Taking Forever to Fall Asleep!

[becky1969]

6:30/6:45 for sure.  That waking at the 45 min mark is OT marker.  Also, probably disturbed by teeth/cold.  Runny nose could just be from teeth of course, but it doesn't make it any less annoying for bub! 

6:30 still gives you a good 4.5 A time, which I've found is the magic number for my son while teething.  In fact, he's 2.8 and he still only does 4.5 hours A time before bedtime (does 5-6 before nap).  Give it a try today! Worst thing that happens is she takes longer to fall asleep and you have a more 'normal' bedtime.

[newmama12]

Well, I got her in bed at 6:40pm. She was definetly tired and laid right down, but she still didn't fall asleep till about 7:20pm, so 40 minutes. Better than 8pm! However, I think I know the issue. She can't breathe well b/c her nose is so stuffed. She's uncomfortable. I kept hearing her move all around trying to get comfy but her nose was bothering her. Poor baby. I think this would have worked if her poor nose wasn't all stuffed up. Her nose has only been stuffed for the past 3 days or so. Doesn't explain the the long time to fall asleep all last week, but I definetly think she would have gone to sleep earlier had she been feeling good.

[momtonb&ab]

if it helps, we put our guys down at 6:35 tonight and they were literally asleep by 6:45....crazy...... and today's nap was 2 solid hours, so i think this might be the right approach!

[skatty]

Actually when my DD has unexplained OT/sleep issues she often gets sick within the week so maybe she has been starting to feel a little rough and unsettled before the stuffy nose. Have you tried medised when she has trouble breathing at night? It is paracetomel with antihistamine so it clears the nose and takes away the pain of any aches and discomfort, when Leorah has a cold it is the best, one dose before bed usually means she'll have a good night.

[newmama12]

Skatty, is Medised like a Saline spray? We have that, but don't have Medised.

Well, I'm convinced my dd will only sleep 11 hours at night. She fell asleep at about 7:20 last night and slept till 6:15am. When she was falling asleep closer to 8pm (these past 5 nights or so) she was waking around 7am. Her nose is still all stuffed this morning, so most likely a cold. When she's better I'll have to see if things go back to 'normal.'

[skatty]

No medised is like calpol/tylenol but as well as being a pain reliever it has a decongestant too. If the troubles are caused fromthe cold I am sure you will get back on track quickly when she feels better and may even make up some sleep.

[becky1969]

Well, glad she fell asleep earlier! But don't assume because you got 11 hours this one night, that it will always be the pattern.  One thing we forget is it takes at least 3 days for body clocks to change.  You know how if you get in the habit of getting up at a certain time for work or school that you often wake up at that same time on the weekends? Even if you want to sleep in? Her body is used to 11 hour stretches, and so it will take a few days of breaking the OT cycle for her to get a longer stretch in. 

It *is* possible that 11 hours is her max, but I'm just saying its not a certainty, you know? Plus, it takes more than 1 night of early bedtimes to kill the OT monster! 

Poor baby with the stuffed nose! Have you tried a humidifier in her room? We often do that with my son.  Also, our ped recommends benedryl to dry out the nose.  We find that benedryl will dry it out enough for him to fall asleep. 

[jcsmom]

newmama12-sorry to hear that you are still struggling with the 2-1 too. I hope your LO gets better soon.
I find that 11 hour nights after 1.5 hour naps or less, are due to OT. Kind of like the 1.25 hour nap vs. the 30 minute nap. When we get 11 hour nights after a shorter nap day my DS is not so OT that he wakes after 10-10.5 ( a sure sign of super OT) but is just that wee bit OT not to do the extra he needs to make up for lost sleep, IYKWIM. I was the biggest skeptic of early bedtimes,. always have been, but they really, really work.

[newmama12]

Well, she went to bed late last night due to family in town visiting. Sure enough, another 11 hour night. 8:10pm till just after 7am. Hmmm. I definetly need to give it more time, like you suggested, Becky. Seems as if this is in coincidence with the one nap transition, cutting eye teeth and now her cold/stuffy nose. We'll see how nap goes. I am still going to do an early bedtime (6:30) unless some miracle occurs and she naps 2+ hours.

[newmama12]

Ugghhh! Same issue tonight! She napped from 12:50-2:50 (first time in awhile that it's been a 2 hour nap). I put her in bed at 7:15pm and it's 7:45 and she's still not sleeping. AHHH!! I can't figure out why in the world she's taking so long. Maybe we just don't have a good wind down routine yet?!?!

[skatty]

I think after a good 2 hr nap she could have probably done with just a bit more A time.around 5 hrs I would think.

[momtothomas]

Identical things going on here... DS is a week away from 16 months, has had a cold for a while, switched to 1 nap about a month ago, and is taking forever to go to sleep.  Last night it was 2 1/2 hours between bedtime (6:30 - I'm used to this early bedtime during this transition) and when he finally fell asleep at 9:00.  Not a peep out of him after that all night (it's 6:50 am here and he's still asleep).

[momtothomas]

Oh, and cutting big ol' molars on top and drooling like crazy...

[momtonb&ab]

i personally think the molars and 'i' teeth have a lot to do with this as well.  after reading this post and reverting to early bed and pushing nap time back by 15-30 mins (so 12 or 12:15 instead of 12:30) things are a bit better for us, but ds has one molar and two 'i' teeth threatnening the gums right now and he is just not himself.   but he seems better and resting better with the early bed early nap....

i wonder if we will all notice a change once those teeth have come through?

[momtothomas]

I certainly hope so!  Found out this morning that DS has an ear infection as well (high fever yesterday gave me a big clue), so that's just adding to the mix!  At least now he can take some medicine for that and hopefully get it straightened out soon.