Okay, update on my day so far, I have been writing down every detail (all times are approximate of course)
6:45 wake up, she actually woke up at 6:30, but I managed for her to soothe herself with her soother for 15 minutes.
6:45-6:55 E
A- 6:55-7:40 (put her in her bouncy chair had was happy and playing. She started fussing a bit and then I picked her up and sat with her a bit while I nibbled on my breakfast with her sitting on my knee)
7:40 started wind down
7:50 laid in bassinet drowsy and put my one hand on her chest and other on her thighs. I listened to ipod just to give me something to focus on
8:10 very slowly took my hands off her. She instantly jerked awake and started crying.
8:10 picked her up and spent about 5-10 minutes calming her. I then laid down with her and we snoozed
9:30 wake up
9:30-9:45 E
9:45-10:45 A- put her in her chair again happy and content while I showered (I always move her chair into the bathroom with me so I can watch her.)
10:45- start wind down
10:55 laid in bassinet ( I think I started wind down too late. Might take me a bit to figure it out)
10:55-11:15 laid hands on her again but as I took hands off I placed a magic bag (heating bag I warmed up) on her chest to initiate my warmth and weight of my hands
11:15-11:30 slept okay for a bit but then woke up at 11:30
11:30-12:00 picked up and couldn't get her completely settled and by then she was hungry so I fed her.
12:00-12:15 E
12:15-A- laid her on her play mat and seemed happy for 20 minutes. I ate lunch.
12:35 fussed a bit for 5 minutes
12:40-1:30 went out for walk in stroller where she napped a bit
1:30 got home where she woke up as soon as the stroller stopped. Seemed content so I put her in her swing for a change of pace
2:00 started fussing quite a bit and I gave up and fed her a bit to calm her
2:00-2:15 E
2:15 light A- cuddles on couch
2:25 starting to look sleepy so I laid down with her again because we were both utterly exhausted by this point so I just needed a rest and cuddles.
3:10 woke up
3:10-3:40 SCREAMED. I put her in the baby carrier to give my arms a rest and keep her close.
3:40 finally calmed and slept in carrier.
4:20 started preparing supper with her in the carrier.
5:00 awoke
5:00-5:20 E
5:20-5:40 seemed content
5:40 started to scream again but fell asleep again at 6:00
6:00-6:30 S- fell asleep in my husband's arms.
6:30 woke up crying again
6:30 bath, seemed to calm her a bit. Fussed a little bit in the tub.
6:50-7:10 E
Was somewhat fussy for about 20 minutes and my husband is holding her right now and she's awake. I will probably try to cluster feed her again at 8:30-9:00 and then bed.
So we started out on routine but really went off the rails mid afternoon.
I think my problem is I have a perpetually over tired little one. I just don't know how to get her to nap longer in order to avoid it. I also don't know how to really calm her when she's over tired. I was finally just letting her snooze on and off as you can see because I figured she was so tired I might as well let her try to get a little shut eye, but I don't know if that is the right approach. I can't even seem to get her to sleep longer than 45 minutes even if she's with me. Any suggestions? At this point I just want to see if I can get her to sleep longer than 45 minutes no matter what I do just to observe her temperment. then I can try to correct later maybe. I might try wake to sleep if I can get her down properly during her wind down which I think is a big part of my problem. I will try again tomorrow and see how it goes.
I have noticed that she is waking at about 5:00 in the morning every morning for the last week or so even if she only ate about 2 hours previously, when before she would usually sleep until 6:00-7:00. I will try wake to sleep at about 4:00.
I will give an update tomorrow to let you know how the night went, but in the mean time I am going to try to get some sleep tonight.
In the meantime, please send any suggestions you may have. I have had a trying day and I'm still tired from the last two days.
thanks so much for all the support! It really does help me feel better. I just feel so bad for my daughter. I want to help her so bad but don't know how to do it.