Bedtime for 14.5mo

[labrodyk]

Wow, okay,  sounds like you've experienced how I experienced teething with my first son! Audrey seems similar. We have the molars to keep cutting through then canines and then 2yo molars. Oh my goodness. I should buy shares in nurofen.

Is it likely the short nap from 12pm is OT or pain? I gave the meds but she was pretty miserable. No NW's as yet.
Overnight last night she did cry out about 4.45am but seemed to settle back okay without me and fell back to sleep from around 6am until 7am...

Friday 23-Dec
WU: 6.55
Nap: 11.53 PD; 12.00-1.10 asleep. Stirred after 35 minutes but settled. OOB at 2.00.
BT: 6.25; 7.00 asleep

Saturday 24-Dec
WU: 6.30 or earlier
Nap: 11.50; 12.00-1.25
BT: 6.25 PD, asleep 7.25 (an hour!)

Am I doing something really wrong? She was too tired to eat lunch at 11.30 today and she just whinged and cried from well before 11am. Bedtime seems like such a long time for her to fall asleep and cuts into her night sleep especially as she woke earlier this morning.

If we don't speak before, Merry Christmas to you and your family! x

[creations]

I don't think you are doing anything wrong at all. It just takes time to settle into the routine and with those teeth on the move too...it's only been a few days trying this set nap and BT really.
There might come a point when she is very very tired and needs a catch up nap - either she'll do a long nap in the day or nod off in the car/pram etc for a few mins or more.

You could try a W2S at 1pm mid nap, either give her a little nudge to kick start a new sleep cycle or wait for the transition and pat her through it. She could really do with the 2hr nap which she isn't quite getting but I think that will settle down eventually.

Merry Christmas to you and your family too - you're bound to have some off track days now too!
xx

[labrodyk]

It's Christmas day tomorrow and she's woken at 10.30pm and is wide awake. Sucking her thumb, rolling around and staring at the ceiling for the last 1hour and 20 minutes and isn't showing any sign of going back to sleep .

She's now woken for the day at 5.55.

 Wow, what is going on?

[creations]

Hope you got through the Christmas period... maybe she was up waiting for Santa

[labrodyk]

Bahahahahahaha, probably was! My older son was up at 1.30, then 5.30 until I finally gave in and got up at 7.

I'm just still finding mid morning from 9am really difficult and keep second guessing myself as to AJ's sleep needs. Christmas day and the 2 naps just cement how hard it is to do now but she's so grumpy and wants her comforter toy, walks around thumb sucking, falling down a lot and showing the usual tired signs.

She's also too tired to eat any lunch but I don't want her going down on an empty stomach.

Strangely tonight was the quickest she's fallen asleep and she didn't scream at me - asleep after 5hr20min A, but not sure what length you'd call her nap?

Saturday 24-Dec
WU: 6.30 or earlier
Nap: 11.50; 12.00-1.25
BT: 6.25 PD, asleep 7.25!!
NW: 10.30-12.00

Sunday 25-Dec
wu: 5.55
Nap: 10.15 pd, 10.20ish - 11.50 asleep
Nap: 5.15-5.40
BT: 9.00 PD; heard her chatting at 9.30

Monday 26-Dec
Wu: ?
Nap: 12.00-1.20 (Apop on the beach then patted through second cycle)
BT: 7.20; chatting then called out just before 8pm. Asleep by 8.20pm

Tuesday 27-Dec
WU: ? oob at 7.45, I slept in!!
Nap: 11.50 PD (tired and cranky all morning), asleep by 12.05-1.25/2.00 but rolling around, dozing off and on for the last 40 minutes.
BT: 7.00; 7.20 asleep!

[creations]

Hmm... you're just not getting more than the two sleep cycles are you?
Have you tried W2S at about 1hr 10 into the nap to see if you can help her through the transition?

[labrodyk]

Hi Creations!

I'm really not getting this right... I have a feeling that if I put her down earlier she would sleep for 2-3 hours but then I'd be left with a super long A to bed. She's exhausted even when we are out by 10am. I did an earlier bedtime tonight but it completely backfired and she took 50 minutes to finally fall asleep. Is PD at BT too early regardless of nap length?

