11mo not getting enough sleep...??

[Schmaffy]

Don't really quite know why I'm posting - reassurance I think...

DS is nearly 11mo. He sleeps from 7pm until just before 6am and has 2 naps a day - one at 9:00am (from which I wake him after 30 mins) and one about 12:30pm when he usually only sleeps for an hour. Thus, totalling 12.5 hours sleep.

I know all babies are different, etc etc but I'm worried that he's not getting enough sleep. He was sleeping until nearly 7am until recently and having longer naps so totalling about 13.5 hours sleep. I've started waking him at 9:30am over the past 2 weeks because he wasn't going down for his lunchtime nap if left to sleep in the morning or only having 20-30 mins.

Questions are - is 12.5 hrs sleep enough? Are his naps at the right sort of time or should I try to move the 9am one slightly later to try to encourage later sleep than 6am?

My husband doesn't know why I'm in such a tizzy over this but it's constantly on my mind - I'm awake from 4:30am every morning, feeling sick, hoping he'll sleep later than 6am and terrified he might start to drop to 5:30am etc etc. Just all feels a bit overwhelming -and I feel so stupid typing that when I know there are far far worse things-

Not sure if it's enough sleep...however it sounds similar to my ds (10 mo). He has to get up at 0600 in the week to get him ready for childminder (0715 drop off) so this is what he does at the weekend too. I'm happy with this after months and months of very little sleep....but some days he is shattered at bedtime and turns into a baby posessed when I am trying to get him ready for bed!! But he generally wakes up happy and we rested - I think!!!! Who knows....it's a tricky job being a mum isn't it.

My first baby never slept past six until he dropped all naps at 2. And he always went to bed at eight.

He napped a bit to make up for it though. But I don't think he would have totalled more than 12 hours a day from about 9 months.

They really are all different.

If your baby seems happy and is developing normally then def don't sweat it.

My son sleeps from 8 til 6 or 7 now that he is 3...

Oh, they really are all so different. 12 hours is not so far off the norm - but that's all it is, a norm.

You could try ditching the morning nap and see how he does with only one decent, long one a bit earlier than his current PM nap, say around 12.30 after an early lunch?

DD (now 4) had 2 x 2 hour naps until she was 17 months, and 10+ hours at night on top of that. She didn't willingly give up her afternoon nap and would still be having it if she was not at preschool in the PM.

DS (19 months) however, completely different kettle of fish. Gave up morning nap around 10-11 months, and now at 19 months is seemingly ready to give up afternoon one as well. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh. If he has a PM nap, he is up till, erm, well, now - DP up there at the moment still trying to get him to sleep. He has about 11-12 hours overnight. He really, genuinely doesn't seem to need more than this.

Thank you all, really helpful.

I don't know why I'm in such a flap about it, especially seeing as it's making me wake up at 4am and not be able to get back to sleep...!

Hiya

I'd say cutting the morning nap to 30mins was a good idea, as you say he wasn't tired enough for his lunchtime nap otherwise. However, I think he is now overtired by the time he takes his lunchtime nap (30min & 1hr naps were always OT in our house). So IIWM I would very gradually nudge his morning nap later by 5mins every 3 days until it starts at 9.30am & ends at 10am. Keep the lunchtime nap at 12.30. Once you get to a 9.30am morning nap & give it a good week or so to take hold, you should find his lunchtime nap starts to get longer. Ideally you want a 2hr nap here, to stop him being overtired at bedtime.

Pushing the morning nap later should also help him sleep in a wee bit later in the morning.

Hope this helps.xx

Thank you omama, you are so reassuring and helpful. I've read lots of your replies to other posters on here (sleep topic lurker!) and you always seem to know what you're talking about. Are you a sleep consultant per chance?

I will def try to move his morning nap back to 9:30am. I had considered it, but wasn't sure if I should as if he woke at 10am, it would then mean only 2.5 hours until his next nap, not 3 hours (though quite why that matters, I'm not sure.) I was going to move it by 15 min chunks but your suggestion of 5 mins every 3 days seems much more sensible! I will let you know how we get on!

no problem! No I'm not a sleep consultant at all - just a momma of a chronic EWer! I spent lots of time looking for solutions when my DS was younger, b/c we were stuck with regular 4-4.30am wakeups (even occasional 3.30am ones) for a whole 6 months & it was brutal. I could not get him back down for love nor money & I was exhausted & utterly depressed, and he spent most of his days crying with tiredness. So I just like to try & help other folks who have same troubles b/c I've BTDT & I know how awful it can feel, but I also know that what we did to get out of it really works.

The one thing that's always got us back on track if he EW's (we've had several bouts of it now!) is to push the morning nap later.

Don't worry about the gap between morning & afternoon naps shortening to 2.5hrs just yet either. It may be because he is awake longer before his morning nap, that will offset the fact he is awake for less after it IYSWIM? Once the nap is 9.30-10 & lunchtime nap is 12.30pm & it has been that way for a good week or 2, then & only then do we look at adjusting the timing of the lunchtime nap if needs be. You might need to shift it a wee bit later if he a) isn't settling well for his afternoon nap until nearer to 12.45-1pm (then you will know he still needs his 3hrs awake), or b) if he settles well but the nap is 1.25-1.5hrs rather than 2hrs. Then you can either push the nap to nearer a 1pm start, or you consider capping the AM nap further (again by pushing out the start time).

Good luck & keep us posted.x