My 12 month old seems to have unpredictable night wakings, and widely variable nap times.
Usual routine:
7:00 AM – E – wake and have bottle
7:15 AM - A - playtime
8:15 AM – E – breakfast – solids
8:30 AM – A – more playtime
9:00 AM – S – morning nap – usually 1.5-2 hours
10:30/11 - E – snack
10:45 AM – A – usually out to do errands, play dates/play group, etc.
12:00 PM – E – lunch – solids
12:15 PM - A – play
1/1:30 PM - S – afternoon nap – usually 1.25-1.5 hours
2:30/3 PM - E – bottle (snack)
3 PM - A – playtime
5 PM - E – supper – solids
5:30 PM - A – play
6:30 PM - E – bottle (snack)
7:00 PM - A – bath
7:30 PM - S – bedtime
I am most worried about her random night wakings. She will sleep through the night for many nights and then start waking – unpredictably. Sometimes wakes after 1st sleep cycle (around 8:30 PM) – other times wakes at different times - as late as 1:30 AM or so. Usually easily put back to sleep but I worry about her not getting a good night sleep. Sometimes wakes and takes 1 ½ hours to get back to sleep but this is more and more rare. Wakings happen more often when routine is off – understandably – but are very unpredictable – sometimes when we are right on usual routine. Some nights I hear her wake and she is able to put herself back to sleep – other nights I have to go in - I usually just cover her back up, rub her back a few times and then stand there and talk to her "Sh", "night night", "go to sleep". Some nights wakes once – other nights multiple times – last night did not even appear to get a whole sleep cycle in – waking about every 15 min to ½ hour for an hour and a half (11-12:30).
Naps – similarly – sometimes goes well with above routine – sometimes even sleeps 2 hours morning and another 2 in the afternoon
. Then some days she wakes after only 45 minutes. If she falls asleep in the car – really fights going for nap after even if she only slept 5 minutes.
I know her activity time seems short but she is showing every sign of being ready to nap in the morning after only 2 hours – rubbing her eyes, clingy, whiny, etc. Usually fusses for less than 5 minutes and then is asleep. Same in afternoon. Then has a long activity time in the evening (often 4 ½ hours) and does not cat nap at all.
I should mention that my dd was 5 weeks premature so developmentally she is more like 11 months than 12. She is crawling a mile a minute, cruising around furniture and on her walker, close to walking but not quite there. She has cut 3 teeth with a 4th coming – ironically seemed to sleep better when teeth were coming through!
Any suggestions???
