7mo... routine going WILD!

[litomi]

My LO's 7mo today, HURRAY. The sad thing is that our routine is falling apart
It's quiet a long story... all started around two three weeks ago. We started solid when she's 6mo then she had stomach flu and we stopped solid and switched to lactose free formula. She is getting better now with her feeding and hopefully will restart solid soon.
Her routine was like this: use to, not any more 
5:30-6 Wake up, Eat + go to granny's house
8:30-9ish Nap 1-1.5hr
10ish Eat
1ish Nap 1-1.5hr
Wakes up around 3, play
Bath around 4:20,
4:45 Eat
5:30-6:00 Bed
10 DF

Props: her fingers, sometimes water bottle.
Winding down routine: put her in her grobag, hold her upstraight, sing songs, shs/pat... until she lay her head on my shoulder.

This has been the third day by now that she couldn't fall asleep around her usual naptime + bedtime. 
I usually start winding her down when I see her tire cue (2nd yawn or eye rubbing). Her awake time is usually 2.5-3hr.
Couple of days ago, I noticed winding her down is actually taking me longer time than usaul. Everything is her new toys now! While I try to wind her down, she bounces herself, plays with my hair, etc. It takes me more than 1hr to wind her down!
Bedtime is a nightmare.... I put her in her cot at her usual bedtime, hoping her to fall asleep like she used to (within 20 min.). For the past few days she's been playing in her cot for another 1.5-2hrs!
Last night, I put her to bed at 6 and she didn't fall asleep until 7:30! She just played in her cot until she's exhausted   I could'nt do pu/pd coz she wasn't crying.... I could onlyd do wi/wo.
It's going really wild.... I tried my best to keep the routine, but my LO just wants her way 

Any suggestions? I really don't know what to do?

[yaya]

hiya! HUGS to u for going through a tough time! Firstly can i say that wi/wo is not really appropriate for this age, shes too young and if shes not crying then leave her be. It sounds as tho shes going through a developmental stage where shes learning new things and needs to practice them, I would suggest, lots of practice during the day!
Have u tried extendign her A tiem slightly? It looks as tho shes not tired enough for her naps/sleep. Does she go down well for her am nap? better for pm? or same for both?
I would try putting her down a little bit earlier for her am nap say 10 mins earlier and waking her up after 1 hr max then there is more A time before next nap. Altho keep in mind that u already have 3 hrs A time so u dont want to extend too much
Let me know how u get on X

[litomi]

Thanks Yaya, I guess DD is so excited about what she can do and she is a little explorer. She just plays and plays in her cot (in the dark) until she passed out.
I will try to do more practices during the day.... even though I'm actually doing quiet a lot already. Maybe stilll not enough
Do I just keep the same routine no mater what time she goes to bed?

[litomi]

Hihi, My LO woke up this morning around 5:30 (her usual wake up time) and I started the day even though she didn't get enough sleep. Only 9.5hrs solid sleep
She only slept 45min. for her 1st nap My spirited LO, when she is awake, she is awake... it's hard for me to put her back to sleep
Anyways, I was able to put her down for a catnap between 3:20-4:00. We did our bedtime routine and LO went to sleep 7:00! Earlier than past few days Hopefully she will sleep through the night.
Maybe 5:30-6:00 is a little too early for her bedtime. 

[yaya]

i would say 5.30 is a bit too early foe bedtime but if shes before 6 then def in bed by 7

[Pitkin2]

Hi

My LO is also 7 months this week and is awake by 5.30 but normally 6 am.   I've noticed that your LO has good nap times and I think would easily be able to stay up for a 7 pm bedtime.  My LO has his last nap around 4pm for about 20-30 mins as he has a longer morning sleep and a sleep of 45 mins at lunchtime.

My LO has started to have longer activity periods and will (even if tired) sing and blow bubbles for about 15 -30 min now when he goes to bed at 7pm.   I think if you put your LO down for 7pm then she will have exhausted her play time and should be ready for sleep.

Oh just to finish I make sure he has good activity time between 5.30 and 6.30 and I let him bounce around in activity centre or roll around playing with his toys to release all of his energy and then we wind down with bath. 

[rebecaq]

Hi litomi,

It definitely sounds like your lo has hit a developmental milestone.  They always have a way of shaking things up don't they?  What does her A time consist of? She may need more physically challenging acitivities to ensure her she gets tired enough for a good nap.  Spirited babies need more prepartion in wind down than other babies (learnt that the hard way!), so since she's more aware of her surrondings and exploding with personality the message of "Now we begin to relax" needs to be more clear or she will just race right by it and not even notice it.  so maybe start lower key and calmer acitivties sooner than before to give her time to adjust to sleep time

- Beca

[litomi]

Thank you all for sharing those wonderful ideas. I have cut down the first nap time to 1hr and extended the 2nd A time. She now takes 1.5-2hr nap for her 2nd nap. Yesterday she even slept for almost 3hrs! I do try to put her down for a little catnap (20-30 min.) around 5. I can see a big difference when she goes to bed at 7 instead of 5:30. She can sleep 11hr solid in the night. Maybe she is not ready to drop her catnap.... even though it's really tough to put her down for that catnap. We'll drop the catnap when she can wake up longer.