1yo taking ages to fall asleep

[StFrancisdeCompostela]

Hoping for some advice on my 12mo, who is taking an absolute age to fall asleep at night despite (I am sure) being exhausted.

His routine is as follows:

Wakes any time between 5am and 6:30am

First nap 9:30 - 10:30

Second nap 2:30 to 3:30 / 4:00

Dinner at 5:30

Bath at 6:30, then story, breastfeed, settling for bed by 7:00. He is usually visibly shattered by 6:30 - eye rubbing, lying down on his playmat, thumb sucking etc.

He won’t fall asleep in the cot on his own, so I usually cuddle him until he falls asleep and then transfer him. This used to take 5-10 minutes but lately has been taking 30-40 minutes. He is totally calm, quiet and peaceful in my arms, but he just won’t drop off.

He has never been a good sleeper (rarely sleeps through even now) but he did at least used to fall asleep easily when cuddled! Any ideas on how I can get back to that?

I did think his final wake window might be too short. The problem is if I try and settle him any earlier for his afternoon nap he won’t sleep, and if I wake him early from that nap he is very tired and grumpy.

Do I need to shift the whole routine earlier, including morning nap? Try shorter naps and just accept daytime crankiness? Later bedtime, even if he’s exhausted?

Thank you for any tips you can give me!

My 3 year old takes an hour!!!

My 10 month old is currently taking an hour or more. I'm at my wit's end. No idea what is going on with these babies!

I swore by the Little Ones timings with my first and it worked wonders for our routine. I think the morning nap is too long, their guide suggests a 10-20 minute morning nap at 0939 and then a long lunch nap of up to 2 hours at 1230. That would fix your wake windows.

Timings for reference

Try and do morning nap at 9am for 45mins max.

Then focus on getting that afternoon nap longer. Try for 12.30/1 start and do whatever will keep him asleep the longest (walking in buggy or in car).