Dear friends,
I've been sticking with set nap and BT for a long while now. I was letting him sleep as late as he wanted (up to 8am) in anticipation of the time change, and he did it much earlier than I expected-- the result of a bad night with a long NW of course, so we are at the post-time chg schedule now. It's been 12 days of the target schedule below, but the A times and nap length has been the same routine for over a month.
There is still no regularity. Seriously. No two days/nights the same (or even within 15m the same). I do the +/-30m BT thing as needed and +/-15m nap, which more often than not seems to go wrong, b/c I'm not good at knowing when that is necessary, I guess.
Is this normal?
Am I doing something wrong?
I'm wondering if *not* being flexible with WU, nap nor BT will help? (I cap the nap b/c time and time again a too long nap has robbed night sleep. So I worry about how will he get the sleep he needs if I'm not flexible?)
What does it mean when he wakes up at the 10:30 hour night sleep mark and starts shuffling for the next 30m--- OT or UT? (I thought it was OT, because he is trying to go back to sleep, he's not happy wanting to get up. But EBT didn't seem to help on those weird mornings. Last night I tried 'normal' BT, to see if it was UT, and he woke up even earlier)
He's 21mos.
This is the routine that I'm trying to accomplish. When the time change comes it will shift an hour earlier and I'll hold it there. I don't know what the beans is going on. I don't think it's teething, sickness, or changes in life... nothing. I feel like he's super delicate with sleep and I have to do everything perfectly, and I just can't, even if I knew what the perfect thing was.
Target routine:
8 WU
1:45 in bed for nap, usu S by 1:55
4pm WU if not already
8:30 in bed, 9 S (usu. takes him 30m to really sleep, to stop moving)
Reality:
Thursday: (10:15 hr night)
7:30 fuss
1:35-4p nap (woke him)
8:30 in, 9 S
Friday: (11 hr night-- yay!)
7:51 fuss
1:50-2:30 SCREAM 2:45-4:10 Woke him
8:15 in, 8:45 S?
Saturday: (10:30+ shuffly snooze to 11hr night)
7:22 shuffle. 7:51 babble
1:45-3:52 Scream
8 in, 8:35S
Sunday: (10:30+ shuffly snooze to 11hr night)
7:11 shuffle. 7:36 fuss
1:38-4 woke him
8:30 in, 9 S
today: (10hr night)
7 babble (we forgot to draw the curtain, so it wasn't as dark as it usually is, but it was still dark--- the blackout shades were down, but the blackout curtain was not down)
I greatly appreciate any thoughts.
Amanda
