Hi Emma,

We are having a run of 530-6am wake ups for over a week. Yesterday Rohan slept 12-230. I woke up him at 230. He was tired in the second half of the morning with crankiness, clinginess, falling over and few tantrums. He was better in the afternoon but still a bit off and by 650pm was rubbing his eyes. He was asleep 35 minutes later…

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Hi Emma,

We are now teething second set of molars which seems to be making Rohan even more tired! Can I check when you say nap at 12, do you mean lay down in cot at 12 or aim asleep at 12?

Can I also ask what your generic recommendation is for a child of 22 months with sleep schedule? There seems to be a lot of information out there not to go…

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Hi Emma,

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate your time. We have had issues with long latency for weeks if not months (at bedtime). Figuring out whether it is under or overtired has been a problem as Rohan is mostly not upset during the time he is trying to sleep but recently I have felt it is overtiredness as he is not himself on waking and…

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Hi Emma, not sure if this is useful information. I decreased the second wake window by 30 minutes to 5 hours 15 and he took 70 minutes to fall asleep. He was trying to sleep – I could see he is sucking on his sleep sack as usual and changing position, by 50 minutes he started crying so i went in and gave him a cuddle for a few minutes as crying…

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Hi Emma,

I hope you are keeping well. I am wondering if you can help us as I think we have ended up in an overtired cycle. Rohan has been sick back to back then vaccines then travelling and now having a huge developmental leap saying new words every day, walking up and down steps independently etc.

I found the clock based sometimes pushed…

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PS are you wondering if the long time to fall asleep at bedtime is from a little overtiredness?

Hi Emma,

Since moving bedtime to 715pm, the afternoon crankiness has gone as have the overnight wakes. Those were happening when I did 730pm bedtime then he caught up on sleep with a couple of 7pm bedtimes. Today he woke up at 655am and I put him down for his nap at 1150. He wasn’t asleep until 1210-1215. He has been cranky yesterday morning…

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Thanks Emma. That makes sense. I have just emailed the last week of information and would appreciate your advice as still having issues although things are definitely better. He has always been quite sensitive to sleep changes. Thanks again.

Best wishes, Pav

I went in and soothed him then put him back down after 10 minutes of holding and he has stayed asleep for over an hour and a half.

Hi Emma,

Can I check what to do if Rohan wakes early in the morning eg today he was woken up at 615am. I picked him up at 630am. I offered him his nap at 1145, he was asleep very quickly. He had been yawning multiple times in the morning. He has woken up crying after 36 minutes. Yesterday he had a 1.5 hour nap so did a 7pm bedtime and he…

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1. Please ignore my question regarding 730 bedtime…it is clearly too late for him. He was overtired all of yesterday and woke crying from his nap after 1.5 hours and crying in the night at 1130pm on off until falling asleep about an hour later despite a 7pm bedtime. I’ll stick to an earlier bedtime. Thank you, Pav

Sorry I also meant to ask on days he wakes up earlier in the morning, should I put him down for his nap slightly earlier?

Best wishes

Pav

Thanks Emma. On the 7th he did end up waking up naturally at 655am. Then a 2 hour nap (I woke him up) then I put him down for bed at 730pm, he was asleep 18 minutes later and I had to wake him at 7am but he seemed a little off all morning.

It sounds like you are thinking 730pm bedtime is slightly too late?

Thanks again,

Pav

Hi Emma,

Hope you are well. Just a little update. On the 6th, Ro took a 2 hour nap so I made bedtime 730pm and he fell asleep 815pm then woke up at 635am. He seemed tired before 12 as yawning about 20 minutes before then but we were out. I put him in the cot late at 12 and he slept 1.5 hours then by 630pm was a mess. He having tantrums over…

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Thanks Emma. I have just emailed you the last week.

Best wishes, Pav

Thanks Emma. Can I check what to do if he has a nap shorter than an hour. Yesterday his actual sleep time for his nap was 40 minutes then he woke crying. Once I picked him up he was happy and energetic. I put him down at 7pm so it was a massive wake window but he was happy. He was asleep 15 minutes later and slept through til 630am. Is this…

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Thanks Emma. I will try that.

