can't seem to get rid of these EW's! argh!

[s_dhroliya]

hi, pls help!
my 18 month old daughter (who dropped her second nap about 2 months ago) is constantly waking up at 5/5:30am!  not sure what to do

here is her easy:

bedime: 6:45pm
ew: 5:00/5:30AM
nap: 11:00-2 (usually wakes up once @ 12:30 and we need to settle her back to sleep)

[ZacsMumme]

My first thought is that she possibly needs more A time in the morning to push out the EW but the resettle could be UT or OT

What time was she waking before the EW started and when was her nap at this time. I guess I'm really asking for her easy before things went wonky.

EW are rubbish, BTDT. Hang in there

[sianie]

Is she teething at all? There is a sleep regression at around 18mths that affects some LO's & this is usually a combination of teeth/ developmental leaps & a change in sleep needs.

[Spandanna]

I think the nap needs pushing later to be honest...I know it's an early start as it is but at 13months when DS was waking at 5.30 and we cut to one nap he was up at 5.30am and napping from 11.30/12ish and only then did he start waking later in the day...so by 18months he should be able to stay up a bit more (?) maybe try pushing that first A time a little

[Kay Dee]

Yes, I agree it could be the nap. It's a looooong nap (I'm very jealous of that!) but it sounds like it's robbing her night's sleep and needs to be pushed later.

[ZacsMumme]

My LO naps 3 hrs during the day sometimes, it has never affected nights as such, but if it is too early in the day it can cause EW. If you pushed it out a bit she may nap say 11.30.2 without a resettle which is just a good as nap asa 3hr one if she doesnt stir and may combat the EW.

Sian makes a really really good point! Teething messes with our nights esp in the early hours of the morning. 

[s_dhroliya]

thank you all so much for your responses.  these EW's are esp driving me nuts because im due any day now with number 2 and already not sleeping that well.

ok, so, before these EW's, she was waking up around 7:00 am, nap from 11-2 and bedtime at 7:30. 

she could be teething....shes 18 months and only has 4 teeth so far, so i hope she is getting some more, but cant really tell from looking at her gums

so if she wakes up at 5ish tomorrow, should i try and push her nap to 11:30?  is that a lot of A time?  and if she sleep from 11:30 - 2, what time should her bedtime be, considering her day started at 5am?

THANKS AGAIN IN ADVANCE! 

[sianie]

I would try a couple of things; 1/ give teething meds before sleeps to see if this helps 2/ try a nap at 11.30am & either cap at 2hrs or so or give a slightly longer A-time to bed if you want to keep the long nap. It's a tricky balance to manage EW's...too early a nap can re-inforce the EW but of course you need to be careful of OT building up too.

Does she have her 1st lot of molars through yet? It could be that these are causing some of the issues (EW's are nearly always due to teeth with my LO's).

[s_dhroliya]

thanks, just put her to bed at 7:30 today, so lets see how tonight goes!  fingers crossed
im not sure if shes getting her molars...i cant really tell.  shes 18 mos and only has 4 teeth, so hopefully she is teething!

[ZacsMumme]

Good luck for tonight

[*Kara*]

I am willing to bet that her 3 hour nap is too much day sleep - have you ever just gotten her up when she wakes after that first hour and a half of nap sleep?

I would push her nap out and set it at 12pm.  Regardless of her wake time - can you tell I LOVE set naps   I am also the mom of a kid who throws in an EW for fun once in a while now... after 3 months of them daily!

BTW - it's not actually an EW given her BT   An EW is less than 10 hours of night sleep

[sianie]

Hope you had a good night!

I would be careful of capping the nap by too much if that's what you decide to do....most LO's your DD's age are still having around 2hr nap until around the age of 2yrs old. Personally, I would aim for a 2hr nap to start with & then adjust from there if necessary.

[s_dhroliya]

thank you all for your advise.
sooo, she was up again at 5:30 this morning
i dont know what time to nap her today...should i stick to 11:30 again or will she get OT?  and should i aim for 7:30 bedtime like yesterday?
i will cap her nap at 2 hours today.

[sianie]

I would stick with an 11.30am nap, cap at 2hrs & then do BT for 7.30pm.....I'd stick with this for a few days to give her time to adjust & to see if it makes a difference to her WU time.

[*Kara*]

and if it doesn't, push it to 12noon