9 hr nights - what would you try?

[HenaV]

Mmmm, I think "wise" is a Mis-statement!!! Can you post her EAS for he last three days or so and let's see if anyone wise has any thoughts!!! Xx

[jessmum46]

Not jumping in as a 'wise' person (far from it!!) but just wanted to share that we needed to cap the nap to 2h max at around 18 months, down to 1h30 by about 2y and now at nearly 2.5y we are pretty much done with napping.  My guess would be you need to cap further (and possibly push nap later) but will wait to see your EAS x

[lily_layne]

I disagree - I think you are both very wise as every bit of advice both of you has given me has worked.

I've given up writing down naps and BTs as it just makes me anxious so I'll do my best to remember. I know it's not very helpful that I don't have exact wake up times but R is very quiet when she's up - I don't know she's awake until I check the video monitor which I usually don't until I get up around 6:15/6:30.

Sunday:
WU: before 6:30
S: 12:20-2:45
BT: 7:10 - asleep by 8 (I think)

Monday:
WU: I think it was before 6
S: 12:15-2:50
BT: 7 - asleep by 8:15/8:30
Coughing at 1 - gave dream meds.

Tuesday:
WU: before 6
S: 12:05-12:45
BT: 7 - asleep by 8:15/8:30

Today she was awake sometime before 6:30. I think for the most part she's waking up before 6. Before things changed we were doing BT at 6:45 and she was usually asleep by 7:30 and waking around 6/6:30. We pushed BT to 7/7:15 when she started taking way longer to settle to see if that would help. As a rule, she does take a while to settle down at night no matter when we put her to bed (at least 30 minutes) - I think she just needs that time to unwind.

[HenaV]

Hi again,

I agree with Katherine re: capping the nap. At this age R was doing I think 2h15m capped, maybe 2.5? - she borders on hsn (nearly 3 and still naps) so may not be the best guage for
You. Your time of the nap (around 12.30) with a 6am (ish) WU is fine IMO so I would try something like this. For 3 to 5 days and see what it brings:

WU: 6am?
Nap: 12.30 (capped at 2h)
BT: 7pm (asleep by/13h after WU)

As a general rule of thumb, you can move the nap by up to 15m and BT up to 30mins early if the nap is short.'

So, what do you think?

H

[jessmum46]

I'd agree with Hena, sounds a good plan

[lily_layne]

I'll talk to daycare about capping her naps and give it a shot - it looks good.

[lily_layne]

So yesterday she napped until 3 (morning was rushed and I didn't have a chance to ask about capping) and didn't fall asleep until 8 and was up at 5:15. I was feeling very frustrated and stressed about another EW and then when I went in to get her at a more decent time (at least she plays quietly on her own), I realized I forgot to turn her white noise on last night! I was wondering why I could hear her tossing and turning more than usual. Although the short nights are stressing me out, I'm trying to remind myself that she's not crabby during the day so she is ok.

DH picked R up from daycare today and he never asks when she woke so I had to guess at a good BT and went with 7:15. She was pulling at her ears so I know these short nights are definitely catching up with her. Tomorrow we are going to the beach with her daycare group so it may be her first ever NND. I'm trying to prep myself to relax and enjoy the day and not spend it worrying about a missed nap.

[lily_layne]

These short nights are doing me in ...

Yesterday was a bit off due to a special party at daycare but she fell asleep quickly for the first time in ages.
WU: 6??
S: 1:30-3:30 (I woke her)
BT: down at 7 and asleep by 7:30

She only did a 10 hr night though and was up around 5:30. Today she napped at MILs and I asked her to cap her nap at 2 hrs so she did 12:20-2:20 (I think). I was hoping to PD around 6:30/6:45 but DH didn't bring her home until 6 and she still needed supper and bath so I didn't get her down until almost 7 and she's still not asleep yet (it's . She was really wired when she got home but she was rubbing her eyes during supper so I think it was OS from her day with her cousin and OT. She was crazy at wind down and I was getting really frustrated until, in a rare move, she threw her arms around me and gave me a big kiss! She must have known I was frustrated and needed that!

