[Spencersmom]

For the last 4 days or so my 13 mo old has been waking up at his usual time between 5 and 5:30am. As usual, I nurse him as soon as he wakes and we get an extra 15 minutes or so in bed. When we are finished w/nursing, he sits up, starts talking and seems like he is ready to start the day. So I get up with him and then he is crabby, whiny, clingy, wanting to nurse and rubbing his eyes for 1 1/2 to 2 hours and then he finally falls back to sleep. Today he woke up at 6am. After an 1 1/2 of this behavior (I did try rocking before this to see if he would fall asleep but he wouldn't relax), I really tried to put him back to sleep. He nursed well and then he thrashed around in my arms while rocking, thrashed around in the bed when I tried that and then finally fell asleep at about 8am.

My guess is that he is trying to consolidate his sleep. Yesterday he actually did fall back to sleep after his 5:00am nurse until 7:45am and then took a 2 hour nap from 10:30 to 12:30. He did not nap the rest of the day and had trouble falling asleep at bedtime which was 8:00pm.

My question is, do you agree that he is trying to consolidate sleep? What can I do to help this process? Did your dc do this? Thanks for any help or advice you can give.

BTW - Our ped said his molars are swollen and probably on their way in. I am sure this is contributing but does not seem like the entire reason.

 

[PancakeGoddess]

I don't understand what you're saying about consolidating his sleep. Do you mean he is moving from 2 naps to one? I'm confused.

When my 15mo wakes up way early and gets cranky right away, usually he has an early morning poop to deliver! lol, then he goes back to sleep.

 

[Spencersmom]

Yes. I am wondering if he is moving toward sleeping longer at night and then taking only one nap during the day. Right now he sleeps about 8-9 hours at night with two 1 - 1.5 hour (on average) naps during the day. I have heard that at about 15-18 months or so they start taking one nap a day. Also don't *most* children sleep about 10 hours per night (I know, what is most or normal right? Every child is different)? My ds has never been a great sleeper but in the last 3 months or so he really seems to be maturing in that area and is sleeping much better, except for these last few days. Thanks again.

BTW - Today he was up at 6am, back to sleep by 8:15 and slept for 1.5 hours. Usually he stays up 4 hours or so in the morning before his first nap.

 

[lnitti]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spencersmom My guess is that he is trying to consolidate his sleep. Yesterday he actually did fall back to sleep after his 5:00am nurse until 7:45am and then took a 2 hour nap from 10:30 to 12:30. He did not nap the rest of the day and had trouble falling asleep at bedtime which was 8:00pm.

Why is 8 PM the bedtime? Did you just randomly pick it, or is this when your son naturally is ready?

We went through a little of this too a while back. dd is 14 months.

Before we set the clocks ahead for daylight savings, she naturally was ready to sleep between 7-7:30. It was real important that if the started getting sleepy at 6 or so, we really needed to keep her awake till as close to 7 as possible or she'd wake up from her long "nap" and not realize that it was not nighttime. She normally takes a 1 1/2 to 2 hour nap. When we set the clocks ahead, I just assumed that 8-8:30 would become her bedtime. For the first few nights that worked, and she still got up at the same time every morning 6-6:30. So she was actually getting an hour less sleep. But she starting fighting bedtime really hard. I gave up and decided to let her play till she came to me for bedtime. It wasn't until 9 PM. and she still gets up at the same time. So she's getting 2 hours less sleep than before and she's happy and doing great. Once in a while she takes an extra short nap of about an hour around 4 PM, but usually only if she was up in the middle of the night teething or had a short first nap.

So I guess I would say to make sure 8 PM is when your son is truly ready for bed and not just a number you pulled from the sky. And keep in mind that your sons needs may change over time.

Regarding nap time, we also found that dd worked best with 1 long nap rather than 2 shorter naps. She used to nap about an hour in the morning (maybe 8:30 ish give or take), then her early afternoon nap. We started not allowing her to sleep for the first nap (not being mean, just keeping her entertained/active, going outside, going for a walk, etc) and then moving her afternoon nap to be right after lunch (so a little earlier than before). Worked like a charm to finally give her 2 hour naps once a day. We did this well before the time change and the struggle for the new "right" bedtime.

Here's a rough "schedule" of dd's current sleep routine:
Up anytime between 6-7 (usually closer to 7)
nap starting 11:30-noon (usually closer to noon, but anytime after 11 works)
nap usually lasts 1 1/2 to 2 hours (though it does vary!)
bedtime somewhere between 8:30-9 PM (usually closer to 9 and sometimes a little later - she cues us)

so that is 9-10 hours a night and 2 for a nap. Before the clocks (was that April?) were changed, it was 2 for a nap and 10-11 hours a night.

So, I'd watch him at night and see if 8 is still the right bedtime. You may need earlier and you may need later.

I do think your right that he is trying to re-organize his sleep time and consolidate.

 

[MamaScout]

It sems that every time I have a question, the answer is always here at MDC boards!

My DS is almost 12 months, and does the same EXACT thing in the mornings. It drives me nuts. I have been putting him down again two hours after getting up. It really is a bummer because he then only naps for about 1/2 hour, then we have to esentially get up and start the day all over again. So I don't usually get going or out of the house until 11 or 12. Frustrating. Then for his second nap, he naps only a half hour again, maybe an hour if I'm lucky.

Initti, can you be more specific on keeping your DD up? My DS turns into a TOTAL crank if I don't put him down. If we go anywhere in the car, he instantly falls asleep. I don't want to force him into something he's not ready for, but if he'll nap better and be more rested, I'm for it.