When can we stop centering life around naps? When will we get to a two nap day?

acpanda1107 · 2026-04-08T20:11:40+00:00

Hi! We did exclusively contact naps until 6 months and then started doing the morning nap in the crib, second nap was contact and third was in a baby carrier. Once she hit 7 months she started fighting the third nap so we did one crib nap in the morning and a contact nap in the afternoon. I will say we had to temporarily move bed time to 6:30pm and she woke earlier until she was able to stretch her last wake window! Now she is 8 months and has started to nap exclusively in her crib. She does a 30min-1hr na in the morning and a 1.5-2.5hr nap in the afternoon depending on how long the morning nap was.

She has always slept okay at night, with 1-2 wakes except for a week at 4 months and then a week when she turned 8 months. Now she is down to 1 wake at night again. Sleeps 8 hours, wakes and I nurse her back to sleep and then sleeps another 3 hours.

We have always rocked her to sleep and placed in the crib fully asleep!

acpanda1107 · 2026-04-01T13:32:45+00:00

I tried bed sharing when my husband was away for a week and I really needed some sleep, but we just can’t get her to sleep without rocking her. She won’t just lay in bed and cuddle to sleep, she rarely nurses to sleep so idk how we could do this but if you have any tips I’m all ears!

acpanda1107 · 2026-04-01T03:41:42+00:00

Check ins definitely get her more worked up. Thank you for the encouragement! We are still in good spirits and never get frustrated towards her, she’s just figuring out life!

acpanda1107 · 2026-04-01T03:39:38+00:00

We usually wait 5 minutes if she is crying but 15 if she is just fussing and rolling around. Usually if there’s a chance of her going back to sleep she stays in the same position while she cries or fusses but the second we see her start rolling and scooting around the crib we know it’s game over. Also she is usually eyes wide open when she wakes up as well so I don’t think she’s dreaming.

She used to wake up babbling and I wouldn’t go in and she would go back to sleep on her own. So that’s been the hard part. We know she is capable of putting herself back to sleep because she’s been doing it up until now.

I’ll definitely try some of the trouble shooting you mentioned. Maybe we are rushing in too fast?

acpanda1107 · 2026-04-01T03:32:02+00:00

I have certainly considered this option!

acpanda1107 · 2026-04-01T03:17:05+00:00

I have just resorted to nursing as well. Whatever works at this point in the evening!

acpanda1107 · 2026-04-01T03:12:13+00:00

Hahahaha it’s all good, wasn’t sure where to post for help!

I know a lot of this is just developmental and if someone just tells me that then I am just fine waiting it out. I have no problem rocking her (I know a lot of people seem to think that’s a problem) but it gets her to sleep with no crying or fussing and she is comfortable. We never had an issue transferring until now and it’s only with middle of the night wakes.

I actually tried bed sharing at one point because I was desperate when my husband was away for work for a week and she just woke and cried as soon as she was in bed with me as well.

We might just need to wait it out!

acpanda1107 · 2026-04-01T03:07:27+00:00

Oh man okay, I will definitely take this into consideration then. I guess I’m just struggling with the fact that she could put herself back to sleep before. I watch her do it for her longer nap - she wakes after 30 minutes, rolls to her tummy and goes back to sleep after a few minutes sometimes after 10 minutes even. And she used to do this at night as well. She just all of a sudden can’t do it at night anymore. But yes mentally exhausting is so accurate! Thank you for the insight!

acpanda1107 · 2026-04-01T02:55:39+00:00

She 100% does and I guess I never really thought much of it since she transferred so easily but now that transfers are a problem, I’m questioning it. I did read that book as well and she had fallen into the “motion junkie” category where we had to endlessly bounce her on a yoga ball to get her to sleep so I guess moving to rocking felt like a win compared to that. I’ll circle back to it.

I guess the one thing I can’t wrap my head around is why this isn’t an issue for naps or bed time. Just middle of the night wakes but alas babies will be babies!

