Okay, so things are better...

#1 (**permalink**) 08-01-2005, 11:21 AM

Our napping situation is better. It is still far from "perfect", but at least I've got some things figured out.

Peepers is taking a morning nap of about 2 hours just about every day. However, he does often wake briefly at the 45-minute points, cry, thrash around and then fall back asleep. I don't know why he sleeps so fitfully.

He is also taking naps - although short - at my office where I mentioned its so difficult to get him to nap.

I am astonished at how sensitive his need for sleep. He NEEDS that 7:00 pm bedtime, which just seems so EARLY, and that is coming from someone who does believe in reasonable bedtimes. He also NEEDS 12 hours of night sleep. Even one day of a late bedtime makes him difficult the next day. Maybe this will get better as he logs in a good sleep reserve; I don't know.

I did ultimately get the video monitor and though expensive, this was definately money well spent. It is a big relief to be able to see exactly what is going on in there and not fear that something awful will happen because I walked away.

He cries only briefly or not at all now when I put him down for a nap, so that is a big improvement.

Tempermentally, I think he is just a child who needs a lot of external structure, because he just doesn't organize himself well. When his day is well-structured, he is so wonderful and happy, but when it is weakly structured, he really gets cranky.

I'm thankful that I was objective enough to see that he needed ME to help him learn to sleep better, however unpleasant it is to hear my baby cry.

Thank you all for the help!

Kristen02 · #2 (**permalink**) 08-02-2005, 07:03 PM

Thanks for the update! Your son sounds just like both of my kids- they thrive on routine and do best that way. I'm a structured person, too, so it was easy to adapt to that for them. I think that is one of the reasons sleep training with cio was the way I went- they needed a routine and the sooner they settled in, the better for all of us! My 6 year old doesn't take naps (hasn't since age 3), but she still sleeps 12 hours at night, and wants a schedule of her day. Now that she is older though, she enjoys being spontaneous too, and can handle going to bed later. My son needs 13-14 hours of sleep at night, and loves his daily routine. I can definitely relate to what you are saying.

Hope all continues to go well! And great job to you and Peepers!