Any tips for Gina baby not doing lunchtime nap?

[ladymoo]

Have been roughly following Gina Ford for my now 8.5 month old DS but over the last week or so his lunchtime sleep has varied from 1 hr - 1.5 hrs which is driving me nuts - I know it's still a decent sleep but I feel as though he needs more & don't know whether to just get him up as he's pretty awake when he wakes iykwim or control cry him back to sleep as Gina would have me do! Although i am not sure he would actually go back to sleep & do I want to have a crying baby for an hour? Any tips??? x

[Olihan]

You've answered your own question there.

He's awake and cheery enough when he's had the amount of time that he feels he needs.

You doubt he'll go back off if you leave him to cry.

So leave him to tell you when he's had enough sleep. Not Gina.

Babaies aren't little clones of each other. They don't all need the same amount of sleep at the same time. At his age I would seriously consider consigning Gina to a drawer and following his cues.

Trust your instincts, not the instructions of someone who doesn't even know your baby exists, let alone his temperament and needs.

[HolidaysQueen]

i wouldn't try cpntrol crying. it could well be the heat, so i'd just try to ride it out if you can and think again if it's not changed. i don't do gina, but ds got into his own routine and that has been ignored by him during the heat! i'm just letting him get on with his own thing for now as it is so hot.

[ladymoo]

Thank you - much better to have advice from mums than Gina i know! Will do as you say & just go with it for now (I hate that expression tho! am so not a go with it kind of a mum altho i wish i was!!)

Thanks so much for your help

[fymandbean]

have you dropped the afternoon nap? and the morning one?

I found that less sleep at lunchtime meant time to drop the morning one.

I followed Gina by the way and found it good but you need to take cues from your baby so less sleep means needs less naps... I think mine was about a year when we dropped the morning nap but it's a while ago now! certainly when he slept less at lunchtime we dropped the morning nap and suddenly he was back to 2 hours at lunch....

[HonoriaGlossop]

agree with you fy, I'd drop the 9am nap, if he hasn't already and see if that makes a difference.

[jamescagney]

my lo never took to lunchtime naps for very long. She does now (she's 2)!
honestly, take your cues from baby

[manuka]

I did the GF and when dd was around your ds age she did similar thing. They go through phases of long lunchtime naps and short lunchtime naps. I agree with others about dropping or reducing morning nap.

[ladymoo]

Thank you so much - will give dropping the morning nap a go - pleeeeease let it work!! x

[forevared]

Thanks ladymoo, you've got me thinking now. My 4 month old is suddenly waking repeatedly during the night. He's always needed more than GF recommends but I don't follow her religiously anyway as I find her alittle too strict.

It is making me wonder if I should start reducing his naps a little.

[PInkyminkyohnooo]

Don't follow GF at all but both mine dropped their morning nap about this time, and just napped after lunch instead. You may have a few days of him falling asleep in his lunch but he'll soon adjust.

[ladymoo]

Thanks Pinky, dunno how i'm ever going to get in the shower in the morning but hey ho! Foreveared have you tried reducing naps? Has it made any difference?

[forevared]

I tried reducing it today, and it's just taken me an hour to get him to go to sleep. don't know if it was because he's now overtired or if I took him to bed too early. The latter I think. Not distressed just wouldn't drop off. Anyway he's asleep now and has been for almost an hour. We'll see how this evening and tonight go. Last night he slept from midnight till gone 4am which was lovely but then was waking every 30-40 mins till we all got up at 6.30

Still, better than the 7 times of Sunday night.

[forevared]

By the way, ladymoo, I put ds in his baby rocker chair and stick him in the bathroom with me while I have a shower. It's the only way I get time during the week when hubby's nopt around.

[didsnbump]

Ive been following GF for my ds since about 10 weeks and it worked wonderfully up till about 3 weeks ago when he decided all his naps would go tits up! He is now nearly 7 months.

Before we had half hour from 9/9.30am, then 2 hours at lunch and then he would have to have a short nap at 4/4.30pm to see him through to bed time. Now though he has decided that he can go longer than 2 hours between naps, but wont settle to anything.

He has taken to pushing himself to 4 hours by which point he is so over tired he cries himself to sleep!! I try put him down on the tired cues after 3 hours but sometimes he just wont have any of it!!

Im like you ladymoo, i like by the book and routine, i like to being able to organise what we do around his naps so we are at home for his long nap so i get some me time. I know babys arent by the book and to follow his cues but how to i get him in to a new pattern????

[ladymoo]

Do you know what didsnbump I think we are just going to have to bite the bullet & let them sleep for as long as they think they need to in the day! Try & stick to the routine as much as possible and just cross fingers every time you put them to bed!! DS did his 2 hours after lunch 4 days in a row then yesterday & the day before 1 hour again - and very wakeful at night - I am getting used to it now!! Just forgetting about cooking & cleaning & napping when he does - it's like having a newborn again....boo.

[forevared]

I too am going to give up on the sleep thing. Reducing his sleep in the day (well,he did it himself) did absolutely nothing for the nught time. Up 7 times again last night, every hour from 1.30 on. I'm now wondering if it's a hunger thing even though he doesn't cry. I guess just going to have to eliminate each possibility at a time. Good luck everyone.

[ladymoo]

Oh no!! poor you, you must be so exhausted, what a nightare. The more people I talk to the more it seems as though this IS just a phase (hopefully a quick one, please oh please). Have you given him any baby rice yet? Might be worth a try, it definately sorted my ds out, he slept so well once we weaned him i really wish i had done it earlier - did it at 4.5 months.

[forevared]

We've now started on the baby rice and plan to start on veggies at the weekend. So will be having 2 lots of food in the day.
HV and GP say it's ok to increase it quickly as he's so big.

Fingers well and truly crossed!

[forevared]

Have you managed to get that shower yet, ladymoo?

[cornflakegirl]

forevared - if you really think your lo is hungry, I'd up his milk rather than give veggies - milk has a lot more calories.

My ds started waking at night at 4.5 months, having slept through from 3 months. I started weaning at 5 months - he didn't sleep through again till 7 months. I do wonder whether upping his daytime milk might have meant he didn't need milk at night. Solids definitely didn't!

[cornflakegirl]

forevared - if you really think your lo is hungry, I'd up his milk rather than give veggies - milk has a lot more calories.

My ds started waking at night at 4.5 months, having slept through from 3 months. I started weaning at 5 months - he didn't sleep through again till 7 months. I do wonder whether upping his daytime milk might have meant he didn't need milk at night. Solids definitely didn't!

[cornflakegirl]

forevared - if you really think your lo is hungry, I'd up his milk rather than give veggies - milk has a lot more calories.

My ds started waking at night at 4.5 months, having slept through from 3 months. I started weaning at 5 months - he didn't sleep through again till 7 months. I do wonder whether upping his daytime milk might have meant he didn't need milk at night. Solids definitely didn't!

[Twinkie1]

I think even mentioning GF is banned on here!!!

[cornflakegirl]

Sorry - internet connection went weird!