Overtired Monster has come to visit

[shimzy]

So I did it - The overtired monster has come to visit. I have obviously misread her cues and am a totally bad bad mommy for it  I know I know I'm not but I feel so bad that I've caused this 

We were doing this (been following this for 3ish weeks):
7am wake & bottle 6oz
8am - 1tbsp solids (introduced for the last 2 wks avocado, strawberry, peas, carrots sort of thing-no cereal)
9:20-11am - nap (wakes on her own)
11am - bottle 8oz
1:30/2pm - 3/3:30 nap (most days its 1:30-3pm)
3/3:30-bottle 6oz
6pm - bath
6:15 massage, bottle, pyjamas 8-10oz
6:30 - sleeping by 6:30pm

Now looking at that above routine - you'd think there was nothing wrong with it, or maybe it's just something I am not seeing. Am I asking too much for a 3 hr awake midday and 3.5 hour awake last part of the day?

I was going to try and back her down to this routine:

7am – wake up & bottle
8am - solids
9am-10:30 – nap
11am – bottle
1pm – 2:30pm – nap
3pm – bottle
5pm-5:30 – catnap
7pm – bath
7:15pm – massage, bottle, pyjamas
7:30pm – sleeping by 7:30pm

But that means reintroducing the cat nap.

She has been teething on and off but we give her motrin and she still wakes constantly at night (she does not wake during her naps at all) complaining (with or without her soother, she gets up and cries a long long overtired cry).  When she is sleeping at bedtime (usually 6:30pm sleeping) she does not wake until around 10:30. We haven't done the dream feed for a long long long time now. Her waking times are very random, some nights are worse than others, some nights she wakes once, some nights she wakes 6+ times a night. There never seems to be any indicator as to what it is.  But I am almost certain I have caused her to be overtired.

For her afternoon nap, if she goes down for 2pm I have to give her a 4oz bottle because she is hungry and won't properly nap. If she lays down at 1:30pm I don't have to feed her and she feeds at her regular 3pm.

[rebecaq]

Hi and  {{{HUGS}}}

You're not a bad mommy   

I have a few questions for you.

How long ago did you drop the catnap?
Has she hit any milestones lately?
Could she be at the tail end of a growth spurt and it's interrupting her sleep?

- Beca

[shimzy]

We dropped the cat nap at about 5 months (give or take a wk) so about 4-5 wks ago.

I haven't seen her doing anything out of the ordinary as far as milestones go.

Her growth spurt finished about 2wks ago and her food intake has not been on the uptake so I am pretty sure she is not in a growth spurt.

She is definitely teething - flaming red cheeks and a constant chewing/drooling. I give her things all day and night until the teething stops.  She has some mild diarrhea but it still has consistency like pb. 

SHe does really well from bed time (6:30pm) to about 1am ish. And then its up and down up and down. She is not hungry because sucks a few times and then turns her head away.

[rebecaq]

Well, I definitely think it's the whiplash of the growthspurt and the teething that have her out of sorts.

Thankfully her naps are good, as you said, and for nighttime try to keep her comfortable with Tylenol or Motrin and maybe some Oragel.

Don't try to feed her in the wee hours of thte morning, especially if she turns her head away. Try not to create a bad habit where there isn't one  .  When she wakes again offer her some cold water and maybe more meds to help her sail the rest of the night more comfortably.

Let me know how you get on

- Beca 

[shimzy]

Thats a good point about the meds. We have 8 hour motrin and well about 7.5 hours into her night is when things go awry.. maybe its just her teeth 

I'll try offering her another dose at that time and see how things go.

I'll let you know.