Crawling and Nap Nightmare

[wishin'&hopin']

My DS is almost 10 months old and I "think" we are headed toward the 2 to 1 nap transition (he dropped his third nap around 5 months).  Up until last week he was taking 1 1/2 to 2 hour naps twice a day.  Then, suddenly, the morning nap became a battleground.  We do a floor bed in his room and I could not get him down for his morning nap.  It was taking FOREVER (an hour to hour and a half) of nursing, wrestling with him, nursing, pulling him back onto the futon etc (I was happy to stay with him, pat him, nurse him etc. and would do so--but he would wrestle with me, wail and bite).  

So, we decided to move him back to his crib to eliminate the crawling (he was crawling in his sleep and waking up wailing in the middle of the room) and the wrestling.  The thing is, he used to go down for his naps easily--he'd nurse, get drowsy and I'd leave the room and he'd contentedly fall asleep.  So...yesterday I did one nap and he slept from 12:30-3:12--went down in the crib fairly easily.  Today, he seemed exhausted and I tried to get him to nap around 9am but gave up after 20 minutes of the wrestling, nursing and weeping. So, I figured I'd keep him up for a middle of the day nap--we got to 10:30am and he was exhausted.  So, nap it was--until noon.  Then, tried to get him to nap again at 2:45 (with his sleep cues--eye rubs, fussiness, yawns)--cue the wrestle, weep, refusing to nurse.  Eventually I gave up and wore him for a bit and then tried again at 4pm when he was acting exhausted again.  

So, the only time I've been able to get him to sleep during the day this past week has been to wait until he is absolutely freakin' exhausted.  Which means he's cranky and cries and cries when I put him down for his nap (we don't do CIO but even with me there patting him he is wailing--which is a new thing for him).

It seems like he just can't slow his body down--and it feels like we've tried everything.  He seems way too little to do the 1 nap thing (especially since he was napping so well a week and a half ago).  We're all worn out--especially since he wakes frequently at night (we used to co-sleep but it led to increased wakings and no one was getting the rest they needed--we tried having him in our room in a separate sleep space but we found we kept waking him if he was in our room).  

So, long story short...these are my questions:

Is this what the 2 to 1 nap transition looks like?  

Is it just because he can crawl now and he really needs the 2 naps?  

How long should I be attempting to get him to sleep when he gives me sleep cues before I throw in the towel and get him up again?

What do other folks ten month old's days look like?

I'm a bit worried because his afternoon nap today is so late...I'm not sure what that will mean for tonight (we do a 6:30-7:30 depending on how tired he looks, bedtime)

Thanks!

[Knitting Mama]

I want to know this as well, since my 10 month old is doing the exact same things! She fought her nap for 2 hours today, finally went down after 4.5 hour awake (which is a lot for her for the morning).

[ell]

I would actually wager it's not the nap transition, but rather teething that's causing the issues. My DD was the same, and it was a nightmare. Either some tylenol (if you're down with that) or a couple of weeks will probably show a very different outcome. It's so hard, though. Ugh.

[Knitting Mama]

Tylenol and ibuprofen don't help here; tried that last night and again today with the sleepy-time fighting.

[wishin'&hopin']

We do both tylenol and motrin--and neither has helped with this...he already has 8 teeth but the molars are coming in now.

[Knitting Mama]

How interesting how much alike they are right now. I don't think it's teething either since ibu/acetaminophen don't work. But I'm also not convinced that she is ready to go down to one nap either. I guess it's probably developmental.

[mom2lucy]

DD is just turning 9 mo. and is doing the exact same thing.  It's a nightmare, especially at night.  Yeah, hope this one passes soon.

[elluin]

Our daughter is also ten months and is recently struggling to sleep, waking more frequently and sometimes waking crying... I think it's probably teething.

Here are my thoughts on your questions...

Originally Posted by wishin'&hopin' 

Is this what the 2 to 1 nap transition looks like?
Is it just because he can crawl now and he really needs the 2 naps?
How long should I be attempting to get him to sleep when he gives me sleep cues before I throw in the towel and get him up again?
What do other folks ten month old's days look like?

As far as the 2 to 1 transition, we haven't done this yet, but based on our 3 to 2 nap transition, my guess is no. Was your 3 to 2 nap transition this difficult?

No matter how tired my daughter is, ever since she could crawl she won't go to sleep lying down because crawling away just seems so compelling to her! At night she'll nurse lying down and go back to sleep if she doesn't wake fully, otherwise she nurses to sleep in our rocker or we walk with her.

As far as giving up... for me it's when I run out of steam or patience. If I start getting frustrated then I let her play. I revisit the nap later if she seems sleepy and it's not too close to bedtime.

Currently our day starts at 6:15, she falls asleep for her first nap somewhere between 8:15 and 9:30, then takes a second nap around 1 or 2. She used to go to sleep almost exactly two hours after her last waking, until this latest struggle with sleep (my first thought was maybe she was getting ready for 1 nap, but she seems to really need 2 still so I think it's teething). She goes to bed around 7, sometimes a little earlier or later. I don't know how many times she nurses at night, it's easier on me if I don't keep track!

Good luck getting some rest for you and your little one!

