Hi ladies!
It's been a while since I've posted. Took a little "time off" to try and sort out some of DD's sleep issues. Things have definitely improved some, but it's still a work in progress! Really, I'm not sure where my post should go because we have several issues including extended NW's, EW's and now fighting naps. I THINK DD may be ready for increased A times, but not really sure where to go as I"m fearful it will cause more problems with the NW and EW. The solution that really helped get things going "back on track" was shortening DD's naps and going to relatively set nap times (rather than just A times). It didn't fix things completely, but it certainly helped. I'm wondering if we are in need of another nap shortening or if there is another solution that might be safer. DD will be 9 months old on Friday. I'm going to post DD's typical day, but the NW's and EW's are different every day and, occasionally (maybe once every 1-2 weeks) she doesn't do either.
Usual wake time is 6:30 or 6:45 am (I control this unless she is already awake. Helps to start our day at the same time.) She has an EW around 5 or 5:30 am about once a week.
E 7:15 am BF, 8:15 am solids
A 3 hours 15 minutes if she wakes at her usual time. If she has an EW I hold her off as long as she tolerates without a meltdown.
S 10-11:30 am (I wake her. I think she would gladly sleep longer most days.)
E 11:30 am BF, 12:30 pm solids
A play etc.
E 2 pm BF
A 3 hours 15 minutes total
S 2:45-4:15 pm (I wake her most days.) **The past 3 days she has fought going down for her nap. Today was the worst and she wasn't asleep until 3 pm, so 3.5 hours A time.
E 4:30 pm BF, 5:30 pm solids
A 3 hours
E 7 pm BF and asleep within 10-15 minutes, sometimes sooner.
S 7:15 pm
Now NW's can happen anywhere from 1 to 4:30 am and they last 45-90 minutes. I don't go in to her room. She just babbles and fusses to herself and eventually falls back to sleep. It's just really frustrating because I know she needs the sleep ( and I really need the sleep), but she happily wakes and can't seem to resettle for quite a while. Then our day repeats.
So, any suggestions about needed schedule tweaks? Shorten naps more (like 1 hour 15 min for the first nap instead of 1 hour 30 min?), increase A times? DD has never been a 12-hour night sleeper, more like 11 hours. But with the extended NW's sometimes it's only 10-10.5 hours. No wonder she wants to take such long naps!!!! Maybe shortening a nap will build up more tired for nights? It's just crazy because she is VERY tired at bedtime, but then still has a NW and seems WIDE AWAKE and usually happy!
Also, if I do increase A times, what does that do to the rest of her day? Bedtime later? Not really sure what's next.
I would love to hear everyone's input on what may be the issue/how we might start to correct it. I've always received such wonderful advice and support here! Thank you all in advance. Hope to hear from you soon! Have a nice day.
Erica
