My lo usually stays up for on hour and twenty minutes. Once she stayed up for an hour and a half, but it only made her OT. She is an observant girl and is constantly looking around her surroundings. Even when I feed her, she gets distracted and it sometimes takes me a good 30-45minutes for her to eat.
Here is her routine.
E=7am(4-5ozs)
A=sing some songs together on my bed; walk around the house; wind down for nap
S=8am(wind down for naps always consist of us going to her room, closing the blinds and saying "good night to the clouds, sky and sun" I sit in the rocking chair for a few minutes and sing "Hush Little Baby." Then I put her in her crib. Wind down is between 5-10minutes) I don't swaddle her for naps any more. She is swaddled only at night. Here she rarely gives me a long nap. It is usually 45 minutes. I have tried W2S, pat shush, but nothing works. She just smiles. She has also recently learned to roll over onto one side, so when I put her on her side, she would roll onto her front. I would try to extend her nap by turning her to her side, putting the paci in and turning the white noise sounds on. If I can't get her to sleep, I would do a quiet activity for 10-20minutes, then back to bed.
I have even watched her during her sleep and she doesn't jolt before she wakes up. Her eyes pop open and she begins to kick her legs and move her arms. She is a tough cookie:)
E=10am(4ozs)
A=looking at pictures or playing with one of her leap frog toys. I try not to overstimulate her with many toys. If she gets bored then we do another activity.
S=11:20(includes wind down) Again if it is a 45 minute nap, I would try to extend it by turning her to her side, putting the paci in and putting the white noise sounds on. It would normally take her a good half an hour to fall asleep. My maximum attempt is 40minutes of trying. If she doesn't fall asleep, and fusses, I would do another quiet activity.
E=1pm(3-4ozs)
A=go for a walk or sing songs together or dance together.
S=2:20(usual wind down) She may give me an hour and a half of sleep here. If not, usual nap extensions would take place.
E=4pm (4ozs)
A=hang out with dad and talk to each other.
S=5:20pm (usual wind down) Here, I would let her nap for 45 minutes.
A=6pm. I give her a bath before we eat.
E= 5oz-6ozs ( give her a bottle in her room and then I sing her a little song)
S=7pm-sleep
Sometimes she is off her easy an hour. For instance, she may wake up at 8am instead of 7am but still goes to sleep around 7pm. Sometimes she is so tired, she goes to sleep between 6 and 6:30pm.
E=2am (4-5ozs) Here she would eat quickly. Lately, however, if it is not dark enough, she will begin to coo at me.
S=2:30am
E=Wakes up between 5 and 6am. Will only take a few ounces. Then our day begins again.
A few times, I let her catch up on her sleep, which then involves her skipping her usual feeding. For instance, this morning she ate at 7am and took a 45 minute nap. Once she woke up (9am), I sat her in her chair in the kitchen and she watched me and dad have breakfast. I let 20minutes pass by then brought her upstairs for another nap. It is now 10:30am and she is still sleeping. She was due to eat at 10am but I don't want to wake her. I want her to catch up on some sleep. I am planning to wake her at 11am, which then pushes her feeding time. Is that the proper thing to do?
I forgot to mention, when she wakes up, I don't rush into her room, I wait to see if she can fall asleep on her own. About 50% of the time she can do it. I only get her if she begins to fuss or call me.
Thanks for taking the time read this.
