Need help!

[Riley&Avery'sMommy]

My dd is 5.5 months old and has been a good sleeper until this week.  Suddenly, she will not let us put her down in her crib without screaming.  She is clearly ready for a nap but then will not be put down without crying.  She would sometimes take the pacifier but now even that won't work.  At night, she sometimes does the same thing yet once asleep, will pretty much STTN.  She has been crying for over an hour now and my husband and I have been taking turns trying to comfort her.  We don't want to give in and take her for a walk, or drive, or let her sleep in our arms.  Do we stop trying at some point because she is too worked up?  Feed her?  Get back on EASY for the rest of the day?  Why the regression and what can we do? 

[anna*]

Can you post her routine? Anything else going on ie teething/reflux? Do you use shush-pat or PUPD to settle her?

[Riley&Avery'sMommy]

Her routine varies day to day based on when she wakes but it's typically a 3.5 hour EASY.  She has been showing signs of teething for about 1.5 months (sucking on her hand, drooling etc.) and she's been on solids twice a day for about 4 weeks (as per my dr.).  What's confusing is that there haven't been any changes within the last week to cause this, it's just happened.  She would show signs of being tired and then settle easily in her crib for naps and bedtime.  Her naps can go from 40 minutes to 2 hours, she's not very consistent.  My dh and I just aren't sure if we should just skip the nap (it's been over an hour and a half now) or take her for a walk/drive.  We just feel that if we keep allowing her to sleep on us or go for walks/drives, that she'll start to think this is her new way to sleep. 

[anna*]

Do you use shush-pat to settle her? PUPD? I would try to settle her for a nap for 45 mins. If after that time she's not settling, abandon the nap, do a much shorter A time, and then try again for the next nap.

[Riley&Avery'sMommy]

The nights have been better--last night I did PU/PD 2 or 3 times and she settled herself to sleep.  The whole process took 25 minutes which is not bad for this week but longer than she used to take.  Naps are still a problem.  Yesterday she cried for over an hour while I tried to get her down.  Eventually she took a nap in her stroller.  Same thing today, cried when I tried to put her in the crib and finally I put her in her stroller and wheeled her around the house and now she's been sleeping 45 minutes.  What's more important right now, the nap itself or getting her to nap in the crib???  She does sleep in her crib at night and only will wake once,  (last night it was 3:45 because she pooped but I fed her and she went back to sleep until 7:00 with no problem) so is this nap thing just a phase?

[anna*]

I would just be concerned about the stroller becoming a prop. Do PUPD for 45 mins only for naps. If she's still not settling, abandon the nap altogether, do a reduced A time, and try again for the next nap. Can you write your routine out in EASY format, maybe it needs a tweak? Does she take a paci? I would use the stroller for the last nap of the day only, if the previous naps have been short.

[Riley&Avery'sMommy]

That's what I was worried about.  But I park it as soon as she's asleep, I don't continue to push it so she takes a nap.  She used to take a paci every once and awhile to settle for naps but now she's not interested.  My routine has been off for a week now so it's hard to even post it. At night she sleeps between 8-10 hours straight and wakes anywhere from 3:30-5:30 and then after feeding will go back to sleep until at least 7:00. She can usually handle about 2-2.5 hours of A and then shows the beginning signs of being tired at which point she used to go down easily.  Today after waking at 7:00, she seemed ready to nap at 9:15 but didn't get to sleep until 9:55 in her stroller.  She cried hard through PU/PD so I needed to stop because it wasn't helping.  She is on solids twice a day (eating solids for about a month now) and has been showing the signs of teething but no teeth yet for over a month.

[anna*]

When you pick her up, what happens? Can you describe to me what's happening when you're doing PUPD?

[Riley&Avery'sMommy]

First of all, thanks so much for all of your help 
I pick her up so that she stops crying (sometimes it's right away and other times it takes a bit) and then put her down as soon as she's settled. I rub her if she starts crying in the crib before I pick her up again.  I don't walk away until she's down but not crying.
 
After ending up letting her nap in her stroller this morning, I took her to my parents' house and I got her to sleep in her crib there for 1.5 hours!  I put her down and let her fuss around a bit and she rolled on her belly and went to sleep.  I couldn't believe it!  And now, I just brought her to her room after her last feeding, put her down once with no crying and in less than 5 minutes, she's asleep!  Both naps happened after about 2 hours & 45 minutes of A time.  I'm wondering if this is her way of telling me she can handle more A time and only wants 2 naps a day (4 hour EASY).  She ate (BF) at 7, 11, 3:30 and 6:30 with solids after the 7 & 3:30 feedings.  Could that be?

[anna*]

At this age, I'd really only hold for a max of a minute or two, then lay her down even if she's still crying and try again to settle her in her cot. I think you're spot on, and at 5.5 months she is almost definitely ready for a 4hr EASY, she should be able to manage about 2hrs 30mins A time by now. Keep an eye out for OT, and let us know how it goes!

[Riley&Avery'sMommy]

Hi Anna
Things have improved!!!  Thankfully, her nights have still been great.  After her bedtime routine she goes in her crib and usually is asleep within minutes.  I've been doing 4 hour EASY with no problem and keeping it to 2 naps a day.  As for naps, not only have I gotten her in the crib both home and at my parents' house but she's napped anywhere from 1 hour to 1 hour 45 minutes (she used to be a 45 minute napper for the most part, every so often I'd get lucky with a nice long nap).  Today I did a little APOP because despite 2 naps, her last one ended at 2:30 and I knew that would be way too much to handle until bedtime so my sister and I took a little drive and she got in a 30 minute catnap.  For my dd, I found that PU/PD might be too stimulating or confusing for her and seemed to make things worse. It was also a bit anxiety causing for me and I almost feel that she was reading my stress thus making it harder for her to get to sleep.  It made me really upset to think I was making things worse    It just wasn't pleasant for either of us. So I've given her more A time and then when I know it's nap time, I've brought her in her room, and layed her down in her crib.  I leave the room and watch her on the video monitor.  She doesn't CIO but more of a "fuss it out" and within 5 minutes, she's put herself to sleep.  I would definitely intervene if it got to a real cry but thankfully, she hasn't done that.  I also have the stroller ready as a backup.  Whether I take her for a walk or if I can't, just wheel her around the house, I'd rather she nap if she's tired than get more upset from PU/PD which was what was happening.  Plus, if I know she'll nap in her stroller, it makes me feel that if we're not home or at my parents' house where she has her own room, she can still nap and not be thrown off schedule.  So I'm seeing it as more of a positive because it works for me.  All in all I'm feeling so much better and I really appreciate all of your help and suggestions, it really helped!

[anna*]

What a great update!!! Well done!!!