Schedule question

Hiya,

Like i say nap 3 is still very, very hit and miss! Some days they will take 20/30mins other times they could just cry for the full hour. The times i have tried to erase it and send them to bed earlier have been okish..they have not caused any nightwaking problems or problems in putting them down at bedtime but the afternoon is such hardwork as they obviously get fussy as they are tired. Do you think if i persist with no 3rd nap they would eventually get used to staying up longer or would they just end up mega fatigued? So i'm not sure what to do now?

I could keep putting them down for nap 3 in the hopes of them getting a catnap to take them to a later bedtime?
or
Eliminate nap 3 and go to a modified version of a 2-3-4 schedule? Ours would be 1.5-2-3.5 and just deal with cranky babbas?


Any thoughts appreciated!

 

Hmm, around 6 months old they are probably close to eliminating that 3rd nap. I think I'd probably just keep doing what you are doing now. They probably will take the nap some days but other days they won't, until eventually they phase it out.

 

Thanx Aimee! So you think put them down for the nap and when the "hit and miss" scenario ends up being more miss than hit i adapt to the new schedule. Sounds like a plan, It's like now i've just put them down for it and within 5mins they were out, they are messing with me again lol

 

Yeah, that's what I would do. I'd just keep trying and eventually they'll let you know when they consistently won't take the nap any more. My guess is that right now there are some days when they still need the 3rd nap and some days when they don't. Maybe on days when they take a longer 2nd nap then you could try skipping the third nap, but on days when the first two naps are shorter then they might be more likely to take a 3rd one.

 

This is a great idea! I'll give it a go tommorow :thanks:

 

Maybe let them cry for a shorter period of time (like 30 min), since you know there is a high chance they may not take the 3rd nap. Like PP said, there are some days when they need the nap and other days when they probably don't.

 

this is what i did when my LOs were trying to phase out the 3rd nap. i knew that if they didn't fall asleep within 30 mins there was no way they were going to and i felt sorry for them in there crying when they weren't really tired.

we did have some rough evenings while they were adjusting to the longer wake time after their second nap, but now they have adjusted pretty well and don't get too cranky before bed unless their second nap was too short.

 

Thanx ladies! We have started doing just that recently! If they haven't settled by 30mins they aren't going to get it so we get them up and send to bed earlier. The change is proving tough! Today they got a 40min nap great! Then when it came to bedtime they didn't settle for 50mins!?!?!? Not crying just whining lol ever feel like you can't do right for doing wrong?

Ohjojo Can i ask.. when did your babies try to drop the 3rd nap and how long did the transition take?

 

I would try to phase it out if its causing lots of issues. Mine dropped it at 9 months but I can tell you it was hit or miss for about a month or so. I just bit the bullet and started putting them to bed earlier. It worked it self out in the end. GL!

 

they started trying to drop the third nap at around 7.5 months, we were solid on 2 naps by 8.5 months, so about a month of agony...

right now, DS is trying to drop the second nap too i think, he is crying his fool head off in there.. poor baby, he is not ready for one nap a day! nor am i!! he is just having so much fun playing he would rather not sleep...

 

I think they are probably old enough to phase it out altogether. I always found if you could get through the afternoon fussies for a week or so while they adjust to the lack of a nap, it gets better & they go to sleep at night so much easier!

 

I'm having the same dilemna in the afternoon... it sort of depends on when they wake up from their afternoon nap but if they manage to sleep to 3 or 3:30 I don't put them down again until their bedtime at 6:30. If they wake up earlier than 3 I may try for a 3rd nap but it doesn't always work - which is when they go to bed a little early. I think we'll just be going through some interesting times trying to figure it out.

 

Thanx for this, i think yiou make a good point! Not always but tonight it has caused bedtime issues, nobody wanted to sleep for an hr because of the catnap.

Thanx, i just asked because it seems most babies you here of drop it when they are a little older. Oh no, hope he settled down ok eventually, it's still hard on the rare occassion they do scream themselves to sleep. Lol think of the freedom you will have when thye are established on 1 nap a day!

Thanx Tina, yeah it is bound to take time to adjust isn't it. I think the time is definately nearing. They have been having these struggles about 3weeks.

I think this is a great idea, thankyou! I will try this from now onand then in 2weeks if they haven't settled into dropping it or not i will try and phase it out completely, at that point Daddy is off for a fortnight so he can help me contend with the fussyness while they get used to not taking it lol I know i am a wimp! I give up on trying to figure anything out anymore, the babbas rule in this house!

Thanx for everyone's thought! Wish me luck.