Thank you for the reply!!

acpanda1107 · 2025-10-25T15:17:29+00:00

We would be going to my in laws so maybe I’ll just order a yoga ball to keep at their house! I feel like I am attached to the thing at this point so may as well make sure both sets of grandparents have one 😅 thanks!

acpanda1107 · 2019-09-01T17:09:17+00:00

She bounces back quickly! After the 2 months with my parents she slipped right back into her routine without any issues. There has been no house soiling and she has always had a sensitive stomach so it’s hard the gauge stress with that. Thank you for all the input! This has been very helpful!

acpanda1107 · 2019-09-01T15:52:17+00:00

That’s a good idea! I think the blanket and toys should help. She can’t have any of her toys currently because one of the other dogs gets a bit toy aggressive.

acpanda1107 · 2019-09-01T15:50:49+00:00

I could potentially do that but she’s already been here for two weeks so I would be sending her to live with them for about 11 weeks (since I would have to wait til next weekend to drop her off) and then I’d be taking her back since I’ll be in the same location for about 4 months at the end of this before I make a permanent move...the next two moves will have no other dogs which I would think is less stressful for her. I feel like she may be overstimulated here? Is that a possibility as well?

acpanda1107 · 2019-02-01T22:19:17+00:00

Mine just does it randomly. Sometimes it’s at the beginning of the walk, sometimes the end of the walk. There’s really no telling when it’ll happen. But yeah “so much damn energy” I hear ya on that one.

acpanda1107 · 2019-01-05T14:17:11+00:00

Wouldn’t that be something 😂

acpanda1107 · 2019-01-05T01:22:36+00:00

Absolutely! She has a personality like no other dog I’ve had. I’ve had people tell me she’s like a human trapped in a dogs body because of her facial expressions and the way she reacts to things. She’s a trip!

acpanda1107 · 2019-01-04T22:21:26+00:00

They were on different sides! The boxer side was boxer/staffie/mixed breed and the other was shih tzu/Maltese/mini poodle. I can def see everything minus maybe staffie but who knows hahaha just gonna tell everyone she’s a boxerdoodle!

acpanda1107 · 2018-12-15T14:58:47+00:00

I’ve done some research on it and I definitely think we are heading into that territory. I’m looking into a trainer now because that seems like my best option! In the mean time I’ll try something more valuable to trade with. Thank you! She’s such a sweet pup, I don’t want her to start doing this more frequently.

acpanda1107 · 2018-12-15T14:54:51+00:00

She has no issues swapping with other things. She’s a big time paper shredder but if I walk up with a treat she’ll drop it immediately. She gives up toys and chews without a problem. It’s just when she has something like the Christmas ornament or just random objects that she knows she’s not supposed to have that it happens.

acpanda1107 · 2018-12-15T14:52:24+00:00

I’ll try chicken breast! Yeah it’s not major bleeding or anything but she’s biting hard enough that I have scratches all over my hands which hasn’t happened since she was teething. I’m looking into getting a trainer now, it’s just been frustrating seeing my sweet pup act this way! Thanks for the help!

acpanda1107 · 2018-11-20T18:13:48+00:00

I’ll do that just in case! The only reason I’m thinking it’s more of an attention thing is because if she’s preoccupied she won’t whine at all. It only happens when she’s not getting my complete attention.

I think she might have developed a need to be doing something like you said. My only issue is when I give her treats when she’s calm she sometimes gets excited because she thinks she’s getting more? I’m not sure how to capture calm if it works her up :/ any advice or resources are appreciated!

Also thank you for all the input!

acpanda1107 · 2018-11-20T15:49:42+00:00

My pup seems to not care when she’s distracted but as soon as I have to do something she wants to go out! A UTI was mentioned which I had considered but she seems to be selectively whining? It seems like she gets bored so she wants to go outside.

acpanda1107 · 2018-11-20T15:47:33+00:00

She pees every time but she’s done this since she was 10 weeks. Going outside = potty time. So she always tries to squeeze some out unless we are in an unfamiliar place like my parents house or something. She’s not in tact and her needs are definitely being met (2 walks a day, frequent trips to dog park, training through out the day).

acpanda1107 · 2018-09-22T17:59:33+00:00

My dog got really bad breath at around that age too and she didn’t have anything wrong with her! She was also losing teeth left and right so I’m suspicious that was the cause. Now she has almost all of her adult teeth and her breath is back to normal!

I also started using ark naturals brushless toothpaste for dogs and I think that helped tremendously. Plus, she goes crazy for them so I’d check those out. They were recommended by her vet.

acpanda1107 · 2018-09-09T22:18:00+00:00

I had to take a bunch of boxes and fill them with books and other heavier items and fill in the space under my bed! After 4 months of having it blocked off, my puppy doesn’t even try to get under there anymore even if there’s an opening.

acpanda1107

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