We moved to a new place few weeks ago and the lights are much brighter. It had crossed my mind that it is very bright until he is in his cot (he is still sleeping in his travel cot with the slumberpod so I know he is in complete darkness in the night). Yesterday he napped 1.5 hours but I stuck with 715pm, which was…

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Hi Emma,

Thank you and I will do that. He has taken a 2 hour nap every day since starting the schedule except the 2nd day. I wake him up at 2. Last 2 days I have put him down at 715pm. 2 days ago he was asleep at 8 (he cried few minutes at the end) and yesterday 745ish.(He woke crying for a few minutes at 10pm then went back to sleep for…

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He seems a touch cranky this morning and fell asleep for his nap quickly so he must be tired suggesting to me I should pull back to your advised time of 715pm and wait a week. I have made a mental decision to change nothing for one week as I am likely prolonging the process. Best wishes, Pav

Thanks Emma. On the day I put Ro down at 645pm and he didn’t sleep til 750, he was awake an hour in the night also just lying there. Next morning I woke him up at 7, he took him nap 12-2 then I woke him up and I put him down at 730 as he didn’t seem tired and he was also falling asleep 745-750pm the two days before. He was asleep 30 minutes…

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Hi Emma, sorry to bug you again but I had another question. As I mentioned Rohan was cranky in the morning then he had a 1 hr 10 nap but he was perfectly happy all afternoon, full of energy and no tantrums. As he had a short nap, I put him down at 645pm but he didn’t seem tired. He fell asleep at 750pm (day before he fell asleep at 745pm). He…

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Hi Emma,

Sorry to write back to soon but just wanted to check what we are seeing is expected and whether to carry on as planned. Yesterday Ro took a 2 hour nap which we woke him up for and then bed at 715, he was fast asleep 30 minutes later with little fussing then woke up 630. He has been clingy most of the wake window and low energy, he had…

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Thanks Emma. I’m willing to give it a go. Would I put him down at 715pm no matter how long the nap is, as in it is a clock based schedule rather than wake windows? The nap is shorter than 1.5 hours for the last 3 days but he is happy and energetic afterwards. Previously he was overtired when I tried similar schedule but maybe it was too close…

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PPS – during the time he is falling asleep at night, he is not upset (except last 2 nights where he got upset during the latter end of the sleep routine as I mentioned then cried in his cot for a few minutes then stopped). Otherwise he is just lying there, rolling around, sometimes babbling, sometimes whispering but mostly doing nothing.

Sorry Emma I am not sure if this is helpful but I thought I would mention he is really fighting the end of bedtime routine recently which he has not done previously in that he tries to run away or escape his sleep sack at the end of the bedtime routine when I put him in his sleep sack and sing his lullaby. He has also cried when I put him in…

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Hi Emma,

Sorry for the delayed reply, I have been trying to fix the problem myself but nothing I do is working. I have been using the Cara Babies model of 5-6 hours before nap then 4-5 hours after nap, also as Rohan seems overtired when the afternoon wake window is pushed. He is taking ages to fall asleep and sometimes having split nights…

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Hi Emma,

Hope you are well. It is still taking ages for Ro to fall asleep at bedtime ...45-70 minutes, he just lies there babbling. I tried moving the nap to 12pm but that doesn't help as he still can't handle a long second wake window actually awake, it results in him being overtired the next morning. He takes the nap fine no matter where it…

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Hi Emma, hope you have had a good Xmas. Rohan is a little unwell at the moment so sleeping as needed. I have found the 1230 time for the nap is working for him and he is fast asleep the whole time. Do you feel 12 is a better time?

I have also noticed that no matter the second wake window length, he always falls asleep 745-8pm like clock work.…

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In the UK I would never let him sleep past 7 unless he was sick and his bedtime was 730-8pm if that helps.

Hi Emma, I hope you are keeping well. I was hoping to get your advice. Rohan will be 18 months in 3 days! We moved to Brisbane 21 days ago and survived the flight and jet lag. He actually did really well and has completely switched over the Australia time. Before the move, I ended up giving him a 10 minute micronap in the mornings then a long…

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Hi Emma,

Thank you for your reply. I am glad that is what you have said as that is what I have done. I think I was so concerned about his being overtired that I am giving him an early bedtime when he doesn’t need it and has probably been ready for one nap for some time. My thoughts were if things didn’t settle with bigger wake windows that I…

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Thanks Emma, that is very helpful.

I am writing this at 3am UK time hoping you can help me! Rohan started taking 30-50 minutes to sleep for nap 2 and bedtime despite the first nap being called to 45 minutes. It worked for a couple of weeks initially. I tried longer wake windows and it didn’t help so I felt it was time to move to one nap. He is…

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Hi Emma,

Thank you for your response. Just two questions – as we are landing at 530pm, if Rohan is asleep on the second flight, shall I just let him sleep or try to have a full wake window and wake him on the plane. When he wakes up in the night, do I try to keep him in his room and read etc hoping he is tired again quickly? Best wishes, Pav

Thanks Emma. That makes sense or I thought if the second nap became short, eg less than 45 minutes, due to lack of sleep pressure.

