Bad naps ok ish at night.

[Jayne266]

I was always so chuffed when my DS (7months) slept through the night but the last few weeks everything has changed. Can you look at my routine and tell me where am going wrong.
Wakes up at 4.30AM! Has bottle and is held to go back to sleep until 6am (1hr)

8am held sleep (1hr)
12-1.30(1.5hr) held sleep

3.30 (0.5hr)

6pm bed on his own falls a sleep fine until 4.30am

Main problem is he won't sleep for naps on his own and I want to change this. And I would prefer he stays a sleep a bit longer even by a hour would be great on our marriage.
Am I being unrealistic?

Hiya, you sound like you're bearing up really well actually! I really beat myself up that my DD wouldn't sleep 'on her own'. It sounds like you've been much more accepting of holding him to sleep which has probably saved your sanity. That said... He's clearly getting enormous and you won't want to be cuddling him forever.

At 7 months my DD was also waking at hideous times in the morning. We tried doing all sorts of things but couldn't get her back to sleep so you're one up on me. The one thing I would suggest is that maybe he doesn't need quite so much daytime sleep now, and it's eating into the night time quota?

It depends how you want to spend your time, of course, but 6pm sounds like a pretty early bedtime, and the 8am nap is quite early. I found it really hard but in the end I realised everything was in a vicious cycle of getting earlier and earlier. I ended up holding out on the first nap in order to push everything back til she was sleeping at 7pm rather than 6.

Are you cuddling him to sleep before bed too? I found it much easier to deal with gettig her to self-settle at night than in the day - she's nearly 2 and I still sometimes have to hold her hand and def have to sit with her til she drops off for her nap but she has been self-settling in the evenings since 5.5 months. We used a gradual withdrawal type technique, actually not so gradual. And as I say, never quite withdrew for naps! When she was littler I often used to lie down with her and she gradually got used to being cuddled on the bed which at least meant I could then sit next to her and read. Or will he sleep in the pushchair?

Bear in mind, also, sleep needs can change really really suddenly. At 5 months in less than a week my DD went from 4 naps to 2.

Also you might get more ideas if you post on the sleep board instead...

Good luck!

Thank you for your advice fifi.
Right I think your right about the naps he seems to not want some of them so I think I will see how he reacts to me cutting them down.

The bedtime we have realised is too early we are in the process of moving it back lol 15 minutes at a time. Although it will be a bit sad as me and DH have used this early bed time to get our tea together and have us time before bed.
At night time he isn't held he just goes into his cot bed with a comfort blanket thing and he likes us to sit next to him until he's a sleep.(so we sit in the chair and him in his bed)

Erm I think I have answered your questions am on my phone so I can't look back, also I don't know how to post this in the sleep section on my phone do I just write it all again?

Some days am fine holding him as I can relax and watch a film but other days I have some cleaning to do or some work stuff. But as you said he's getting bigger and it's harder and am going back to work in 2 weeks.

Hi Jayne, Sounds like you will prob be able to sort out the naps at least better than holding him even if it's not to the extent that you put him in his room and shut the door! Have you tried just doing your night time tricks before nap?

I know what you mean about losing the evening, but it does get easier as they get older and bedtime routine becomes time you can enjoy spending together. We finally bit the bullet about a month ago and started eating with DD at 6pm most nights but TBH although meal times can be a total nightmare fun depending what mood she's in actually it means meal and chores are done and dusted and she's still asleep by about 7.45 so works out OK.

Re changing naps, I started basically from scratch after a week of her refusing to nap and being ratty, but basically stopped assuming I knew when she was tired and watched her like a hawk til I sussed her new pattern.

Also don't worry about going back to work - I was paranoid she wouldn't sleep, an she did struggle to begin with having all her naps in a bouncy chair (never tried that at home), but before long apparently she'd sometimes just drag a blanket off to a cushion and go to sleep!

I don't know how you move a thread bar copying and pasting either - I have seen some that have been moved before though!

Can he go to bed at 8 then sleep until 6:30?

I have a baby the same age. No idea when he naps during the day.

Update I tried tonight at 6.30pm and he started crying in the bath which we had to cut short and have him his bottle and bed and he fell a sleep 6 minutes after being put down. When would you suggest his last nap would be?