All of this brings me to my question - my next few days of work (the last week of school) are crazy and I feel quite stressed. Should I keep tweaking or wait until the end of the week when things settle down a bit? If she's OT tomorrow should I cap her nap or let her catch up?

[lily_layne]

She must have fallen asleep as I posted - thank goodness.

[Joy-filled]

Hugs to you lovely!  If these short nights are affecting both you and R, I'd personally continue to cap at 2 hrs so you can move her WU later.  I'm certain if I let A nap longer than 2 hrs he'd be doing less than 10 hr nights too.

Congrats to you almost finished the school year!  You have such a valuable and certainly challenging job - we need wonderful teachers like you .   R is blessed to be able to spend the whole summer with you and then it's just a few months until you're mat leave! 

[lily_layne]

You have such a valuable and certainly challenging job - we need wonderful teachers like you . 

Thank you. That's just what I needed to keep me going through this last week. My students wrote some wonderful books and we decided to have an Author Party on Thursday to share them. I was envisioning something small but it's turned into a huge potluck with parents, siblings, cousins and grandparents. I was thinking I must be nuts but you reminded me that it's worth the effort.

I woke her shortly after 2 hours today and she just seemed so tired for the first half hour and then was her usual self. I tried for BT at 6:45 but got a lot of delay tactics and silliness which seems to be happening every time I try 6:45 BT. She did settle down with a sharp "shh" from me. Not sure if it was UT or OT from a capped nap. Ended up putting her down at 7 and I'm not sure if she's asleep yet (it's but she was not banging around and being silly. How long do you think it would take for her nights to lengthen?

[jessmum46]

I'd give it a few days to a week.  You may need to cap further though.....

[lily_layne]

You may need to cap further though.....

I think this might be the case but I think all bets are off for now. She's either getting a cold or her allergies are acting up as she coughed a lot last night and had a really rough night. She coughed on and off in her sleep until 9:30 and then cried so DH went to her but she didn't fall back asleep until almost 11 and then was coughing and unsettled around 3 and up before 6:30. She was at daycare today and she napped from 12-4!!! Normally, I would really worry about what that would do to her night but she usually coughs for a few nights in a row so I think she needs to take sleep where she can get it right now.

For the last few nights she's been claiming she needs to pee multiple times during WD - even after I take her and she pees. Sometimes she pees on the second trip but often she doesn't. Should I keep taking her to the potty each time she asks or do 1 trip and that's it?

[jessmum46]

Hugs, sorry she's not very well at the moment

We had a phase of the multiple potty callbacks too (some UT issues for us...I'm guessing it could be the same for you).  I posted at the time and the consensus was (in general) to take LO if they ask.  I chose to keep her in her room and take the potty to her, but as long as it's straight back to bed either way then I think they just get bored of it after a while as they realise it's not getting them anywhere.

[lily_layne]

I chose to keep her in her room and take the potty to her

This is a good idea. Thanks.

Today was:
WU: 5:30 (coughing hard)
S: 12:45-2 (daycare said they're not sure if she really slept, she coughed so much)
BT: Down at 6:20 and asleep 6:35.

If she has a good rest tonight but is up before 6, should I cap tomorrow's nap or let her catch up more?

Today was one of those days where I was really hating working full-time. DH ended up staying at our cabin for the night meaning I was on my own. It just felt rushed and stressful to pick R up, run to the store, get supper made and R in bed early and she was just naughty and OT wound-up at supper. I was actually hoping to get her down sooner but that didn't happen. I decided to give her an antihistamine to help her allergies which I hate doing but it must have worked because there's been no coughing. The silver lining was that I had tons of things I needed to do for school tonight so the EBT gave me extra time for that.

Is it possible that her regular BT is too late (7:15) and she's OT? I'm just questioning it because of how quickly she nodded off tonight. (Although I guess that could also be from the antihistamine).

Sorry for the rambling...I'm tired and my thoughts are scattered...