Am I able to ask another non urgent question regarding handling jet lag. When Rohan is 17 months old we will be travelling back to Brisbane from the UK to live permanently this time. Our flight departs from the UK…

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Hi Emma,

I have decreased the first nap to 45 minutes 4 days ago and this has solved the bedtime problem for now. He seems tired for nap 2 as shown by him getting quieter and not playing as much at around 3 hrs 30. He is also tired for bedtime after 4 hours and was yawning today when I put him down. I did also decrease the first wake window to…

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Sorry just one more – I did actually cap the first nap today. I left the wake windows as is – is that ok or would I shorten the first wake window by 15 minutes? I let him sleep 45 minutes from the moment he fell asleep as took him 10 minutes to fall asleep but do you wake them up 45 minutes from the moment you lay them down?

Best wishes,

Pav

Hi Emma,

Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate your response. I do think he is ready for one nap as two naps is only seems to be working as we wake him up all the time and he is still energetic in the day. I previously tried waiting until he showed tired cues and got to 4 hours and he still didn’t show any, he just kept playing. The…

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Dear Emma,

I hope you have been keeping well! I was hoping to pick your brain about Rohan’s naps. He is turning 15 months in 6 days. We were putting him down when he was showing tired cues but now he has at wake windows 3.25/3.5/4 and no longer showing sleepy cues. He does fall asleep about 10-15 minutes after being put down for naps. We have…

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Hi Emma,

I was hoping to pick your brain. I have discovered Rohan’s sleepy cues show around 3 hours then first nap then about 3.25-3.5 then second nap then 3.5 then bedtime. He falls asleep quickly. He was doing mostly well on this but then I thought I would try to distribute the naps so the afternoon nap would is longer. The first day he did…

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Sorry to send another message but I thought this update may be useful. Today I went off Rohan’s sleepy cues. As soon as he showed them I put him to bed. First wake window was 2 hours 50, took him 7 minutes and he slept for 1 hour 15. Second one was 3 hrs 30 with eye rubbing and yawning when I put him down. Prior to that he has been swimming…

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Sorry to send a second message but I realised I didn’t explain my concern well – I am concerned that a wake window > 3 hours 15 would be too big for his age? And I am not sure whether he would do better off a by the clock schedule although we have not done this before? Best wishes, Pav

Hi Emma,

Thank you for your reply. When I messaged initially Rohan was taking a long time to fall asleep but still taking a long nap. Now he is taking a long time for fall asleep~15 minutes before nap 2 and 20-25 minutes before bedtime but now he is taking a short 30 minute nap for nap 2 and waking earlier in the morning i.e. 6am instead of…

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I should also mention that majority of the time, Rohan does then take a nap > 1 hour. This afternoon he took 15 minutes to fall asleep but then I woke him up as it had been 2 hours so I am not sure if this is just a phase or normal for his age. Best wishes, Pav

Hi Emma

I hope you are keeping well. We have been doing well with the 2.5/3/3.5 schedule until recently when it has started taking Rohan longer to fall asleep. He will be 10 months old in 8 days time. He used to take 5 minutes to fall asleep for naps very consistently but this time is getting longer. Initially 10 minutes and today 15…

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Hi Emma,

1. Thank you so much for your reply. Sorry for my delay replying. I have been testing out if I could have Rohan’s wake windows wrong. I usually take him for a walk towards the end of a wake window but I think this was giving him a second wind as now I have moved the walk to earlier, he is grumpy earlier so I have been putting him down…

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Hi Emma,

I hope you are keeping well. I was hoping to ask for your help with Rohan’s 2 nap schedule. He is due to turn 9 months in one week. We have been transitioning from 3 to 2 naps for the last 4.5 weeks. I initially started with gradually increasing wake windows to 2.5/3/3-3.5 to get to a 6pm bedtime. During that time he needed a 6pm…

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Hi Emma,

Thank you for your reply. I have moved him back to 3 naps as I felt he was too tired by day 5. I will see where he is at in a few weeks then reassess. Thank you for your advice!

Best wishes,

Pav

Hi Emma,

Thanks for your reply.

I thought Rohan was ready as his morning wake window is 2 hr 15 and then 2 hr 40 then 2 hr 45 then I keep the one before bed at 2 hr 45 just to keep bedtime at 8pm but he has done 3 hours before and sometimes bedtime is 815pm-ish. I am having to cap the morning nap and second nap to 1 hour and 1 hour 15 to…

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Hi Emma,

I just wanted to give you an update. On day 5, Rohan seemed very tired despite sleeping for 12 hours overnight. I did hear him wake him around 430am babbling to himself for about 5 minutes then he went back to sleep. He woke up happy but then crashed quickly about 1 hr 50 minutes later crying alot so I put him down and he fell asleep.…

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Hi Emma, how are you? I hope you have been keeping well. Here I am again but this time with the two nap transition! I tried to hold on to three naps as long as possible but Rohan started having short naps and waking up slightly earlier in the mornings. I am on day 4 and it looks like this so far.

Wake around 645-7am

First nap 2.5 hours later…

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