We're a bit off track over here....

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

So Austin's sleep has been wonderful, lovely, fantastic, etc etc for quite a long stretch there.  1 nap of 2-3h around noon, and nights have been 12-13h regularly.  When he had a shorter nap he would make up for it and the night would lengthen out - up to 14h a few times! 

Anywhoo....at the end of last week he started getting a little cold/teething/who knows quite what.  He's had a couple of short naps - ie waking up screaming bloody murder after a half hour - for which no amount of APOP would help.  He's also had pretty frequent NW during which he's equally upset and difficult to resettle.  He finally had a good nap yesterday - 3h - and today - 2.5 - but both last night and tonight he's jabbered for an hour before finally going to sleep!  What the heck? 

I know he's sick/teething/whatever so I figure I just have to go with the flow but what about this pre-bed babble?  He can't be UT since he's had so many NW, right?  And this routine was working beautifully until everything derailed.

Here was our routine until the other day...

7/8: wake up
11:45/12: sleep (we've been keeping this steady even if he sleeps in since he seems to do better that way)
2-3h nap
5h A time to bed

Any thoughts or do I just need to be patient and ride out this wonkiness?  I'm not sure I have too many other options.    I love one nap but it certainly limits tweaking!  I guess I could wake him in the morning (this morning he slept until 8:15) but I feel like he needs it since he's up in the night.   

[uropachild]

I know you say that he responds better to set nap times, but perhaps you could try working around set A times instead? Ths is how i've been working on getting DD back on track after lots of NW & EWs.

Try giving him 5 hours A time in the morning and then 5 in the afternoon, depending on the length of his nap. Perhaps you might even try waking him from his nap so that he has a decent length of A time before bed and doesn't end up going to bed mega late?

So if he wakes at 8am...

8am wake
1pm nap
3pm wake
8pm sleep

Before we moved DD to one nap or when we let her nap too late we found that she would wake up as you have described - very shortly after going to bed and with lots of NW's too. We deduced it was due to UT.

More recently her NW's have probably been down to the canines she's been getting through. Bloomin teeth!!

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

I know, teeth are the worst.  Thanks for the thoughts.  My gut just doesn't think this is UT, though.  I mean bedtime seems UT but the NW don't since he's so upset.  And this morning I was lying there and I realized that for the last couple of nights he's been waking at the exact same times.  The 3am one was really short last night - literally just one cry out - and then he woke again (predictably since I was lying there waiting for him to wake!) at 6.  DH had to go in since he was completely beside himself, and then after he settled him down, he talked to himself for 20 min and went back to sleep.  Same as yesterday.  So strange!

Who knows.  Maybe I'm just overthinking?

[*Jo*]

hmmm it sounds like teeth to me hun! have you tried medicating at all? doing a dreamfeed med to see if that helps the wakings?

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

I medicated at bedtime the last couple of nights (and will tonight - thanks for the reminder!).  I medicated at his 6am waking yesterday but didn't today to see and it all progressed exactly the same.   Will try DFing some meds tonight.  Maybe at least that will get us through the 3am wake?

[*Jo*]

That's what we had to do for awhile, we did the Df meds at midnight and that got us through the 4am-5am wakings

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Ok, will see if it helps tonight.  What do you make of the horu-long babble pre-bed?  He's up there now doing it but I just put him down so I'm hopeful it won't be an hour tonight but we'll see...

[*Jo*]

can be either OT or UT, Caleb does it for both so I dont really know sorry, have you done a good long wind down?

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Well it's quiet up there now (although last night it was quiet for 10 min or so and then he started up again so I'm not counting any chickens just yet!).  We're doing our same winddown as usual.  The other night when he did it we had just had friends over right before bath so that may have had to do with it but the last couple of nights we were just playing the 3 of us before bed, so nothing OS.  Hmm.  Always has to throw a puzzle in when things are going well, this kiddo!

[Tweakster]

Finn does this. We find that after a big day he tends to 'chat' more before bed.  It's like he's recounting his day to himself or something.  Annoying because it's often when he's on the brink of becoming OT and it helps send him there.  I think it's developmental though, even when we think the day has been mundane, it probably hasn't to him IYSWIM.

Luckily Austin has enough sense to make up his sleep at night, when normal people do!  14 hrs!!!  I could just get very green with envy right here right now lol

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

LOL, Wendy.  I know, I was so proud when he had shorter naps and those marathon nights!  My little boy os growing up.  

I see what you're saying about needing to process the day.  But you're exactly right that then he gets tipped over to OT.  But I guess there's not much we can do about it?  At least he has been sleeping in a bit in the mornings (nice for DH!), even if it's broken sleep. :/  The early part of tonight was definitely better and I'll DF some meds so hopefully we can all get a straight through night again.  (And this is when I can't believe we're going to do the nb thing again soon when this routine is making me tired!! )