[Knitting Mama]

Another rough time tonight. That makes 3 sleeps in a row where she fought and fought until she finally went to sleep exhausted.

We don't have set waking/sleeping times because she gets up at a different time every day. Some nights she wakes up for milk halfway through the night and goes right back to sleep while nursing. Other times she's awake awake awake and it's 2 hours before I can get back to sleep. So some mornings she's up for the day around 6; other days, it's closer to 9 (when she has that two hour playtime in the middle of the night). On days when she's up early, she takes two naps. Her naps in the morning used to be only a couple of hours after waking up. For the afternoon nap, it would be more like 4 or so hours after the morning nap. When she sleeps in 'til 9, she doesn't generally take more than one nap. And really, overall, I am totally fine with this routine. It's just that now she's fighting sleep tooth and nail and it's making me really frustrated and her really frustrated and throwing off my entire day. I would assume that she wanted to be awake for longer between naps if she wasn't absolutely miserable by the usual time.

Oh, and I have no idea if this is really related or not, but, this afternoon and tonight she did not nurse to sleep as she usually does. In fact, both times she barely took any milk (we supplement my low supply with donated milk in an SNS, so I can see how much she takes). This afternoon I needed to give her a dream feeding in order to get her to stay asleep for more than 45 minutes. So far, she hasn't needed a dream feed yet tonight (she's been down for about an hour and a half).

[sbsweetpea]

My babe can't shutdown either...so we moby up!  I tuck her hands in and we take a walk (if it's outside with the dogs, I use the Beco), or walk around the house.   SHe goes down everytime...

Also, if teething is a factor (it seems to be every few weeks for us) I love Boiron's Camilia.  So wonderful, and no harsh ingredients!

[Knitting Mama]

She went to sleep easily for morning nap, but again, not nursing! So confused! I love her nursing to sleep, her sweet little face slowly relaxing, her eyes closing...I'm going to miss it if we're done with nursing to sleep!

[skfmama]

We're in a similar boat. DS's morning nap hasn't been a problem...it's a little later than it used to be, and a little longer (after 2.5 hrs of awake time, and lasts 2-2.5 hrs). But the afternoon nap...oh man. Won't nurse to sleep. I've had some luck wearing him in the Ergo after nursing him and then putting him down when he's asleep. But those days when he napped so well and easily...I miss them. :)

[wishin'&hopin']

Mothering keeps eating my posts...sigh.

Long and short of it, we've had a couple of GREAT 1 nap days this week.  He long ago gave up nursing to sleep but always nurses shortly before sleep.  

Last night, as I began the bedtime battle I decided to try reswaddling (he hasn't been swaddled in 4 months).  So swaddled from the waist down he fell asleep in about 5 minutes.

So, I'm thinking that may be the key for awhile.

Same with a nap this morning--he was up at 5:45am and clearly exhausted at 8:30.  Started the nap routine (changed him, nursed him) then swaddled him and put him in the crib.  Patted his bum for less than 10 minutes.  Now he's sound asleep.  

As for overnight...nights are still rough.  And, molars are moving so he's been on motrin/tylenol as needed.  

Thanks everyone, it is just so helpful to know that developmentally other almost 10 month olds are in the same place!

[coffeegirl]

Well, according to some mamas I've talked to IRL, the way we do naps may be a bit unorthodox, but it works. My daughter is 6 months old and she doesn't have set naps AT ALL. We never go to put her down for a nap, we basically don't structurize it at all. She just sleeps during the day whenever she's tired. That's it. What mostly tends to happen is Annie will take about, anywhere from 2-5 "cat naps" during the day, anywhere form 10 minutes to an hour long. We just let it come naturally.  

There are some patterns, of course. Usually right after waking in the morning and having her breakfast bottle/nursing, she'll get a little sleepy and will drift off for awhile. This first nap is usually her main nap of the day and it's anywhere from 15-60 minutes long. Basically, throughout the day, when we see she's getting tired we just let her fall asleep if she wants to wherever she is. Either in my arms or in Daddy's arms, or while nursing, or in the bouncy chair, or in the carseat or Ergo if we're out running errands.....Sometimes, if it seems like she's getting kind of cranky and is rubbing her eyes, etc., I'll put her on her tummy on a blanket in the living room with some toys. That way she can put her head down and nap if she wants to, and if she doesn't, she can play. If she needs sleep badly enough, she'll fall asleep. Sometimes, like most babies, she needs to "fuss it out" for a few minutes before just crashing. I've gotten to where I can recognize this and tell it apart form real upset or crying for another need. When it happens, the fussing never lasts longer than 3 minutes.

The pay-offs are this: we don't have to make a big process out of every nap; we don't have to plan our day around the baby's naps because she'll sleep peacefully anywhere; she's not cranky or tense about sleep at all, and the big one--- she sleeps straight through the night. Anywhere from 8-13 hours straight. I remember when she was in the NICU and they kind fo tried to force long naps on her, she never slept through the night. She just slept in 4 hour chunks all throughout the day, and seemed to have her days and nights turned around.

Anyhow, this is just how we do it....don't know if it'd work for you and your LO or not, but it might be worth trying. Whenever anyone asks if we've dropped  our second nap yet, I don't really know what to say lol.