11 months EW, distressed at nap times, and in the middle of 2-1

[Jiinx]

Oh. Things were going to lovely. I had a nice tweakable routine for almost 4 months. Bliss.

Of course, things are unraveling faster than I can tweak. I've written and deleted this post many times thinking I knew how to fix things. I think I'm losing.

I'm not sure if this is SA or nap refusal, but it certainly is new.

She used to do 11.5 hours a night. Now she gets 10.5. If I put her to sleep at 7:30, she'll likely wake at 6-6:15. She also used do 2 hours of naps during the day - maybe a bit more but it wouldn't affect her nights a great deal.

For example, an EASY from the other day (yesterday was rubbish as we went out at night and brought her back home late - OT ensued and trying to clean it up today).

W: 6:15
E: 7:15
A:  6:15-9:45ish
S: 11:08 or so..not sure but I think her total sleep was 1 hr and 25 mins ..or 20
A: 11:10- 2:55 ..crying here for a 30 seconds. not hard..but I don't know what to make of it? SA? UT? OT?
A: 4:20 woke her
Bedtime: 7:30..no crying..put her down at 7:15 or so and she waited for sleep. Why isn't there SA at bedtime?

oh, I almost forgot to mention that she's crying out a couple of times during the night. Just a two second cry really and she goes back to sleep. I thought she was teething this whole time and that was what was causing all this crying and weird naps and sleeps, but..she doesn't seem to be bothered by teeth atm.

Just reading that back..I'm thinking too much sleep during the day? And this is where I delete the post. However, I keep waiting one more day to see what will happen and she's been crying consistently for most naps and waking up early.

What do you think? She's already getting close to 2 hours of sleep. Do you think she needs less than that? more A time by stretching bed time further?

oh, before all this weirdness started she was doing 1 hr 5-20 in the morning and 40 minutes in the aft. So not sure what went wrong..she seems to be doing more at times during the day..and this crying business is throwing naps off.
Thanks for reading!

[Tweakster]

OMG Sarah when did your LO become 11 mths lol?  This is what I get for going back to work.  All the babies grow up around me :-(

Sooo why don't you think it's teeth?  It sounds a lot like discomfort to me.  And some OT.

Honestly, at her age I doubt she needs less than 2 hrs in the day with even 11 hour nights, with 10.5 forget it.  She will get OT very quickly.  She could be low sleep needs (hey anything is possible) but I wouldn't hack the naps away too much just yet, maybe a slight reduction and not a later bedtime until she's fully transitioned to 1 nap.  She may need more A time, Finn was jumping pretty quickly by 11 mths, her A to bedtime is short. 

Have you tried a 45 min AM yet?  Are you aiming for long AM or long PM?

[Jiinx]

I know eh, Wendy. I still remember the picture of your finn surrounded by little balls. remember that one? He's grown into quite a little man.

Having really terrible naps and such.

If she is OT, Wendy she still doesn't cry hard or refuse bedtime..she goes to bed. She's a good sleeper, which is why I'm baffled. She's been doing about 2 hours of sleep time for two months now which is why I thought maybe it's time for her to get less?

Her A time bed is short..I agree. Hmm she usually just does 40 minutes for that nap and it ends around 4..then it's a cinch to bedtime.

She's been crying waking up for everynap..even after 1 hour and 20 minutes. Boredom? SA? She has one good day and the next is off. Sort of like reflux but she's not fluxing, or squirming during a feed nor is burping up anymore.

Ideally I would like a long AM, short PM..but I'm happy to try anything, Wendy.

[Tweakster]

Sarah Finn has always gone to bed without issue.  I can count bedtime resistance pretty much on one hand.  We have really been blessed with a good night sleeper too.  Yet he EW for what feels like years and he was a total crap napper until 1 nap.  He could get OT with the drop of a hat but still always be ready and happily go to bed.  The OT would just manifest elsewhere.  They do have natural biorhythms and such that develop and take them to bedtime.  Some LO's cope with OT better.

On the flipside, she could also be UT and just ed off that you keep trying to nap her lol  We haven't run into that often but it happens.

I think the 2 hrs day sleep pretty much carries them through to at least 18 mths and some even beyond until their sleep needs drop again.  Finn actually increased his day sleep with the advent of 1 nap.  I don't think I would drop the amount but just shift the way you offer it.  You may be on 1 nap sooner than you know it :-)  You also just may get a shorter night now, that also happens.

Let me think...it could look like
Awake 6:15
Nap 1.5 hrs @ 10:15 - 11:45 (A = 4 hrs)
Nap 30 mins @ 3:15 - 3:45 (A = 3.5 hrs)
Bedtime asleep by 7:00 (A = 3 hrs 15))

The final A is a long A on a 30 min nap, usually you start with 2 hr 30 but if she pulls off 11.5 hr night + a hefty nap in the morning, she may be ok.  Plus she was already doing a 40 min nap and 3 hr to bedtime so she is used to it.

If the 30 mins doesn't work, then you cut back to 20 mins and a slightly shorter A to bedtime, probably 3 hrs or 2 hr 45.

I don't know though, we never did long AM/short PM but sounds like that was working for you before...it may do again.

[Jiinx]

Hi Wendy,
 The only similar situation was the 5 month catnap drop. She would cry as I swaddled her..so I'm worried that I'm making her sleep when she doesn't want to. BUT when I used to put her to sleep early, she would just play and chat and then 10-15 minutes later she would fall asleep. I didn't mean to ignore your teeth question. It's still a snowcap..it's not budging. I'm not sure she's "teething" as the gums aren't cutting.

Thanks Wendy. I thought about what you wrote. Until she got on a good long nap/short nap her nights were short. Now they're short again. the crying/resisting and looking out over the crib is throwing me off. I've been doing a lot of patting her to sleep for some time. I'm really okay with early mornings, I just want her to be happy about sleeping/napping again!

I'm, surprisingly, not at 4 hours of A time yet. She gets so grizzly by 3 and half hours that it's almost impossible to get her to do anything more. She sometimes just falls asleep as I zip her in her grow bag. Usually this results in a nap that's over an hour long.

It's that second nap that she screams/cries for. 3.5 hours gets me a cry...4 hours is 50/50. Then I get a nap really close to bedtime and then I have to chop it once she finally gets to bed. grr...it must be nice when they're finally on one nap! No more guesswork on naps..ever!
Well, Wendy..I guess I'll just plug at it for some time. Hoping her fussiness dissipates soon..

[Tweakster]

Hugs Sarah.  It's tough for sure.  We had issues dropping the CN and then again at 2-1, usually Finn is ready to drop sleep long before he's ready to cope with long A times so it gets really hairy for some time.  You throw in teething or general baby unsettledness i.e. 'we don't know what the heck is wrong!' and hairy isn't strong enough a word :-)

If she's going down early like my dear son and struggles with A time in the AM, then you may need to try to get her on short AM/long PM.  Start with a 45 min AM and go from there.  It usually helps with their nights when they are on short AM/long PM.

Finn was a lover of his long morning nap and short A time so I know it's possible to switch it up, it just takes time and perseverance, and it's not without some resistance from them :-)

[Jiinx]

hugs. thanks Wendy. I'll try that ...today it was 1 hour and 10 minutes so I'm almost there anyways