Overcoming OT and EW plus WI/WO and GW

[anna*]

How did the night go?

[ashleycp]

It was ok. She slept until 4:30a. We decided to not do WI WO for EWs bc I'm afraid we would do it for an hour and she wouldn't go back to sleep and be exhausted all day. we sat in her room until she fell asleep and then she slept until 6:45.

Is that a mistake? Should I do WI WO for EWs? We are planning to do WI WO for her nap this am.

I was planning to fix the OT first but it seems like her inability to settle herself is part of the reason she is OT.

I have to say that WI WO wasn't as bad as I thought. She never got hysterical which was important to me.

[anna*]

Realy glad that WIWO is working out. I wouldn't use it early in the morning either, for the same reasons you mention. And yes, OT and independent sleep are totally inter-related and so hard to fix one without the other.

Fingers tightly crossed for you that things continue to get better.

[ashleycp]

We had a horrible night last night! I don't know what happened. She had a good nap that day and everything was normal but then she woke every hour from the time she was down at 7:00 to about 12:30 when she just lost it. She became absolutely hysterical and began thrashing her body around the crib and in my husband's arms. It was a bit scary. Finally she signed to me that she was hungry so we got her a bottle and she slept fine for a while. She has never done that before and she had a normal dinner so maybe she is going through a growth spurt? After all that, she had an EW of course. Her nap was good today (2hr) so maybe we will get back on track tonight.

What do I do about these EWs? The WI/WO seems to be working quite well for nighttime and naps and she is falling asleep faster and getting more total sleep so I feel like we are beginning to beat the OT cycle, but she keeps waking anywhere from 4:15 to 5:30. It's hard to do W2S because her EWs aren't a consistent time. Should I do W2S as early as 3:30 or is that too early?

Thank you again for all your help. I really need the support right now. The exhaustion is killing me.

[anna*]

(((hugs))) so sorry that things are still so difficult for you.

What time is she going to bed of an evening, it might be that her day is too long. How much sleep is she getting overnight, usually?

[ashleycp]

I'm trying to stick to the 13hr rule but not from her EW because we are managing to get her back to sleep with my husband lying on her floor. So, she is often waking at 4:30a or so and then we get her back to sleep after about 15 min and then she sleeps until about 6:30a. I try to get her asleep 13 hours after that so if she wakes at 6:30a I try to have her asleep by 7:30p. Do you think I should be doing it from her first waking?

I'm going to do W2S in the morning. Wish me luck!

[anna*]

Good luck! How did it go? Hm I thought the EW was up for the day, my mistake. Have you tried a 12 hour day?

[Buttonbobs]

Hi there, I've been following along and you've been getting some great advice from everyone here. I can see Anna has mentioned a twelve hour day. My DD does manage a 13 hour day usually, but if her nap is poor OR if her night sleep has been bad the night before she can usually only manage a 12 hour day. It is definitely worth a go.

It sounds like it has been hard for you recently, and I know where you're coming from as we've had very little sleep in the last month, but I do think you are getting somewhere & the best thing is to keep doing the wonderful job you are to get rid of OT and other things will fall into place more easily. What do you think about a 12 hour day?

[ashleycp]

It's almost 5am here and she's been up since 3:30a after a 12:30a wu. I think shes finally asleep but it took a lot of effort. I finally did WI WO. I'm going to do a 12 hr day and shorter A times today. I'm just confused about when to start the day when she has long WUs like thus morning but then goes back to sleep for a while.

[anna*]

I think you start the A time from when she wakes up next. So 3.30-5am is a NW, and WU is (we hope) 6.30-7am ish. Keep A times short (4.5hrs?) and bedtime early. Many hugs, hope you get a chance to rest today too.

[Buttonbobs]

Vibes for a restful day from me

[ashleycp]

Thank you! She took a 2 hr nap and I did too! We are shooting for a 12 hr day. I am hopeful she will actually fall asleep at that time!

[HenaV]

Good luck, got everything crossed for you 😊

[ashleycp]

Well, I tried to do a 12hr day but she wouldn't go to sleep until 7:30, pretty much 13hrs on the dot. That seems to be what happens with her. She won't do a 12 hr day. She was very happy and chatty up until 7:30 when she just went to sleep. We are still doing WI WO but it only takes a few times if we leave the door open. Door closed and its a different story!

Her day:
6:20a
11:15s (tried for earlier but wldnt do it)
1:15 a
7:30 s

Anyway, we will see how tonight goes.