Hello dear ladies!
I need your help with my 14mo spirited guy. He has never been a good napper, from 2 till 8 months I was struggling with short naps (he slept longer only on me), but after 8 months the situation improved a bit and when we were at home (not visiting family) he would have two naps per day and it was relatively easy to put him down: when he was showing signs of tiredness I would take him to his crib and he would fall asleep all by himself. About 2 months ago he started being difficult to put down for naps, he has a very strong FOMO I think.
3 weeks ago he was sick and of course nights and naps were a disaster but now he has been well for about 1 week and a half and I want to stop having what feels like screaming fights with my son to put him down for a nap. Now he just fights me for naps most of the time, some days when he is tired he would nod off while we are reading a book, but any attempt to put him down in his crib results in a lot of screaming, I mean really a lot, I tried to do a wi/pd/wo method for 2 days and gave up because I just cannot take that much screaming and I am also a bit scared for his health as he would get so wound up that he would be kind of choking/coughing and then I pick him up and he would fall asleep in my arms anyway, but then sobbing and shaking and screaming in his sleep from time to time. After 2 days of trying to put him down for a nap with so much trouble I just gave up and I let him fall asleep in my arms and then transfer him to his crib or put him next to me in our bed.
Important to note that somehow the BT is not affected, I guess having a clear bottle-bath-bed routine since birth at least helps with that.
I will post our last couple of days that I was writing down:
sunday 14/02
WU 6-30
S 9-30 (was freaking out because of tiredness and was falling asleep in my arms, I let him fall asleep wait for -10 min and hen put him in his crib), I woke him up at 10-05 to have enough time for a 2nd nap
S 13-45 till 15-00 (slept next to me in our bed)
BT 19-15
NWs: ~23, ~2, ~5
monday 15/02
WU 6-50
S 12-00 till 13-20 - he cried a lot, and was kinda hysterical, arching his back, screaming, kicking around, it was quite intense and scary, then I walked and rocked him back to sleep for about 10 min but he woke up the moment I tried to slide him down next to me in our bed, so he slept from 13-50 till 14-00 or so
BT 19-20
NWs ~ 21, ~4 - at 4 he would quiet down for 10 min, then would start screaming again, I was in and out of his room for 1 hr, but at ~5 he fell asleep with 6-40
tuesday 16/02
WU 6-40
And i could not put him down till 13-30, he fell asleep quite easy (in my arms while reading a book), I put him down next to me in our bed, he woke up at 14-10 - again screaming, kicking and fighting me hysterically but then fell back asleep till 14-50 (fist in my arms, then next to me) , at 14-50 woke up screaming
BT 19-10
Also, as you can see from above, we are suffering from NWs, when he wakes up and then stands up at night and screams. I try to do wi/wo, but if he is standing up I go in, put him down, pat his back and walk out. Is this the right approach for NWs? Because he started having them about a week ago and most of the nights it is around 23, then 2, then 5.
And yes, we are in the very midst of 2-1 transition, some days he sleeps 2 times, some days one.
So, any idea how to put my spirited guy for a nap without having my eardrums pierced and his nervous system destroyed???
And additional question about crib bumpers: are they safe to use at this age? Because now he sleeps in a travel cot with mesh sides that we borrowed from a friend and now have to give back, but we also have a proper baby bed, so we could buy a set of bumpers and transfer him into baby bed. Or we could buy a travel cot of our own. Does any of you have experience with crib bumpers and toddlers? Because when I look them up in online shops, they say that they should be removed once the baby can pull himself up to sitting position.
Thanks a lot in advance for your help!!!