Always OT or UT - HELP!!!

[Gina M]

Today we are having a rough day. She did not want to go back to sleep this morning after her EW of 5:30. I missed the window for her first nap, so we got only 30 minutes. I put her down early for her second nap, and it took a while to calm her down to get to sleep, and got 45 min. So I put her down for her third nap, again early, and she babbled for 35 minutes before falling asleep! UGH!!!
Someone is going to have to do PU/PD with ME soon. I am going crazy!

I saw another post about giving babies scheduled naps instead once they reach 6 months old. Is that true? I can't see my LO working that way. She is VERY behind on the A time of most babies her age.

[deckchariot]

oh Gina - sorry today is rough!  Scheduled naps didn't work for us, but I know it works for lots of moms - several in my birth club.  It actually didn't work for me because the A time was too short and Abby just would not go to bed.  I know some moms who do 9:30 and 1:00 naps (but their kids are up around 7), so maybe you'd want to try 8:30 and 12:00 naps with a catnap around 3:30 - going with a wakeup time of 6 for that.  5:30 is way early, I don't blame you for not wanting to start your day then!  I would say if she's ok in her crib then, start your day at 6 and try scheduled naps for 2 or 3 days to see if you have any success.  If not, then we can re-evaluate.  I suspect if you can find a routine that works for her, then you can conquer that 5:30 am wake up. 

If I lived closer, I'd come help  - you need a break!  Hang in there!!!

michelle

[Gina M]

THank you so much! I am not sure about the scheduled naps, but I love the idea. I got her down after 7:30am today and it's been an ugly day ever since. She can't handle 2 hours let alone 3!

[deckchariot]

no, I definitely wouldn't go for 3 hrs of A time - that's months off for you yet....like I said, I never tried the scheduled naps, so I can't really say....

So did she wake at 5:30 and you got her up and did 7:30 nap time (because of 2 hrs of A time)?  It looks like that 5:30 is becoming a consistent wake up time for her - maybe you could try w2s to eliminate that?  But it would need to be a pretty regular 5:30 wake up.

I would try to keep her as close to 2 hrs of A time as you can, I think she probably can do it - but may need some help for you to make it - have you tried taking her out - that's always been the best way to extend Abby's A time.

Hang in there!

[deckchariot]

Gina - check out this thread and see if it might be helpful - the OP is from a lady in my bc, and I know it worked for her....

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=117676.0

[Gina M]

Thanks for the link! I apppreciate it.

I am trying to stick to the 2 hrs of A time, I can't wait for more! I do try to slowly increase her A time, 5-10 min, but it always seems to backfire and I keep going back to 2 hours. She just seems too old for this. Sometimes she babbles for a while before falling asleep at nap time - I am assuming she needed more A time?
So - by going out is another way to increase A time? I take her out for walks in the stroller, but that is a wind down thing we do as the motion is supposed to make babies sleepy. Or do you mean out and about like the grocery store, etc?
Sorry for all the questions!

[deckchariot]

Abby still babbles before she goes to sleep, it doesn't necessarily mean she needs more A time - I kind of think of it as her talking to herself about her day before she nods off.

In terms of going out - I take Abby out in the stroller - she loves to look around and the fresh air seems to tire her out more - she does not fall asleep in the stroller (unless she's super OT), so I've found that's a great way to extend her.  But if your dd falls asleep in the stroller, then that might not work for you.  I do also sometimes take her out and about to extend her - if the weather's not good for walking.

[marensmama]

Just butting in for another perspective, with the getting out and about to extend A time... my DD1 wouldn't fall asleep in the stroller, but she'd 'zone out' to the point where there were times that her brain would think she'd napped and getting her down after would be much more difficult if not impossible.  But I do agree that in most cases they are so stimulated by being out that they 'forget' to be tired and it can be a great way to extend A time.  We live very close to grocery stores, malls, etc., so that was always a good thing to do.  A car ride for more than 5 minutes would put her to sleep if she was that close to needing a nap so we had to be very careful.

[Gina M]

Well today she decided she needed an A time of almost 3 hours, took a nice long nap, then could barely handle and A time of 2 hours and slept for 30 minutes. Sigh..... I'm now the one babbling! I can't figure her out!

[marensmama]

Could you split the difference and try 2.5 hrs or is that just silly??

[Gina M]

Hmmm..... I am not sure, but I'll try anything! 

[deckchariot]

Abby sometimes has days where she'll do 4+ hrs in the am, takes a great nap and is then falling apart after 2 hrs of A time, so it could be just a one off.  I'd say Nicole's on the right track - maybe aim for 2.5 and see....if she's not looking tired, you know she can do 3, so try to keep going....but if 2.5 is looking good, put her down.

btw Nicole - not butting in - helping out!  multiple perspectives are great!!! 

[marensmama]

[Gina M]

Thanks! She does seem to be able to have more A time first thing in the morning - which I know is not typical. This morning she did 2.5 hours, then took an hour and 45 min nap. I was surprised she could stay up that long because she was up on and off several times between 4:45a and 6:00a. She also got up at 2:45a and guzzled milk for nearly 30 min!

I let her stay up for another 2.5 hours after her long nap, and she slept for only 43 min. Not sure if she was OT or UT, but tomorrow (assuming all goes well) I will try and keep her up 5 minutes longer and see if she sleeps longer for her second nap.

[deckchariot]

Gina it sounds like you're making real progress!!!!  Abby's morning A time is now her longest (that switched several months back), so not all that unusual that your dd is doing that.  Let us know how tomorrow goes!