Hi
Thank you very much for your response and also your reassurance!! It so good to know that I have you supporting me with this! I really appreciate it!!!!
Unfortunately we did not have a very good night last night. She fell asleep in the pushchair at 9:00 pm. I then transferred her into her cot at 9:10 pm and she stirred a little, just mentioning that as she then woke at 9:45 pm, so not sure if that would be considered as a 35 min wake or a 45 min one.
Anyway, when I went in her eyes were open and she was crying. It was very hard to settle her! Usually she will fairly easily settle at this point but her eyes would be closed, instead but she was very distressed. I decided to give her some meds in case that tooth was troubling her but that may not have been the reason. She had had 2hr 35 mins of sleep throughout the day so perhaps this was too much or maybe it was due to OT. Of course giving her meds woke her even more and she then didn't go to sleep until 11:15 pm. Again I rocked her in the pushchair. She woke at 5:30 am for a bottle, but then went straight back to sleep in her cot on her own and woke at 7:45 pm.
So with regard to the A time. About a month ago she was only having 3 hrs A time. I was having problems putting her down for naps so I posted on the Sleep board and it was suggested that I extend the A time. I did this over a period of time. It was at 3hr 25 mins and then she got a bad cold and EASY went out of the window for about 10 days. When we went back to it she seemed to ease into it fine but one day I got a 35 min nap. I thought it meant undertired so I extended again. Looking at your responses though you have seemed to suggest that it may be OT so maybe this A time could well be too much for her. You did mention that it was slightly on the high side. Umm.. sometimes I think she may struggle a bit with this time, especially for the 2nd nap. Do you think I should reduce it or just hold it for a while?
OK so this is what happend today. She went down fairly well for her first nap, a little grizzly though. It was 3hr 35 mins in the end as she was grizzling during the winddown time. Obviously she didn't sleep well in the night, so I think she was OT. If she does have a bad night like that, should I decrease the A time in the morning or just leave it as it is, I wasn't sure what to do? So she slept solidly for 1 hr 10 mins but woke very happily.
In the afternoon, I kept her A time to 3hr 40. I usually put her down a 3hr 35 min and she then settles on her own for the last few mins. She was not happy when I put her down and was crying a lot. I took her out of the room and sang her song again for a few more mins. I could then put her in the cot and walk out of the room. She cried (not mantra) but immediately stopped rolled onto her side and went to sleep. Could she have been OT again? Should I have reduced her A time as she had only slept for 1 hr 10 mins, if so by how much? So this nap she slept solidly throughout. I actually had to wake her though as it was 5:15 pm in the eve. I chose this time as 50 mins had passed. A few days ago we were wondering if she was perhaps getting too much day sleep when she slept of 2hrs 35 mins one day and this may contribute to her early night wakes. I thought that by waking her at this time it would then mean she had a combination of 2hr of day sleep and perhaps see if that made a difference or not. When I woke her she could easily have carried on sleeping as she was in a deep sleep but she didn't cry like yesterday and soon was happily playing. The early part of the evening was fine too, she was quite content really.
So I put her to bed as you suggested 30 mins less then her usual A time. Her total day time was 12 hr and 35 mins. I did actually let her fall asleep on the bottle as I thought that it was better for now to do this, then push her in her pushchair, which always takes 30 mins or so and makes her more OT. Once we are on track with the naps then I'll think about getting her down without it so I know exactly what her A time before bed should be. I also gave her meds before bed too just in case her mouth is hurting. I think a small piece of tooth may be coming up now but it's hard to look as she won't let me for long!!
Anyway, she has been asleep for 1 and a half hours now and guess what, no early night wakes so far!!! So I'm wondering if only letting her sleep for 2 hr during the day has helped with this or maybe the 30 min less of bedtime is right for her not to be OT. For her not to do this is extremely rare. Umm... Any ideas?
Also I'm thinking that if tomorrow she does actually do a 1hr 30 min nap then for her pm sleep I may just let her sleep for 30 min sho she still only gets 2hr sleep in the day. If you think this amount of day sleep has helped with her not waking in the early part of the evening, then do you think this is a good idea. Or is a 30 min sleep a little on the low side?