Sudden jump in A time after wonder week or overtired?

[Honeymonster]

Ok my head is spinning today as I can't figure out what's going on? Last week we had a great week and have been for the past little while. My 18wk old (2weeks overdue) LO has been happily self settling in cot and buggy for the past couple of weeks but is especially good in the cot just now. Last week was great and she's also just come to the end of the wk19 wonder week I think as has been a lot less fussy and attention seeking and has gone back to being quite content playing on her mat etc., but yesterday we had to upset the schedule slightly due to a vets visit.. She then decided not to take her nap in the buggy (but was quite happy singing and squealing away- by the time we got home I tried to put her down early for another nap as I thought she must have been tired and she just wouldn't go to sleep, just squealed and played in the cot with little crys in between. 3 seperate occasions I tried to put her down (giving a wee top up in the living room then taking her back and doing full wind down ) on the third time she fell asleep within two mins. So we had an early bedtime last night and planned on going strait back into the routine today but she just doesn't seem to want to sleep. I know she knows how to settle herself so when she's really tired she can fall asleep now in minutes flat. Do you think we've just messed up from being off schedule yesterday or is there something else going on?

Is it normal to have a sudden jump in A time after coming through a developmental leap. Last week out easy looked like this:

Wake:6.30 (I'd leave her playing in the cot until 7)
E:7.15
S:8.30-9.30 (wakes happy- I know this is a short nap but if she takes a 1.5hr nap she generally doesn't sleep well at lunch, this has also alowed us to take this nap out if need be)

A9.30-11.45
E:11
S:11.45-1.45

A:1.45-4
E:2.30ish
S:4-4.45 (sometimes in buggy or car but generally at home)

A4.45-7
E:6.15
Bed:7

All last week we pretty much stuck to this and she was going down happy and waking happy (apart from after the last nap she usually wakes crying) and for the past week didn't wake up 45mins after bedtime (which she had been previously)
We don't do a dream feed and she will wake once in the night anywhere between 1and 4am and take a full feed and go strait back down. I've tried at times gettin her to take a longer afternoon nap but she never will
And we've found this routine has been the most manageable so far while still having a life outside of home as if we do need to take the morning or last nap outside and its a bit short it's not detrimental.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Do you think she's ready for a push on her A time?

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Hmm, if she isn't settling I would be thinking she needs more A time, though I suppose the previous day being off routine could have been part of it. I have always wondered if being overdue should be taken into account or not when looking at average A times. I suppose the best way to find out is to push them out a wee bit and see if she settles better.

[Honeymonster]

It's strange yesterday just felt like she'd forgotten how to self settle, in a day. She just wasn't for going to sleep. She took her morning nap then was 3hrs A time before I managed to get her to take her lunchtime nap then she only slept for 1.5hrs.. Normally she'll always sleep for 2hrs at lunch if she passes 45mins, then she wouldn't take her afternoon at all.. Totally appealed it, so had an early bedtime at 6pm- went down really well for this.. No tears, woke up after and hour and resettled her then she slept through till 7 with a wake up at 3 (this wake up she was very chatty)

Gonna stick with her usuall routine today but really closely watch her cues and maybe stretch her second wake time a little and see how we go,

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Fx that it works out today! Chatty nw's here usually mean under tired though!

[Honeymonster]

Yeah that's what I thought but everything else is telling me she's ot. Last three nights she's woken up after BT and cried and needed resettled. But just wasn't for taking her naps again today! Woke after 35/40mins from morning nap.. I didn't even know she was awake cos she was quietly playing away in her cot. Then lunchtime nap when I put her down after 2hrs15 she played for 40mins before falling asleep. But before I put her down shed been rubbing her eyes tired. Normally if she's that tired by lunchtime nap if she wakes after 45mins I cuddle her and she goes right back I sleep and is out for the count but this time I tried to cuddle her and she just kept going into a very light sleep then waking back up. I managed to cuddle her and we went in and out of sleep for another 30mins then woke up, that was 1.30 and until bedtime she only had a 20min nap in the buggy since then!! I don't know what going on! I'm worried we're getting into some seriously dodgey ot territory but don't know how to correct it.. I'm trying but it's just not happening! She knows how to self settle.. It's not like she's crying when going down.. There's no way she can go from 2hr awake time and suddenly jump To 3 hours!  I'm starting to think she's too much of an angel baby these days she's tired but would just rather play!

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

No I wouldn't think a jump that big would happen so quickly for most babies! How are things going now?

[Martini~]

My experience regarding wonder weeks is that DS is usually messing with sleep and awake time. One day doing extremely longer than usual, next day very sleep. It usually takes only couple of days to get into a kind of new routine but still these days are really tiring!!! Keeping FX so your baby is better soon!

[Honeymonster]

So after debating stretching a time i decided if she was Ot then this would make things worse so yesterday I decided I'd trial a shorter morning A time instead to see what happened.. Had a day in the house with only a short walk and tried to keep things low key.. Result.. Two 2 hour naps and her catnap and still only managed and hour and 20mins after her catnap before bed! Didn't have a wakening after 45mins after bed either! So I think she needed some catching up after all.. I don't think she's had 2 x 2 hour naps since she was about 8 weeks old! I think after our busy day on Monday I maybe should have shortened her A time slightly the next day as she had catching up to do but by keeping it the same and still having outings too its just thrown her off a bit maybe. She's just been so good and happy since coming out the other side of this wonder week (or wonder 5;-) its quite hard to read her sometimes. Yesterday after her two long naps I wasn't sure if she needed the cat nap as wasn't really showing signs she just went strait to hyper as she normally does in the afternoons but I put her down after 2hrs anyway and she screamed the moment I put her down.. A 'I want to play get me up' type scream.. I was just about to pick her up when I saw her eyes go all heavy and she was out like a light!

Lets see what today brings. It's so much easier to read her and do naps when we are just at home alone and don't have other distractions - not really a life though!
Thanks for the support folks! X

[Honeymonster]

Ps she's just taken her morning nap with both arms unswaddled!! So chuffed Bad timing I know but its so hot here she's been having to sleep in just a vest with her legs unzipped hangin out the bottom as she's getting to warm and she's also very close to rolling back to front so we really need her out of it ASAP I think.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

We used a light weight sleep sack in place of a swaddle, still a cozy feeling but safe for a roller! Sounds like she did need some catch up. It is easier to read them when there are no distractions but for sure staying in all the time is not good either - it gets betterbas they grow and are on less naps leaving more wiggle room to be out and about!