15 mths/night wakings/early wakings

[Leesa]

I haven't been around in awhile. Things have been perfect. Up until a few weeks ago. This is what she looked like up until 3 wks ago:
630wake up
9-10 nap
115-2:45 nap
645pm sleeping for the night

Suddenly she went to
545 wake up
10-11:15 nap
2-3pm nap
7:20 sleeping for the night

Because of this second schedule going on for so long, she has started waking in the night absolutely frantic. It's not the kind of fussing that I could ignore. SHe was freaking out. SO I go, pick her up, give her a hug until she takes that deep "I've just been crying really hard" breath and lay her down. I can't lay he down before this breath because it means she is still freaked out. I've tried many times in the past and it just seems to be her "thing". SO thats her signal that she is ok now.

Anyway, now the schedule is all over the map and I dont know what to do. IT seems no matter when I lay her down or how I lay her down, she naps 1 hour in the morning and about 1.5 hours in the afternoon. But because of this day time sleep, her night time sleep is getting all wonky and I'm getting frustrated with her because of it 

I know in the past that I've had to adjust her routine and until I get it right, it won't fix itself. She doesn't adjust herself on her own.

I have taken a look at the routines in the sample routines area and would like to try some, give or take a few ... but does anyone have suggestions on where I should go from here, based on her routine of recent?

Thank you
Lisa

[MJMom]

Bumping for you.

[momofclaire]

Lisa,
Hmmm, this sound a lot like the 2-1 nap transition. I am going to pop this on over to toddler sleep. 

[Leesa]

nooo that cant be happening already!!!! ok i'll go loook for it over there

[Leesa]

Please someone help. This is what happened (hubby took the video) to my daughter today because of her transitioning I guess. She has *never* done this before. It was 4 in the afternoon. It was so sweet and yet so sad at the same time 

[Layla]

Awwww Lisa... bless her!!! She's gorgeous!

Yes, I also think that this has something to do with the 2-1 transition. Alot of babies start somewhere around 12/13months (some as early as 10months) so I think it might be time to change your routine around.

So I would start by cutting her morning nap down to 45mins & bump up her afternoon nap so that she goes to sleep for the night earlier. So something like this:

9:15-10am - morning nap
1.30-3pm - afternoon nap
7pm - bedtime

Then a few weeks after than you could try cutting the morning nap again to 30mins & again bumping up the pm nap

9:30-10am - morning nap
1-2.30 - afternoon nap
7pm - bedtime

You might find some days she won't want to take a morning nap at all or if she's not asleep by say 10am then let her have 1 nap around 11/11.30am.

OR the other way to do this is to let her sleep as long as she wants in the morning (be it 1.5hrs long) & slowly push that nap until its close to 11/11.30am (in increments... 15mins every few days). In the meantime keep trying for a pm nap but don't let her sleep longer than 40-45mins so that she doesn't end up going to sleep so late. She might take forever to fall asleep in the afternoon (or as late as 4pm) so I would let her have a very short nap if it is that late or don't let her nap at all and do a seriously early bedtime (be it as early as 5.30pm)

Alot are finding that shortening the nap works better than letting their lo's sleep long in the morning & then risk the baby not sleeping at all in the afternoon or sleeping too late into the afternoon & then that pushing bedtime too late....

Meals might be a bit tricky so try to work around her naps. If she's not sleeping in the morning then try a big snack & lunch after nap.

hth & let me know how you go
Layla

[Leesa]

Thanks so much Layla 

This is the plan: (6-630 wake up time)
Week starting October22 to Week ending Nov 6
9:15-10am - morning nap
1.30-3pm - afternoon nap
7pm – bedtime

Week starting November 13 to Week ending Nov 27
9:30-10am - morning nap
1-2.30 - afternoon nap
7pm – bedtime

Week starting Dec 13 to Week ending Dec 23
945am to 10am morning nap
1245to 245 pm afternoon nap
7pm bedtime

Week starting Dec 24th
6-630 wake up
1230-230 pm nap
7pm bedtime

That way, her lunch and snacks pretty much stay the same and she won't get over tired.  The poor thing fell asleep in the middle of playing! SHe's never done that before so I knew I had to make some changes in her routine 

I'll let you know how things go 

Lisa 

[Leesa]

SO maybe a small kink in plans. She has rotavirus. I dont even want to talk about the awful nappies I have had to change (and change own clothes  )

I tried to lay her down at 915. She complained on and off before finally falling asleep at 10:45am. I know I shouldn't have left her that long. I'm not sure what got into me Slept for 20 mins and back awake she was. REALLY cranky, refused to eat .. whatever.

So I laid her back down at 12:45pm and she is sleeping now. I'm going to let her sleep as long as she can as close to 3pm as I can.

I'm going to try to stick as close as I can to the routine becuase lord knows once I waver from it its months before we get back on track. I dont have months 

Any cures for princess attitudes?

[Layla]

Poor baby.... lots of cuddles & distract, distract & distract!!!

Week starting Dec 13 to Week ending Dec 23
945am to 10am morning nap
1245to 245 pm afternoon nap
7pm bedtime

Week starting Dec 24th
6-630 wake up
1230-230 pm nap
7pm bedtime

You might not even have to cut her nap down further than 30mins.... some go straight to 1 nap after 30mins... but otherwise you could do 15-20min catnap but the afternoon nap would have to be no later than 2hrs. (3omins - 3hrs A time; 20mins - 2hrs A time). Also once you are down to 1 nap, 12.30pm might be too much A time as well (from 6am). In general when they 1st transition they can only handle 5-5.5hrs & the same before beditme

See how you go over the next few days....

Keep me posted
Layla

[Leesa]

So she napped for 2 solid hours after that fight for the morning non-nap she had 

1245-245pm is what she napped.

So something like this then after a few weeks of 30 min AM nap......

6am wake up
11-1pm nap
6pm bedtime or 615pm bedtime?

[Layla]

With Isabella we did
6-6.30am wakes
11.30-1.30
6.30 bedtime for a while until she started waking up earlier & earlier for the say... which is when I pushed for 12-12.30pm nap.

With Jasmine I am doing
6am - wakes
11:15 (aiming for 11.30) nap (2-2.5hrs)
7pm asleep by

So bedtime no later than 6:30 if she wakes at 1.30pm so that she is asleep by 7pm & gets around 11hrs at night

So glad she slept more in the pm... I hope that the longer A time before bed will mean a more solid night!!!