Conference moira::parenting_v3

    You could try giving up the supper time nap - it may move bedtime a bit
    earlier, which could also move that morning wakeup even earlier :-).
    
    The early wakeup could also be temporary, perhaps based on a growth
    spurt, or teeth, or something else. It IS lighter in the mornings now,
    so that could be a factor.
    
    

We have a six month old that takes a half hour nap in the morning and a half
hour nap in the afternoon.  She usually goes to bed for the night between
7pm and 8pm and sleeps until 6am to 6:30 am.  If she is more active than
usual during the day (which is a hard thing to do at that age!) she will
take longer naps during the day but this does not usually coincide with a longer
sleep period at night.  My wife wishes Alyssa would sleep longer in the morning
but as she says "at least she doesn't wake up at 5am".  

We tried all sorts of things with the hope that she would sleep longer in the
morning and nothing worked.  During the week it's not a real problem but on
the weekends when you want to sleep in ...

							Rich

    Steven was able to give up his late afternoon/early evening nap
    last spring when we turned the clocks ahead.  He was 5 mos. old
    at the time.  Maybe the same will work for you.
    
    Linda

    My daughter has awakened earlier from the beginning of March until
    day-light savings time starts every year.  She is now almost 8 yrs. 
    Boy was I glad when they moved the start of DST up to the beginning of
    April.  We think that she is going to be a morning person.  Her dad is
    a night person.  I used to be a night person - but it's been so many
    years since I've been able to get enough sleep that I don't know what I
    am any more - except tired.
    

re: transition from 2 naps to 1

I'm not sure if this is what the problem is or not.  Michelle has been having
a problem with naps since she started her new daycare.  Before, she was in a
home where she was the only one (btw, she's 10 months old this week).  Her naps
were like clockwork -- 2 each day.  Beginning of April she started at a
house where there's a 2.5 year old who is on a *completely* different eating
and sleeping schedule than her, and there's also her 1st grade sister who comes
home at 3:15 pm and wants to "wake Michelle up" or makes a lot of noise and
then she does wake up.

The problem is Sue (the caregiver) almost always has to let Michelle cry it out
when putting her down, even after waiting anywhere from 1 to 2 hours past her
normal naptime.  When she's with me, she never cries when going down... until
this past weekend when I had the same problem.  A couple of days she has
skipped one of her naps, and then she's cranky and clingy at the end of the
day which is not normal behavior for her.  Last Thursday she had 1 nap from
11 to 12:30 pm!  She had a late lunch, needless to say, and then drove me
crazy after I picked her up at 3:30 pm.  Couldn't put her down for a minute.
I was crying at the end of the day because this uncertainness in schedule is
driving me crazy.

And this not going down without a fight is terrible.  Like I said, she hasn't
done this to me since she was about 3 months old but then it was not as bad. 
Now she won't lay down, grabs onto me real tight, and literally screams when I
leave the room.  But I know she's tired because she'd been cranky and after
anywhere from 10 seconds to 2 minutes of crying after I leave, she's out like
a light.  I guess I'm back to where we were at 3 months; so I guess it's not
really as bad since I know if I'm firm she will hopefully be back to going down
peacefully within a few days.

I read Dr. Spock who says this transition period (again if that's what it is)
can be long and tough.  That the naps can be very erratic.  The only suggestion
he gave was if she won't go down in the morning, give her an early lunch and
early afternoon nap to help.  Does anyone else have any other ideas?  How can
I be sure this is the problem?  She's also had a cold for the last week and
that may be part of the problem, too.  It's hard for me to know since there are
so many variables.

Kyra

    Kyra,
    
    I'd bet some of Michelle's crying herself to sleep has to do with 
    her age....9-10 months is an average age for seperation anxiety to
    set in....combined with a new daycare arrangement probably make for
    a troubled time for her.
    
