I would perhaps try to cap that morning nap at 2 hours. Then watch him closely and see if you can catch that afternoon nap sooner. The average waketime for a 9 month old is about 2 hours. Meaning, you should start moving him towards a nap 2 hours after he wakes from his LAST nap. Hopefully this can help!

So a quick clarification for a 9 month old. He’s pretty much down to 2 naps (aside from a few days here and there) and doing well. However his morning nap is always the longer nap and I’m gathering that it’s supposed to be the opposite. He sleeps 2-2.5 hours in the morning and his afternoon nap is only about an hour. Should I start waking him after an hour and a half during his morning nap (and then hopefully the afternoon nap will become longer?) Thanks!

I have a little dilemma about my 11 and a half months old baby. Currently she’s teething, but as soon as its over I plan to do the Shuffle because she is accustomed to go to sleep while I rock her. Thus she usually wakes up 40 min after going to sleep crying and needing me to rock her back to sleep and another time around 5 o’clock in the morning – much harder to rock her to sleep so once in a while I (unfortunately) take her into our bed and she falls asleep after I feed her. There are some nights when she sleeps through the night with just little whimpers in the middle of the night and others where she wakes up several times crying.
I know what to do at night during the Shuffle (have the book) and I know that she will eventually fall asleep (have tried it before with short lived success due to teething), but what to do at naptime? Sleep lady suggests using motion (stroller, carseat etc) if all else fails, but my lo sleeps only for 40 min in stroller and car seat and it will not be enough. It is already hard enough to put her down for naps, I can’t imagine that she will go to sleep during daytime on her own and I fear that it will be a nightmare with crying at night and little sleep at daytime. If I stop rocking her during night time, it also applies for naptime, right? Somehow it seems that there is no other way, but maybe there are some little tricks that can help? I’m trying to introduce a lovey, but no success, there is also a stuffed animal that she likes in her bed, but she hasn’t chosen it as her nighttime pal yet…

Hi Nicole,
    I’m sorry for this delay to your response! I wrote back to you but somehow it never posted.
I am so sorry for your difficulty. Really, you must be so exhausted. I want you you to be encouraged that yes, there IS hope. It sounds like your son started having trouble sleeping during his 4 month regression. This is a special time when his brain makes quantum leaps in his cognitive development. While this is very exciting, because he is so stimulated, aware and able to learn so much more about his surroundings, it can also be a bothersome interrupter of sleep. It sounds like he started having trouble at that point and you did what we ALL do – you found ways to get him back asleep. Trust me – we’ve all been there. We call these new little habits sleep crutches – and while they seem like gold at the beginning,, they never last. So, this is why he continues to wake more and more – and why the comfort nursing doesn’t seem to be cutting it. This can be helped though!
    You are right in that it is helpful to catch him at his sleepiest. It is also very helpful to have  dark room with a sound barrier of some sort (sound machine). Along with these things, it is very important to have a good bedtime routine (that s used for naps as well). For instance: nurse, read books, turn light out (or close shades), rock and quietly sing, then lay him  while he is drowsy but still awake. One of the things you will want to work on is the disassociation between nursing and sleep. In other words, by all means continue to nurse, but do it in a well lit room (maybe even before you take him to his room) so that nursing is for eating and bedtime is for sleeping. He will not love this at first (naturally) but you don’t have to leave him alone after you lay him down! Certainly stay and comfort – reaching over the crib to pat and reassure as needed until he is asleep. If he becomes hysterical (as you mentioned) you should definitely pick him up to calm him! When he has calmed down and is sleepy, lay him back down and continue to pat and verbally reassure him as needed until he is asleep. Your BIGGEST key to success is consistency. The more you cheat, the more he continues to wake. Trust me. Once he s sleeping better at night, he will likely sleep better during the day as well. Sleeps begets sleep in a baby’s world.
     I hear your frustration and can imagine that you need support. If I can be that for you, just let us know. I would be so happy to walk you through to better sleep – very soon. It CAN be done – I promise.  Take good care, Amy
 
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