Noah has almost always woken from his 2-hour nap happy and talking. But for the last month or so, he has periodically broken this habit, waking crying. If he'd been asleep less than 1.5 hours, I'd let him cry himself back to sleep. If more, I'd get him up, assuming he was done.
Then last week, I had a breakthrough. He woke crying after 2 hours one day, so I got him up, but he was cranky and weepy for the next hour. For the first time in 7 months, I decided to put him back to bed for another nap. He was not thrilled with the idea, but he quieted down for about 20 minutes and then talked for 20min in his crib. When I got him up 45min later, he was a happy camper till bedtime. The difference was amazing!
Since then, if he wakes crying after less than 3 hours of sleep, I usually let him cry himself back to sleep. As a result, he has taken several 3-hour naps and woken much happier at the end of each. Maybe it's a growth spurt, maybe he senses change on the horizon, who knows, but I'm wishing I had tried this weeks ago!
It doesn't always work (nothing ever does), but it's been helpful, so I thought I'd share it, in case any of my fellow moms face a similar problem.
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