    Jason went to a one nap schedule at about a year which I thought
    was early.  I have friends with children 12-18 months and they
    all take 2 naps.   Is it possible to have Michelle take a nap
    when you get home since you pick her up at 3:30?  I know, not fun
    to have her sleeping during your minimal time with her during
    the week but if she's cranky, it isn't fun anyways!   Or can
    she/will she take a cat nap in the car on the way home...sometimes
    10 mintues can make a world of difference.
    
    Anyways, as far as transition to a single nap is concerned, it can
    be real difficult because they need either a very early lunch or
    a hefty snack and then a very late lunch.  Oftentimes, Jason would
    be so tired and cranky, that he wouldn't eat his lunch, so I'd have
    to make another lunch after he got up from his nap!   The good news
    is that he went from two relatively short naps 45min-1hours to a 
    good 2 to 2-1/2 hour nap; plenty of time to go out shopping (hubby
    stays home!) or whatever.
    
    Good luck, it's a tough transition as you know,
    Carol 

    I agree with the separation anxiety.  Allison is almost 1 year old and
    she started crying at nap time at around 10months old.  Up until then
    she had always just gone right to sleep.  
    
    Hang in there!
    
    Karin

Now I'm inclined to think it was Michelle's cold.  Took her to the doctor
a week ago and found out she had bronchitis and the start of an ear
infection.  Since she's been on her medication, she's been back to normal!
Back to 2 naps and no fighting.  And yesterday her sitter, Sue, told me
Michelle has been doing better on her naps there.

Times like this you wish they could talk!

Thanks for help,
Kyra

P.S.  I guess this means I still haven't gone through "nap transition" yet;
oh boy, something to look forward to!

    Hi Gang,
    
    	I'm curious about how much sleep (and when) is "average"
    for a 9 mos old. 
    
    	I know ALL babies are different, but my  question is --
    when do babies normally switch from two naps to one nap?   
    And when IS that ONE nap?
    
    Thanks!
    Sheryl

    
    My son went to one nap somewhere between 9months and his first 
    birthday (the brain is fuzzy!).   It was tough going for several
    weeks to find the right time for a nap...because he would be
    real tired about 11:00...so we didn't know whether to feed him
    first or when he got up.  Nowadays, at 20 months, he goes in for
    his nap at 12:30-1:00 (i.e. after lunch) and sleeps for 2 hours
    +/- 1/2 hour.    It used to be lunch at 11:00, down at 11:30
    for 2+/- hours.
    
    Carol

    Three kids, three different patterns:
    
    Eldest was 3 when she gave up two naps, needed afternoon nap at
    least occasionally until she was 8.  Come to think of it, she's
    now 17 and occasionally  still naps in the afternoon when she gets
    home from school.  
    
    Middle child gave up morning nap at around a year, I think -- I
    don't remember very clearly.  He had given up an afternoon nap by
    the time he was 3.5 (and this was a problem in preschool).  He now
    needs less sleep than I do.
    
    Youngest gave up one nap at around 9 months.  I'm not sure sure
    which nap he gave up, however, since his preferred time to sleep
    is at about noon.  I call it a "morning" nap because it's usually
    before lunch, and he will go to sleep as early as 10:30. This
    makes his schedule a little strange sometimes but it works for
    him.  
    
    You'll just have to experiment to find out what words for yours.
    
    --bonnie

    
    About 9 months we switched from 2 naps to one.  The transition period
    was a little strange.  Naptime is 11:30 to 12:00, she sleeps 2 to 3 
    hours.  Around this time we found out that she NEEDS to nap in her
    crib, my arms, the car or the stroller weren't acceptable alternatives.
    
    I use irritability, yawning and rubbing her eyes as indicators.
    
    Rochelle

    About 9 months was when Kaitlin switched from two naps to one.  At
    first, she would go to bed a little earlier - anywhere from 1/2 hour to
    an hour.  After a week or two, she started staying awake a little later
    until she was back to her old bed time.  At one year old, she naps
    about 2 hours a day.
    
    I also agree with .3 - she sleeps much better in a crib or playpen.  
    
    

    THANKS for all of your responses--they've helped a great deal.
    
