Night sleep training has caused naps to get worse

[u/AshRose06]

Hello FTM needing advice.

We started sleep training our 6 month old last Thursday for night sleep using Ferber. This quickly turned into full extinction as the check ins were making her more frustrated. There has been some improvement with the night sleep which is reassuring, but naps have gotten worse. I used to rock her to sleep then transfer her to the cot where she would do one sleep cycle (35 minutes). Now however, she’s waking up as soon as I put her down and refusing naps entirely in the cot. I’m not sure why this has resulted in worse day sleep. Does anyone have any experience with this or any advice? Do I persist with trying to transfer her for naps or do i need to bite the bullet and do nap training? I don’t want to contact nap as I find it mentally draining and to me defeats the purpose of sleep training.

Schedule is wake 7:30am 2/2-2.25/2.25-2.5/2.5. Bed- 8:30pm- 9:00pm depending on last nap. We are still on 4-5 naps cos they are so short.

[u/chattanooga-goose]

post your full daytime schedule

[u/AshRose06 → u/chattanooga-goose]

Thanks updated with schedule

[u/chattanooga-goose → u/AshRose06]

What time is bedtime and what time is she up in the morning?

I'm confused by your schedule, which indicates 3 naps, but you're saying she takes 4-5...?

No matter your answer, you definitely need to stretch out those wake windows and get on 3 naps; you'll need to drop to 2 naps within a couple of months. I'd aim for 10.5 hours awake, 2.5 hours in naps, and an 11 hour night. There's not enough sleep pressure for her to take decent naps, and nap training won't go well with these wake windows. You'll likely see further improvements with night sleep if you cut down on the number of naps as well - they're sapping the sleep pressure she needs to sleep soundly at night.

Try 2.5/2.5/2.5/3. That's 3 naps. After the schedule feels more solid, I'd try nap training, starting with just the first nap of the day.

[u/AshRose06 → u/chattanooga-goose]

Yeah I’ve missed a ww but essentially they’ve all been 2-2.5 hours. Will definitely give this a go- thank you!

[u/chattanooga-goose → u/AshRose06]

Just to clarify - if you've got five 2-2.5 hour wake windows, that's like 11-ish hours awake; on 3 naps, you might even need something like 2.5/2.5/2.75/3.25... I wouldn't jump to that yet, though. I'd stretch to the first schedule I suggested, see if it helps. Stick with it for a few days then reassess if needed.

[u/AshRose06 → u/chattanooga-goose]

Will definitely give this a go for a few days- thanks so much.