whatever? can he be left to his own devices a bit rather than go straight in as soon as you hear him?

[littlerach]

DD2 did this for a couple of weeks, but thankfully she stopped!
Can you not put him back in his cot, keep lying hin down and telling him to sleep, for a few days to enforce the idea that it is not morning yet?
In my experience, staying up later doesn't qork, they just end up being grumpy the next day.

[Tutter]

just asked dh to describe what ds does when he wakes and his description was "he grouches". usually shouts "ba" or "ma" (calling us) then cries off and on - but not hysterically. occasionally (like this morning) he might go back to sleep for 20 mins or so if i go in and lie him back down every so often.

[Tutter]

littlerach - that's what we do - almost like cc - go in every so often, lie him back down and say "sshhh go back to sleep it's nighttime". the trouble is, the planes have started overhead and - despite blackout blinds and curtains - it's light in his room, so i'm not sure he's buying it, even if he understands!

[Moomin]

i think i'd go with your instincts and leave him to it. is his room very dark? dd2 is up with the lark at the moment - despite all the blackout stuff i've got in there, a chink of light always escapes! Unless she's howling we leave her to chat/chunter/squeal/sing to herself

[Tutter]

he's still asleep in his pram now - that's been an hour and three quarters. surely he's catching up on the time he should have been sleeping this morning?

i'm torn tbh. on one hand it's great that he has a sleep in the morning as it gives me chance to get in the shower. but then again all his little friends are transitioning to one sleep a day and so it's hard to find suitable times to meet up.

has anyone else's baby kept two naps a day much past their first birthday i wonder? (may start another thread to ask this)

[Seona1973]

its quite normal to have 2 naps a day until around 18 months although my dd did go down to 1 around 11/12 months. Have you tried 'wake to sleep'? I used this with my dd when she started waking at 5.30am. Around an hour before the usual wake up time, disturb your lo a little to get them out of their deep sleep and then let them go back to sleep again. It is supposed to re-jig their sleep cycle and help them sleep later. Its recommended to do it for 3 nights in a row but can work quicker than that.

How much sleep does your lo have at night? - depending on when he goes to bed he may have had his quota of sleep by 5am - have you tried making the bedtime gradually later and see if that helps him sleep later (you would have to do it gradually to give his bodyclock time to adjust)