8 month old naps / routine - help!

[bigmummabear]

Hello there - could anyone help my with my nearly 8month old lo?

It really feels like just as one thing gets better, something else messes it all up again (am feeling a bit miserable about it all).

Basically for the last week or so he's been going down at 6.30pm awake and settling peacefully to sleep - hurrah. We stay in the room with him while he does this, but hope to phase that out too soon.

He's waking maybe once in the night - but last night we had a breakthrough as DH just repositioned him, sat with him for 5-10mins and he fell asleep again.

BUT: naps! We've been trying to be consistent and do the same routine -ish for naps. But he's been crying up to 20 mins for his first nap of the day, and this morning it didn't happen at all in the cot - after lots of tears I gave up and took him out in the pushchair and he promptly fell asleep, and is still asleep now about an hour later.

So really I just like some advice on timings - could it be timing? Or could he be ready to drop the first nap? He wakes at 6am and goes down between 8.30-9am. Or do I need to tough it out? Or just bugger it and take him out in the pushchair for both naps? I've been doing this for the pm one to give us both a break - but would like him to sleep in his cot at least ONCE in the day.

Also - I'm anxious that because I didn't see it through this morning he won't settle tonight and I've messed up all the progress we've made.

Sorry - can anyone reassure me. The sleep thing has been SO tough and I really thought we were getting somewhere...

Thanks.

[Leni75]

maybe you should try putting him down earlier in AM as maybe being awake for 3 hours is too long and he is really tired, hence stressing about going off. mine is hard to get down for a nap if he is over tired, or also, not tired enough!!! its hard to get the exact moment!!! today timed it right, went off almost straight away, no fuss and is still sleeping bless him! If yours is sleeping so long at night and only waking once, then maybe he just needs more sleep, so needs to go down earlier. are you breastfeeding? coz if mine is bawling then i give him a quick glug to calm him down then put him in cot and generally he goes off...but hey I'm on baby number 1, 7.5months...WTF do I know LOL!!!!

[bigmummabear]

thanks leni - will try that tomorrow. It's all a big improvisation isn't it?

[Leni75]

yes, I am totally making it up as I go along!!!! But doesn't everyone....?

[sleepwhenidie]

my DS would never nap in his cot in the day, always in pushchair or car...this can be a pain but I comforted myself with the fact that for me, having to be out to allow him to sleep was much more preferable to having to be at home every day at nap time, a la CLBB! Not brilliant if you want to get things done in the house but its a fantastic excuse not to get them done! I got to go out for lunch and sit in the park with a book or newspaper, better than ironing, no?

[bigmummabear]

Ironing? If I had an hour to myself I definitely wouldn't do the ironing!

If I could park ds up and sit I wouldn't mind being out and about at all - but I have to keep moving otherwise he wakes up... and he does seem to need a nap in the morning to be honest (lots of eye-rubbing, yawning, etc.).

But many thanks for all the advice...

[mammanuggins]

hiya bigmummabear,
don't know if you've made any progress with the day naps, but just thought i'd let you know what I did. My dd is 8 months now, I used to go for walks to get her to nap twice a day when she was about 3/4 months coz she just wouldn't settle in her cot in the day. It was ok when she was younger coz she'd just drop off, so sleepy when they're tiny!Then the weather got really bad and I couldn't go anywhere with the pram, so I had to get her to sleep in the cot. Basically I would just put my hand on her and she would cry, but bit by bit she would calm down. It took AGES at first, but gradually she learnt to calm herself. Sometimes if she was really upset I would pick her up wait til she calmed then put her down and go back to putting my hand on her if she started crying again. I would think she'd gone to sleep leave the room 5/10 mins later she'd cry and I'd have to go in and do it again. This could happen 3/4 times but as the weeks went by it took less time for her to fall asleep and when she fell asleep she stayed asleep.
Also another thing that I have found has really worked is having a wind down routine before naps. Gentle music whilst I give her legs and feet a little massage, then into sleeping bag and a couple of lullabies. I also have a princelionheart slumber bear which makes various soothing sounds, music, water, white noise, heartbeat etc. It goes for 5 mins and will set off again if bay crys and moves about alot in cot.
Anyway this is what worked for me and my little one, she goes to sleep brilliantly day and night, just hope it stays this way coz they love to change don't they!

[mammanuggins]

ps - if this helps my dd wakes somewhere around 6am. first nap usually 9.45/10am (can be as early as 9am tho if she's decided to wake early occasionally can be 5.20/5.30!) Nap lasts 1hr 15/30 mins allthough sometimes 2 hrs. Next nap varies depends when she woke from first nap, but she kind of lasts 3 to 3 and half hours from waking, so will be anywhere between 2.30 and 3.30 and this will be for about an hour, sometimes a bit less sometimes a bit more. then its bed about 7.30pm.