Bedtime.. too early or too late??

[jasmynesmum]

Until last week DD has been a wonderful sleeper.. falls asleep independantly, sleeps for 12 hrs per night and wakes happy etc..   well, starting about a week ago she has cried everynight when we put her to bed...  We do WIWO and also stand outside her door shhhhhhh'ing her which stops her crying until we walk away again.. this has been lasting about 30 minutes when she will then fall asleep...

so... is she OT??  am I putting her to bed too early?? or is out routine fine, but she is just suffering from SA..

7am awake
12.30ish -2pm ish nap
7pm bedtime...

She has always slept 12 hours at night from about 5 months old....

What do you think?

[RachelC]

Maybe a slightly later bedtime, like 7:30.  Keep the same routine going and jsut have some quiet book reading, song singing, etc from 7-7:30.

[jasmynesmum]

I'll give it a go!!  she shows sleepy signs though so thats why I am confused.

[SallyDom]

Hi there,
How old is your lo? I think it's maybe part of SA and partly a stage that they go through that they suddenly start to complain at bedtime. I would keep consistent in the bedtime routine and be aware of not getting into AP. We got stuck in the habit of shushing at Dom's bedroom door and then we couldn't get away! We would stand there for ages and ages, nightmare. Wi/wo has worked wonders for us.

By the way the picture of your little girl is adorable, she looks so happy, I bet her smile is infectious.

Sal
x

[jasmynesmum]

By the way the picture of your little girl is adorable, she looks so happy, I bet her smile is infectious.

Sal
x

Thanks!!

She is 19 months....   

So when you WI/WO do you just go in say "night night" or whatever it may be, and then walk out again and just keep repeating that?

[Layla]

I think she probably just doens't need as much sleep. Isabella went down to 1.5hrs for nap & 10.5hrs at night since she was 2yo.

[brightside]

If she regularly shows tired signs at 7pm perhaps she is getting too tired by the time you take her up? Perhaps she needs more of a wind down so take her at 6.45 so that she is ASLEEP by 7? I do think this is a very common phase though-I find bedtime really hard to judge with my 20 month old too. 

[jasmynesmum]

Thanks ladies!!    I guess its back to trial and error for the next few days etc!  I am really worried about her getting into a habit of crying when I walk out of the room...  its been about a week now!  Last night she cried until 7.30 but whilst i was stood in her doorway she was quiet but when I walk away she cried again..  she did not get up, she stayed laying down snuggled to her lovey..   wierd   

[SallyDom]

I think wi/wo sounds like a good idea, if she is quiet whilst you are stood there but gets upset when you walk away then wi/wo may teach her that you will return and she is fine to go to sleep on her own. 

The idea is that you lay them down and say night night to them (something like, time to go sleep now, mummy loves you very much etc.) and then leave the room. If she gets upset (properly upset, not just whingy) go back in and lay her down and then say exactly the same thing again and leave. Don't stay around for too long, Dominic sometimes will throw his teddys on the floor for me to pick up. If he does then I leave them on the floor, otherwise we'd be there all night picking up the teddy!

Be prepared for the long haul the first few times. It took an hour of walking in and out the first 2 times with Dom, then it was half an hour, now three weeks later I don't usually have to walk back in more than 2-3 times.

Let us know how you get on
Sal
x

[jasmynesmum]

May have an answer to our problem... she has developed a nasty cold in the last 24 hrs      I am wondering if the past weeks escapades were due to the onset of illness....  I suppose I'll find out in a few weeks when the cold clears!!   

[momofclaire]

I hope she feels better soon.
Myia