Hi Moms,
I know there have been a lot of sleep posts recently but I did not see one like this. My 8 1/2 month old is not taking his morning nap at the same time he used to. He used to get up around 7am then back down by 10am for 1-2 hours then back down by 2pm for 1-2 hours then bed between 7:30-8pm. Now he screams when I put him down in the morning and will not stop (he used to cry when I'd leave the room then quiet down shortly after - after we sleep trained him).
I have tried to go in and soothe him, etc. Then after 30 mins or so, I finally give up and get him up to play or get out of the house and then try again in an hour or two. For the past week, he has finally gone to sleep around noon for 30 mins - 2 hours then the rest of the day, I try and keep him on schedule and put him down for a nap in the late afternoon, sometimes he will sleep, others not. Once he is down for the night (thank goodness!), he is ok until the morning.
This has happened since he was sick 2 weeks ago with a cold and had trouble sleeping at first. He has also just learned to stand up, which I know gets them all excited and its hard to sleep.
So, has he forgotten how to fall asleep in the morning unassisted (since he was sick, he has recieved more TLC before sleeping)? Is he ready to drop the morning nap already? Is he just a normal 8 month old who is learning new things? Any suggestions?
The other thing is that I also have a 2 1/2 year old who takes a 2-3 hour afternoon nap and we try and go out for activites in the morning after the baby naps. Ugh, it seems like once you fall into a schedule, these smart children decide to throw you for a loop! Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Thanks for your advice, Moms! As suggested, I just kept with the schedule and kept putting him down for the morning nap after giving him as much activity and exposing him to as much light before the morning nap as possible. After some crying, we are now back on track and I have found the earlier I put him down for that nap, the longer he sleeps!
Check out "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child" for age specific sleep needs. I think he probably needs that morning nap, and it sounds like you were on a great schedule. But how to get back there...
Being sick almost always screws up their sleep sched. I dont know why. Even if they stay on sched. while sick, somehow when they are better things seem to go haywire anyway, for a lot of kids anyway. Also, he did probably get nice and used to being rocked and soothed to sleep again.
Give him time. Keep trying. Every baby is different, but its not normal to throw out the morning nap until after 12mos old, usually closer to 18mos I think, according to what our ped. said anyway. My sister-in-law, mother of three, got all her kids to nap until around age 4. She said it wasnt luck, it was hard work and big time persistence on her part. She says they will try to do something off-sched. occasionally, it going on for weeks at a time, but if you keep going they will almost always go back to their proper and normal sleep-schedule. Its worked for us (my daughter is 2 1/2) for the most part. If they are truly ready for the change, its obvious, but chances are mommy is right, because we always are!
try to give him a warm bath after breakfast and rock him for a while to comfort him .
Is it possible that you son might be teething? My daughter who's now 12mos. has the same schedule your son has and every time she's thrown it off it's been when she was teething. A great homeopathic medicine is Children's teething relief by NatraBio. Just some drops in their mouth and it just soothes them to sleep. By the way, same brand has a great cold/flu bottle. They both work unbelievably.
Otherwise it could be that because he's standing up he's more curious. However, I would not give up trying to keep the schedule you started. They truly need that and he's too young to not have a morning nap.
Baby hasn't forgotten how to nap nor does he remember when to nap. The older he gets the less sleep he requires and won't nap when not TIRED. If you get hem out in the a.m. the fresh air is a killer sleep maker. Pluse baby probably wants to be up with his brother so he's giving trouble being put down while big brother is up. Put the older one down 1st so baby sees him go down, then put baby down. Maybe that will help. Make sure they both are tired. The more the little guy gets up-down, up-down, the more tired he'll become. Besides outside air, bouncy seat where baby pushes off the floor to bounce,etc. Good luck mommy
Though I haven't had that problem with my 8 1/2 month old son... my son occasionally doesn't want to fall asleep in the morning and SCREAMS! I eventually go in and rock him till he calms down. I don't know what really else to tell you except keep trying to do what you do.
Also I don't think that he is ready to get rid of that nap he's still so young that he needs that sleep (even if he doesn't get it all the time).
Good Luck!
All kids are different and some need less sleep than others as long as they are still in the recommended range of sleep hours for the day. I think you putting him down an hour or two later should be good and he may only take an hour or so before dinner. I find that their sleeping schedules change every 3-4 months in their first year and a half. I know it becomes to be a hard juggling act when you have other stuff to do and can't count on a schedule. No matter what happens you will adjust and some how survive the changes. Just know by the time he is 18 months he'll go done for a two to three hour nap after lunch. My daughter turns 3 this June and she takes a nap maybe 2 to 3 times a week. I never know when it's going to happen or at what time. Being flexible is a mom's middle name.
