How to shift baby's schedule?

[newbie_momsie]

Boo....DD woke up early today at 5:15 am. Only 10 hrs of sleep. Yesterday she slept an extra 20 mins in her day time sleep total. I wondered if that messed things up? Sigh...I had to rock her back to sleep this morning, I had to try twice as she woke up the first time when I put her down in her crib. Will I ever be able to get her to stick to 11 hrs of sleep at night?

[Kellyjs]

I'm afraid nothing is guaranteed hun. Hopefully that was a one-off EW. Remember they do like to start increasing their A times dramatically around now until they hit the 2-1, so may be due another slight increase in time, but we'll give it a few days and see first. I don't want to fix something that's not broken yet. Also do check for teeth, a prime reason for EW xx

[newbie_momsie]

Thx Kelly, I agree....probably a one off. I forgot to ask, if DD wakes at 5am and I dont want to continue rocking her back to sleep and cause AP....what time should her bedtime be as I think a 5am to 5pm day is appropriate for 12 hr day but 5pm is way too early for bedtime. Especially if she sleeps 10 to 11 hrs. She might wake up at 3am or 4am then! Lol!!! Should i add back a cat nap to extend her day to 630 or 7pm?

[Kellyjs]

No I wouldn't add a CN hun, that'll probably make matters worse. You could try for a 13-hr day by increasing the A's earlier on in the day. It's quite common to have a 13-hr day and not cause too many issues xx

[newbie_momsie]

Thx Kelly, good to know.

I have another issue coming up this week. Friday is my DH's grandmother's 90th birthday dinner which means we wont get home until 9pm or so   so i am really scared about what DD schedule will be like for the next day. I don't know what time to start her day on Saturday? If I start at 6am or 7am she would have less than 11 hours of sleep. What do you recommend on DD's routine the next day after the party? Thx so much.

[Kellyjs]

11hrs sleep will be just fine. Any less you may find she'll just want to go to sleep a little earlier for her morning nap and sleep a little longer? If the day is rubbish, shoot for early BT. We all have these things we have to go to. You can worry yourself sick over it, as I did but tbh it's never usually as bad as we think. I just do a slightly earlier nap and wake at usual time to keep the day the same, if struggling do EBT xx

[newbie_momsie]

Thx Kelly! I am like u too about worrying sick about DD's sleep cuz i dread OT drama.

When you said " i just do a slightly earlier nap and wake as usual time to keep day the same if struggling to do EBT." do you mean that the nap will be longer then? And struggling EBT, are u referring to struggling for an earlier bedtime the night before or the same day as the earlier nap?

Thx for clarifying!

[Kellyjs]

Yep I just pd for nap 15mins earlier so she gets an extra 15mins sleep. She how the rest of the day goes and if she's obviously tired still, try for a slightly EBT too of 15-20mims earlier. Normally by the next day she's right as rain again xx

[newbie_momsie]

Ok....good to know! Thanks for clarifying! I really appreciaye all the help and support I am getting from you!

[Kellyjs]

My pleasure hun xx

[newbie_momsie]

Also want to report the good news that DD has been sleeping longer ...about 11 to 11.5 hrs since last Tuesday! Hoping she will continue to do  this well. She stirs between 5am and 6am but she will fall back to sleep on her own. Thx for all your help solving and listening to my problems with baby's sleep!!! I think without your support I would have been so frustrated and overwhelmed. Thx a million!

[Kellyjs]

Yay and yay! Exciting, long may it continue! 

That's why I'm here hun, many on here have helped me when I've felt as frustrated as you did. It's my way of paying it forward xx

[newbie_momsie]

Kelly...DD woke at 6:03am this morning but looks like she fell asleep few mins around 6:36am and woke up and then fell asleep for a few more mins so when should i start counting her awake time? Today is the day of the party which will be a long day so I want to time her naps appropriately. Thank you!

[Kellyjs]

Sorry hun, I was out today. I hope the day goes well for you.

I would normally count the A time from when she gets out of bed, but that's me, I'm so scared of UT that an extra 10mins A won't hurt xx

[newbie_momsie]

No need to say sorry! I know you have things to do too! I am just happy you are able to answer my questions whenever you have time. Me too...i was afraid she will be under tired so i just put her down for a nap 15 min later than usual and it worked great. She napped for 1 hr 45 mins and i had to go wake her up. So she had a nice good nap.

I usually let her nap for 1.5 hrs in the afternoon. Wondering if i should make it 2 hrs to get her through a longer A time before bedtime which is during the dinner party tonight? Will be home around 9pm   what would u do?