How can I get her on a routine, without risking OT?

[newmama12]

Jcsmom, yes, we could definetly use our own thread for inconsistent sleepers. LOL! But like lesori said, we're all in it together! I am grateful to have others who are going thru similar things with their lo's.

J finally fell asleep at about 7:10 last night - took 40 minutes. Not happy about that. I wish it didn't take her so long to fall asleep. Makes me wonder if it's UT, but how is that possible when she napped 1.5 hours and it had been 5 hours of A in the afternoon?? I know everyone on here would say it's OT, but I did have her in bed at 6:25p. I thought that was pretty early?!?!

Anyways, she woke at 6 this morning. Actually, I think it was earlier. I woke at 6 and she was already up playing in her crib. Unfortunately, we're going to a brunch at 10:30 for my sister's bday, so she won't be napping till, at least, 12:30 when we get home. It's about a 45 minute drive, so hopefully, she won't nap in the car on the way home or she won't take a nap when we get home. She does not transfer. She will wake up the minute we unbuckle her and it's over. I so WISH she could transfer nicely and I would never have to worry about her falling asleep on the way home from events.

I'm sure we'll end up with a 6:30/7 bedtime b/c of a later nap, but we'll just have to see how it goes.

[lesorl]

After 5 hours 55 mins (and no tired signs), we got a whopping 1 hour 10 min nap.  Boo.

[jcsmom]

I've said this before but you have to be a mathematician when it comes to sleep with our LOs and sometimes the equation is wrong!lesorl-have you bit the bullet and tried 5 hours A for 3 days?We don't get tired signs either until it is too late. We scaled back to 5 hours in the summer and it worked but now that he is older I think he needs more. But how much more I don't know.

Go figure, I extended A time back to 5.5 even though he is OT and he is still sleeping after 1 hour 28. Hmmmm. Maybe becky1969 is right. OT and UT are so hard to read. Perhaps that is why he fought me after only 5 hours A time yesterday. Had a 5:30am wake this morning but I crawled into his crib out of desperation and we slept until 6:50am. Have you ever tried sleeping in a crib? Not comfortable especially when I was worried it would collapse. But he needed it and at that time nothing works to get him b2s!

Gotta hate those 1 hour 10-15 min naps. Why bother

[newmama12]

I'm starting to become convinced that dd will only nap 1.5 hours, no matter what her A time is. She rarely sleeps longer than that and occasionally sleeps less than that. We got 1.5 hours today after 6.5 hours of A. She was a real trooper though and didn't show any signs of being tired except for when we were almost home. Then she fell asleep within 15 minutes when I laid her down.

I'm kind of torn about how long pm A time should be. She woke at 2:20 from nap. We're going to the inlaws for dinner, so I'm thinking bedtime will be 7:15 or so by the time we're home and she gets in bed. With any luck, sleeping at 7:30p, and hopefully till 6:30a.

[newmama12]

Back to update: We actually got home early from my FIL's and it was just after 6pm. J was practically falling asleep in the car and so fussy and yawing and rubbing her eyes when we got home. She spent 5 minutes downstairs and then said she wanted to go up to bath. So we went up and took bath and she was getting her pj's on and she said 'wanna go nigh-nigh.' So, we put her in bed! It was 6:35p (only 4 hours of pm A time) and she was asleep just before 7pm. So, she was definetly tired! I'm so glad I didn't push her to stay up till 7. Now, with any luck, she'll sleep till at least 6am!! Hope everyone is having a good night!

[lesorl]

newmama- that's great!  i find if my lo is up a looong time in the morning, then she needs even less A time in the evening.

jcsmom- yes, i've crawled into the crib myself (and thought for sure it would break), while trying to sleep train M. recently.  Now we're onto rubbing her back til she"s almost asleep. 

we had an AWFUL night.  i can't take it anymore- after her 1 hour 10 min nap (up at 12:45pm), she fell asleep at 6:10pm, and then was up from 11:35pm-2am, and then awake at 5:10am.  She *may* have dozed til 6am. 

so 5 hours A time for at least 3 days, and hoping it improves by then.   

[RACHPEM]

Hi all, we meet again! We are still struggling with ew and have been since jun now and i am so fed up.  i thought we had it sussed after doing a few early nights and getting a few longer naps and longer nights but it has gone all wrong again as usual and i have been consistent so Ot could not possibly have crept in.  I have always had the same pattern since birth we think we have it cracked and we get a good couple of days then it goes as bad as ever again.  I really do believe she only needs 10.5 at night but with such an early start and short naps i cant see how i can ever push bedtime later without major OT therefore always resulting in early mornings.  I am so fed up with going round in circles.
Hope you have a better day/
Rachel x

[newmama12]

Aw, Rachel, I'm so sorry you guys are back to ew's and OT. Not fun! We all know that and are here to help each other.

