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Parenting

7mo wants to play at bedtime

7 replies

sharond101 · 26/12/2012 23:18

DS normally has bath at 7.30 and feeds to sleep by 8.30. Around a week ago I started to notice a pattern of grumpiness in the evening and suspect he may want to bed a little earlier however, over the Christmas rush he has on 3 occasions protested bedtime altogether. He has had his bath as usual then as soon as I try to feed him he screams (which I have never seen him do!) until you unwrap him from his shawl. He will then play happily until you try and wrap him back up again. Saturday he didn't sleep until 10.30pm, which was the same as Xmas Day and tonight was 9.50pm. Tonight was just DH and I so there wasn't alot happening although we were in the room with all his new toys. Foes this sound familiar?

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Rockchick1984 · 26/12/2012 23:33

What are his daytime naps like? My DS did something similar before dropping a nap, maybe this could be the same for your son?

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sharond101 · 27/12/2012 09:35

His naps tend to be around 45mins 10.30amish, 1hr at 1.30pmish and 45mins at 4.45ish.

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Rockchick1984 · 27/12/2012 09:40

See if you can drop the 4.45 nap and give him an earlier bedtime?

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forevergreek · 27/12/2012 11:52

I would try 2 naps. First nap earlier at 9.30am, awake by 10.30 . Then 1pm nap try to extend for 2hrs so he wakes around 3/3.30pm. Then try bedtime at 7pm. He may be overtired by 8.30pm. Encouraging longer naps instead of more but shorter will also help him sleep through as e will learn to move from one sleep cycle to the next ( around 45 mins per sleep cycle)

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sharond101 · 27/12/2012 13:19

How do I go about regulating his naps? He looks to nap at these times, usually after feeding and he wakes by himself, how do I encourage a longer nap?

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Rockchick1984 · 27/12/2012 13:57

I would move the first nap from 10:30 to 11am, give a slightly bigger breakfast then when he first starts looking tired start a game / get out a different toy etc, when you say he naps after feeding are you talking about milk rather than food? Delay giving the milk as well so that he keeps his sleep associations the same. Move the 1.30 nap to 2.30 (as the other nap will be 30 mins later anyway so this means he's only got an extra 30 mins awake here). Follow his cues for when bedtime should be, but I don't know many people who put their 6+month child down later than 7pm, particularly if they are only on two naps a day. May even be earlier, just see when he looks tired.

Oh, and just be aware that it may take a week or so for him to adjust - all completely normal from what I've seen!

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forevergreek · 27/12/2012 14:11

I just put down for a nap at that time. Often by the time they ate looking to nap they re overtired. So pick two times that suit you and put down to nap each day then.

I usually did 9.30 nap in buggy as then portable and 1pm nap in cot and that was longer. If they woke after 45 mins from 1pm nap I would resettle

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