    It's hard to tell when my daughter's tired--she's extremely
    good natured and if she's otherwise occupied--I don't think
    even SHE realizes when she's ready for bed.  Your replies
    help me to realize that I'm on the right track!
    
    Thanks,
    Sheryl

    My 9 month old is also starting to change her nap schedule, but still
    takes two naps. The morning nap is 1  hour later than it used to be -
    she goes down around 11:30 or 12.  I used to feed her after, but now I'm not
    so sure.  The morning nap is usually 1 1/2 hours, and she has a late
    afternoon nap from 4:30 to 5:00. However, when she sleeps less in the
    morning the afternoon nap becomes longer. She seems to be in transition
    and hasn't settled on a new schedule.
    
    We can usually tell when she's ready for a nap, and I let her decide.
    The times I try to get her to go to sleep and she isn't ready just get
    us all frustrated.
    
    While on the subject of sleep, I'll ask if teething can cause babies to
    wake during the night. I have read that they don't, but my daughter has
    woken at 11 or 12 the last few nights, and the only thing that seems to
    work to get her back to sleep is some Tempra and waiting a few minutes
    for it to take effect.  She seems to be hurting.  Is it teeth? She has
    the two bottom teeth so far.
                                      
    Mary

    re .6 -- think teeth, ears, or oncoming cold (sore throat perhaps). 
    Also, my youngest often awakens middle of the night just plain thirsty. 
    I usually give him some water and he's back to dreamland.  He's 20
    months by the way.
    
    As for naps, my kids have been great sleepers for the most part.  They
    took two naps well past their first birthday.  In fact my youngest,
    Josh, has just recently transitioned from two naps down to one.
    

	Katie, who just just turned two last Friday, takes one about 2 hour nap 
at daycare.  She started this at a little over a year, when she "graduated" to
the toddler room. 

	However, on weekends, she usually takes a short 45 min to 1 hr nap in 
the morning and a 2 hour nap in the afternoon.  If we're out and about doing
things, she can be convinced to forego the morning nap without dire consequences
but if we're home and just sitting around, she REALLY wants it.  (I mean, she'll
throw a tantrum to get it!)

	
Tracey

    Wow....9 month-olds on one nap a day...James took two long-ish naps
    (2 hrs., morning and afternoon) till he was nearly 2.  My sitter
    still puts him in for two short naps, one at around 10:30 and the
    other around 2 p.m.  He's MUCH better-natured when he gets his 
    two "shorties."  Weekends, he'll go in for a long nap at around 11:30
    a.m. and if I keep the house reasonably quiet, he'll sleep till
    2 p.m. or later.  He goes to bed at 8 and is up most mornings at
    6:30 (yes, even Saturday and Sunday...sigh....).
    
    .0, I wouldn't be in a big hurry to move your daughter from two
    naps to one unless it REALLY screws up bedtime.  As Bonnie said,
    every kid is different.
    
    Regarding .6, I'd check and make sure it isn't an ear infection
    that's keeping your daughter awake at night.  After you check her
    out with the pedi and you're sure she's OK, I would let her fuss
    a little bit at night.  Try not to rush in at the first peep.

    	Our 16 month old still takes two naps almost every day, for a total
    of about 2-3 hours.   Trying to schedule them conistently is a
    challenge now: she can go til 5 pm before she really needs the second nap, 
    but that delays dinner and bedtime so she may not get enough sleep at night
    throwing off the next days schedule.  
    
    	We try to get her back in her crib by 3:30 whether she seems tired 
    or not, with music playing and some books and stuffed animals for company.  
    And, most importantly, a cloth diaper for cuddling in one hand against 
    her face as she chews on her fingers of the other hand.  (Large stuffed 
    animals are provided their own diapers to make sure she can find one 
    easily.) 
    
    	At 9 months, she usually took 3 naps: at 9:30, 1, and 5,  for a total o
    of about 3-4 hours.  It was around 12 months that she started taking
    just two naps.  We did have some problem with sleepiness at supper
    after that, meaning she might not eat enough and would wake up hungry
    at 11.  That didn't last long I'm happy to say! 
    
    		--Andrea