Leslie, so sorry about dd being up in the night. That is tough. Definetly go for 5 hours of A and I hope she takes a decent nap.

J, I think, slept till about 6:30. I turn the monitor real low b/c it's so noisy. Dh tells me to just turn it off, but I can't. LOL! I like to know when she wakes or if she's up in the middle of the night and such. I did hear her wake around 2am and turn on her music thing in her crib. She went right back to sleep though. Weird that she woke, but then again, she will do that on occasion. I think it's her teeth. Her cheeks were really red last night and that usually happens either when she's sick (which she hasn't shown any signs of being) or comes and goes during teething. She's working on her 2 year molars. I don't see or feel them, but she certainly does.

I'm thinking today's nap is going to be around 12, so in bed at about 11:45. Hope everyone has a good monday!

[skatty]

Hey ladies, I don't know if this will help but a few months before Leorah was 2 she became really OT and I kept shortening her A time which lead to nap refusals and short naps and she got more and more OT and started NW and EW and I couldn't see my way out of it. Anyway on the advice of others I decided on an A time of 5½ before nap and suddenly L started taking decent naps for the first time ever! They started of as an hour which at this point was great and then after some consistancy they settled at 1½-2 hours, I couldn't believe it as L was a consistant 1-1hr15 napper. Anyway I think the problem was although she was very OT she still needed a longer A time to get her a decent nap and help pull her pout of the OT, sounds mad but it worked. Someone also told me that when some LO's show OT signs when they actually need to increase their A time. I don't envy you, 20-23 months was a very challenging time for us sleep wise.

[newmama12]

How is everyone doing?

I think dd might be getting a cold? Bummer. Her nose running a little today and she has a low (99.7) grade fever. I'm crossing my fingers it's teething. But.....she ASKED to go nigh-nigh for nap. I was like, OK!! She had lunch at 11:15 (which she didn't eat much. hmmm...) and right afterwards asked to go to bed. So we went up and I put her in there at 11:35a and she was asleep in less than 10 minutes! I 'think' she had 5 hours of A, but she may have woke earlier than 6:30 this morning. So, we'll see how long she sleeps. If it's less than 2 hours, we'll be doing a 6:30 bedtime again.

[abaker89]

AARRGGHH!!  My lo had another hour long nap today.  This is with the same amount of A time as last week that got use several longer naps.  We have been doing 4 hr 45 min A time, do you think it should be longer, she is 18 mths.  It so frustrating when you are so consistent and they just aren't.

Aileen

[lesorl]

I'm right there with you Aileen- AARRGGHH!  We had a nap of 1 hour 7 mins today, which ended at 11:52am.  Tonight she be another fun one.

Please put me out of my misery!

Katt- did Leorah have any NWs during the time you were shortening her A time?  I think in our case it really is OT.

[skatty]

Yes NWs and EWs, it was awful, you were helping on my desperate thread 

[abaker89]

Have you had any luck with shorter A times?  I'm about to try longer and see what happens.  It is so frustrating!  I can't believe that most kids take 2 hr naps, why can't ours!  It so hard to tell OT, I am beginning to think Becky could be right that it is UT.  Of course the exact same A time gave me some good results last week and now it has changed again.

[jcsmom]

RACHPEM- my DS does the exact same thing. We have 2-5 days of great sleep where I think his OT is cracked and then it all goes into a downward spiral for weeks on end. It doesn't even seem to matter if I am consistent or not. Believe me I have tried everything. A times, clock times, early bedtime, later bedtime and he has me fooled! Sorry you are still going through this.

lesorl-those long NWs and EW sound like teeth. When we were getting the "I" teeth, sleep was the worst it has ever been. I thought that I was going to lose it (well, lose it further than I already have, lol!). Could she be getting her 2 year molars? I think that could be the issue with us right now.

My DS had a 2 hour nap yesterday after I gave him 5.5 A! Skatty, you are right. My DS acts OT after 5 hours but that is why we got a nap refusal on Sat. and a few other days lately, I am sure. And he slept from 7:30-6:45 but only slept 1 hour at the CMs so I am certain we will have an EW tomorrow as he was super OT by bedtime.