No, we can't seem to break that 2 sleep cycle barrier. It'd also really tough because as a thumb sucker it's like having a dummy. She has two stages of sleep, one where her eyes are shut, she's still but sucking her thumb and the other is her arms out to the sides, no sucking. She will drift between these two states with no real pattern during a given nap, switching between the two every 10 minutes or more sometimes so I struggle to believe she's well rested at all. I tried W2S today but it was hard to judge at what point she was in her sleep cycle. When I went in the wouldn't stir at all but I was SO scared of waking her perhaps I didn't do it well enough....

Wednesday 28-Dec
WU: 7.15
Nap: 11.50 PD, asleep 12.00/maybe 12.20? - 1.38 (cry out). Rolled around until 2pm when she started crying.
^ tried w2s at 1.10 but wouldn't stir and too scared to keep trying.
BT: 6.28 PD, screamed when I left and then started crying again by 6.39. not asleep until  7.20
^ normally she snuggles up when we read our last book (same one each night) but tonight she cried and kept closing it and wanted to pull others off the book shelf...

[creations]

Nap: 11.50 PD, asleep 12.00/maybe 12.20? - 1.38 (cry out). Rolled around until 2pm when she started crying.
^ tried w2s at 1.10 but wouldn't stir and too scared to keep trying.

Can you perhaps be ready with her dummy and re-plug as she starts to stir at around the 1hr 10/20 mark then put a hand on her and say a key phrase, "go to sleep" or similar?

I'm really not getting this right... I have a feeling that if I put her down earlier she would sleep for 2-3 hours but then I'd be left with a super long A to bed.

YK. If you feel she would nap better then give this a try.

[labrodyk]

I could try and be with her but I can't put her thumb in her mouth... I don't think she'd do well with me there but up for anything at this point.

Maybe not 3 hours but for a few days I got 2.5hrs from 11.30 but that was a big push... As I said, she acts visibly grumpy and tired very early in the morning.

[labrodyk]

YK. If you feel she would nap better then give this a try.

Hmm, so did this today following cues and she was asleep in 5 minutes but was so restless. PD 11.10, 11.15 asleep. Stirred and rolled around, sucking her thumb at 30, 40, 50,60 minutes,1hr10,1hr.15 awake then dozed until 12.30/12.45.

BT: 5.55 PD, 6.40 asleep!
^ cried again during books! Very tired and falling asleep but fighting it so hard! Must have got a second wind as she started standing up in the cot, rolling around, then chatting with her eyes wide open, cried out sporadically.


I really don't understand what else I can do? Surely 12pm is more than late enough with wake up of 6-7am? She's 15mo on the 7th Jan if that makes any difference. We are still medicating day and night and I'm getting worried about overuse now... The bottom molars seem to be through but only certain bits of the top. 

[creations]

OK. Looks like she wasn't able to settle well for the earlier nap.
It may be time to accept that she is only going to do the 2 cycles and a nap of 1hr 20 for a while, it might extend on it's own.
Or really give W2S a go even though you are scared of waking her.
Or put down for nap another 10 mins later and see if it helps.  although she will be very tired if it can get her that 2hr sleep overall she'd be better rested.

Certainly understand the feeling of over medicating. If you are concerned pop in to your pharmacist or GP to check it's okay to continue.  I used meds for teething longer than the pack instructions but was also advised by the paediatrician at the hospital that it was okay for my DS especially as he had fevers through teething.

[labrodyk]

OK, I'm going to just have to push through with nap at midday then I assume? I feel so sorry for her because it is such a push and she gets quite upset and tired.

I think I might also stick with PD into bed at 7pm and hope she's asleep by 7.30, even with a short nap. Could that cause biggrr issues than I already have?

[creations]

If you don't feel comfortable with a slightly later nap (I agree it has moved considerably over the last ten days or so, from 11.30 to 12) there is no harm in keeping it where it is, it's a set nap time after all.  She hasn't had this routine for particularly long and set nap/BT routines do take a while to settle down.  I suppose looking at your first post, you said she was napping 2hrs, sometimes 2.5 and sometimes 1hr 20 and I've been thinking that she must be able to get back to the 2hr nap but yk she might do that on her own without any movement of nap time and instead just being able to regular her own sleep with the set times.

[labrodyk]

I'll just follow her lead for a few days and see what happens. Ours days are so crazy and so is bedtime but there is no way of getting 2 naps in so will just stick with one somewhere around 11.30 and bedtime 7/7.30.

I'll keep medicating as well and give w2s a go as well. I might try and make a bit more noise around the house during her nap and see if that helps.

[creations]

Good luck!