Last night was better... first nap today after 2.5 hrs?

[lilac83]

How has the day been going? I would try to keep those A times short to let her catch up and then slowly start lengthening them again. I hope today has been going better for you both!

[choffmann]

Thanks Robin!  Its not going to bad...  i let her fall asleep nursing for her first nap - i just didnt have it in me to "fight" with her again to nap... so I let her nurse before nap plus it seemed like she wanted it.  She slept for about an hour and half but did fuss off and on during that time but didnt need my dh to go in. I ran errands to get some things to organize the house (our weekend project this weekend)... so it gave me the break i needed.  Then I breastfed her and an hour after her nap i took her for walk in the stroller and she slept 30 min. 

Then I gave her lunch and in a few minutes I will be breastfeeding her and I would imagine she may fall asleep nursing again as its been two hours plus after her catnap in stroller, if not I will either try her crib and if that doesnt work take a walk in the stroller.  Based on the length of that nap, I will either have her in bed early or on time which will hopefully be a good nights rest...

All in all its a calmer day!  Thanks so much

Christy

[monopod]

Christy, sorry for taking so long to come along and help out but I see Robin has the bases covered! I'm so glad to see that you've had a better day today - GREAT news on the 1.5h nap and bonus pre-lunch catnap! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you tonight, hon. *Sleepy vibes to Christy's DD*

[choffmann]

Thanks..

Well dh told me the first nap wasnt real restful - she cried out several times... so that is why we took the walk - that was a 30 minute nap.

So i put her to bed for a afternoon nap at 300 - i couldnt get her to sleep until 3:15 and she woke 20 minutes later... so i patted her for ten minutes and she napped for maybe 25 minutes more.

So its 4:25 and she woke at 5:45am.  What time should I do for bed???  I really dont want to make the mistake of getting her more OTed...because we are still not out of it. I thought she would sleep ok for afternoon nap but that wasnt the case... i am glad to have gotten her to sleep so that is an improvement but i doubt we are out of the OT woods yet...

So any suggestions??

Thanks so much for the help!

Christy

[lilac83]

I would aim for 6pm. Hopefully then she would sleep until 5:45/6 tomorrow morning. It seems like she's inching her way out of OT, so I hope she has a better night!

[monopod]

I second a 6pm bedtime - earlier (5.30/5.45) if it looks like she will go down for you. Fingers crossed for a good night, Christy.

[debo620]

I think 6 too.

[choffmann]

Thanks Gals! I really appreciate all the help!  I appreciate the sleep vibes too! We can use them!

Christy

[choffmann]

ok bedtime was a nightmare!  I breastfed her at 545 by the time she was done it was 605ish.  so i put her to bed, she fussed for two minutes and then was quiet for ten minutes. I was just thinking how much a releif it was to not have to fight her when she started crying...

I let her cry for five minutes or so as it wasnt hard.. just fussing.. then I went in to pat... i tried putting her back in her usual spot and leaving the room as she was horizontal in crib rather than vertical ... and then leaving, she screamed worse.  So i figured at this point it was 630.. i will pat her to save as much OT issues as i can.. I patted her to sleep... left... two minutes later....screaming ... sigh

I held off hoping she would settle but didnt, so i went in patted  - all she did was stare... then whine.... then i got frustrated and left.... she screamed not too happily i might add (who can blame her.. but my nerves are shot at this point)... my dh went in and settled her but she was quiet until he stopped and then she screamed like mad.  I had to get out of the room though.. i needed to cool off by myself.

I went back in and picked her up, sang her song and put her back down and patted her to sleep.  She has been asleep since.  This was 7pm...

Now she didnt wake at the 45 minute mark or hour mark this night.. so maybe this didnt mess things up too much? 

I dont know what is going on... I know she is sensitive to being OT... but this seems a bit much... i just dont know how to fix this..

Thanks for reading this far and for the help

Christy

[lilac83]

This is prime age for SA to start, do you think a bit of that could be going on too? Here's a link you can check out: http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=62612.0 Obviously she's OT, but it just seems like there should be something more than just that. Here's some more ~~~sleep vibes~~~

[MLK]

Christy, Sorry if your having such a rough time. Did the pain meds help? If not, she might be OT and also going through a fussy developmental phase. When that happens to me, I just carry him around a lot and sit next to him. She's recently become mobile hasn't she?

Tracy also recommends putting babies in their cot in the afternoon for a play period to explore  - so maybe if you did that (staying there with her tidying up or folding laundry or something) she might get the crawling round the cot out of her system? You could bring you toddler in with you too to play and kill two birds with one stone.

At around 9 months I think there's a big growth spurt and developmental leap too, so it can be a tough time!

[monopod]

Hugs, Christy. I'm so sorry that things are continuing to be tough. I would agree with the others that it does sound like something else in addition to OT could be at play. As Lan asks, did the pain medication help? Does it sound at all like SA could be kicking in? If she *is* going through a growth spurt/developmental leap, this may explain the shortened A times and the OT cycle that you're in as a result.

It doesn't sound to me like issues to do with increasing mobility, though I agree that getting the crawling out of her system during A time is a good idea. Let her practise throughout her A time if she wants to.

[choffmann]

Thanks!  Last night was much better after the awful beginning. I went to bed early and DH didnt put the monitor on in our bedroom until he went to bed... I dont know yet if she got up fussing between my bedtime and Dh's bedtime so i have to ask him. However, she did not get up to eat at all last night -  She got up at 6:10am...  So  a betters nights rest for her finally.  Of course, last night my 2 yr old decides to get up twice in two hours (Mommy, Justin and Laura woke me up" she says... even though they are sound asleep.. sigh... (they share a room).  I need a bigger house! LOL

Anyway, hopefully with the good nights sleep for her, today will be even better..... I just dont know what A times to use.... I am guessing 2.5-2.75 hrs?  But of course keeping an eye on tired cues.

Could the tough time i had last night be that it was only 2 hrs after her wake up from the second nap (though not a great nap)?  7pm when she finally went to sleep was at the 2.5 hr mark... its only a guessing game now and its done....

I have been giving her motrin (her fingers are in her mouth so i do think some is teething or could that mean she is still hungry?)...  that hasnt helped... so I will look at the SA link.. that could possibly be it or part of it. 

And it cant hurt either to let her play in her crib too.. just in case! i will try anything! lol

The most difficult thing is even on good days, i dont know what her A time is and that is what gets us to this point...

Thanks again!

Christy

[monopod]

Glad to hear last night was a better one for you! As she gets caught up you can continue to observe her cues and see where she naturally falls with A time - hopefully as she gets less OT her cues will become more consistent and easier to follow too Good sleep vibes for today and tonight!