11.2 month old fighting naps!

[Loobylou2929]

Please help! My DD is 1 in two weeks, and her naps are all over the place! Some days she’ll sleep for 2:30 hours and some days for 30 minutes!!!

I have been going by her awake times and how tired/cranky she seems in the mornings.

She wakes up anywhere between 5:15am and 6:30am and always falls asleep between 6:30-7pm. She sleeps good at night with one or two stirrings requiring the dummy to be put back in then asleep again.

Some mornings i can feed her back to sleep if it’s a really early wake. She is ff, always has been. And she’ll sleep for another 1:30 hours.

If she doesn’t go back to sleep then she will MOST of the time go for her first nap around 2.5 hours later for 30-45 minutes. Then her second nap is usually 3-4 hours later and can be anywhere between 30 minutes upto 1:30 hours.

I have been giving her lunch earlier at 11am then down in her cot by 11:30 and asleep by 12 latest.

The trouble is, she refuses her morning nap say every 3rd day and so i do an early lunch then nap around 11:30am. But today she only had 30 minutes and woke crying and distressed and nothing I tried got her back to sleep!!!

Things I’ve tried:- leaving her to CIO which I hate but it was a last resort and still didn’t work (30 mins)
Dark room with white noise, she also has a snuggle and a dummy to help her sleep.
Sitting next to her cot…. Leaving the room.
Hand on tummy. Stirring before next sleep cycle.
Ssssshhhhhing! Rocking.
Nothing gets her back to sleep and Im exhausted, but not as much as she is!

She clearly needs longer as she’s crying and grumpy when she’s awake! So I’m not sure where im going wrong

Here’s our daily routine:-

5:15-6:30am wake
Bottle feed
8:30 breakfast
9am Nap 30-45 mins (if fail then nap after lunch)
11:30 lunch
1pm Nap 30 mins-1:20
2:30pm bottle
4:30pm Dinner
6 bath bottle song bed. Asleep by 6:30-7pm

She is still in our room as we’re waiting for a new window to be fitted in her room then decorate etc.

She has napped on me up until 2 weeks ago, then refused one day and went to sleep in her cot

Any advice would be really appreciated alot. Thanks so much. Just really want her in a routine again.

Both your naps are late starting. Baby would probably sleep longer if the nap started (significantly) earlier.

As approximation to work to for 2-nap days is 234:

• 2h awake from morning to first nap.
• 3h awake between the two naps
• 4h awake from second nap to bedtime.

If the 1st nap is short, it brings the start of the second nap earlier. If 2nd nap is also short, you get a long afternoon and time to add in a teatime powernap and have a later bedtime.

How do you get her to sleep for her naps?

Thank you FATEdestiny for messaging. She goes in her cot awake and goes off to sleep on her own when she is willing to nap!

I did wonder if the first nap was too late, and the second one?! I will definitely try putting her down earlier tomorrow.

Should I put her down just before 2 hours or on the dot? Sorry if this sounds silly, my brain is abit frazzled atm.

Thanks again for responding.

I no longer have baby DC.

But I do wonder if you are over-thinking this a bit.

If she sleeps at night, has two naps some days, and three other days. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.

Can you just go with the flow a bit?

When mine were little, sleep monitoring like this didn’t exist. Some days would be good nap days, some less so. I have a friend who still can’t really leave the house because of the nap schedule of her nearly 3yo.

Surely slight inconsistency in naps should help with your own flexibility?

I'd aim for her to be asleep by 2h awake

Hi VerveClique, I didn’t explain properly in my post but some days she’ll have 2 naps and some days only one…for 30 minutes. Never 3.

I completely agree and understand what you’re saying, but the trouble is if DD doesn’t get enough nap rest, she’s so grumpy and withdrawn I feel as her mum it’s my job to get this sorted abit more for her happiness, then on the odd day if she misses one or it’s cut short, then I know she’ll catch up better the next day.

We do definitely get out and do quite abit as she loves being out and it distracts her from being as grumpy. Also I often think it helps to get her lots of fresh air…better sleep?!

Thanks for responding

I’m sure your baby is fine… they all have good days and bad days.

Of mine were having a bad nap day of get them in the pram and walk.

Whatever came of it, we’d both benefit from that.

It’s not your job to make your baby happy all the time! Don’t beat yourself up about this.

Yes we do lots of walking it’s got my figure back! Thanks I will try to not be so hard on myself and sometimes they just have off days.

Thanks FATEdestiny, I will update after a day or 2 and let you know how I get on