13 MO sleep questions

[Anmarnad]

Thanks to Naomi's great advice my DD has been on 1 nap a day since of May (she was 11 months then!). Things were going really well until maybe 2 weeks ago. She would nap 2 hours, sometimes 2.5. And could sleep through without a pip sometimes till 7:30 or longer. Well, at least I know she is capable of it. :-)

Recently, however, she has become much more eratic with her WU and wakes up crying (it wasn't the case before - she would just talk to herself in her bed or call me). She has 2 standard WU times now: 6:10 or 6:40. It would be like 2 days 6:40, then 6:10, then again 6:40, and again 6:10. 6:10 is a bit less often. But it's never past 7 any more (she got me spoilt quickly!).  I noticed that she starts showing signs of tiredness at 10:30ish already - we have half a hour (maybe less) when she struggles and then she continues again till 12:00. She still naps 2 hours minimum. If we get into a car in the morning (any time before her nap), she always falls asleep, so we stopped driving before her nap... we always go in the afternoon now.

My question is: could it be because of her routine? Or can I do anything to help her sleep a bit longer/more consistently? Do I push her too much with 1 nap?

Her (ideal) routine is quite simple:

7:00-wake up
12:00/12:15 - nap
14:30 - wake up
19:30/20:00 - sleep

Thanks!

[cath~]

Hi,
Your routine looks really good and if it's only recently stopped working it might be that there is something else going on rather than needing a tweak.
My first thought was teeth as this can often cause upset EWs.  Could she be teething her molars do you think?
Also, it could be developmental - have you noticed any changes recently eg waking/talking skills?

[Anmarnad]

I try not to blame teeth too quickly - she seems to be in a permanent state of teething since November last year. But yes, she is teething and I giver her paracetamol for the night when I see she is in pain. What worries me though that she is so tired in the morning. She wakes up too early and she is ready for her nap very early too. I keep her up, but then she is tired and cranky. She only really starts her day after her nap - then it's actually a pleasure to interact with her. In the morning she has no patience for anything and cries easily. That's why I started to worry that perhaps our routine is just too tough for her.
But ok, I will try to wait a bit more before I start messing with her routine. :-)
Thanks!

[cath~]

have you tried EBT?
she might be getting OT?  Perhaps try EBT (say 30-60 mins early) for a few days and see if that helps.

[Emami]

I agree it could be OT.  Her routine does look good and it's great that you're getting decent naps, but at that age my dd was doing a 12hr day even with a 2hr+ nap.  So something like:
WU 7am
Nap 11:30-2
BT 7pm
Maybe slightly shorter As might help? And stretch her out to a 13hr day as she gets more used to one nap and needs a little longer to be tired.

[Anmarnad]

Thank you so much Ladies! I will try doing everything a bit earlier then - today an earlier BT and as of tomorrow nap at 11:30 (today it was 11:45 and she is now napping for 2h and 15 min and counting). I will report back in a couple of days.

THANKS!

[Anmarnad]

Ok, so a little update from me. We are back on track finally and DD is sleeping again till 7 am. She has been teething for a while now and I was giving her paracetamol before I would go to bed ( I thought it could help her sleep longer).  And she was just tossing and turning and couldn't fall into a deep sleep. I thought it was from OT. But one night I gave her paracetamol when she went to bed, rather than waiting. And she slept through! And then again and again. So we are back to our normal schedule now (I did follow your advice to try to make sure she is not OT). Now I have to make sure she doesn't sleep too long during the day - no more than 2h 15 min.  Otherwise, like right now, she is a bit in a party mood in her bed.
So it was so simple... at least in our case. Looks like this first part of the night really determines what happens in the early hours of the morning...
Now the only piece of the puzzle is to figure out when she rally needs that paracetamol, and when not - this is sometimes hard to figure out.
In any case, thanks so much for your advice and help! She was OT from not sleeping well during the night and I think doing an earlier BT and nap + paracetamol at BT has broken the circle.

[Emami]

Thanks for the update, glad things are going well!

[cath~]

So pleased things are back on track

Yes, it is always tricky judging when it is/isn't teething..

[Anmarnad]

I'm back with a question. For a change it relates to the "other end" of sleeping. For the last 2 weeks or so it takes DD very long time to fall asleep. She "talks", laughs, plays with her dummy. Generally she is in a very good mood. But then as a result she falls asleep at 20:30 or even 20:45 ( I put her to bed around 19:40 or so). And still wakes up at 7:00. I feel her BT is way too late and it makes her night a bit short.
I'm usually not in her room, I come in only when she yells for whatever reason, put her down (she is usually standing) and leave again.
Our routine is still the same:
7:00 WU
12:00 nap
14:00/14:15 WU
19:30/19:40 in bed.
Does it mean she sleeps too much during the day? I don't think so... She is usually really tired and ready for her nap ( she goes down very easily then). Sometimes I even have to wake her up from her nap - don't want her to sleep 3 hours... Any ideas?
Thanks!

[HenaV]

Hi I don't think at this age 2h is too much sleep. I think my DD was having around 3h at 13m.

My DDs always a bit grumpy when I wake her up so every now and then (especially if we've had a busy morning) i let her have a bit longer - 15/20m. Might be worth a shot?

Could teeth be playing a part in keeping your LO up?

Hena