nap schedule and getting up in cot

[yorkshire]

Hi

I'm feeling bit confused and unsure about 2 things:

1. My 9mo DD has recently started to sit and stand up in her cot.  She then cries until I lay her down.  From going off to sleep nicely on her own (most of the time) she now needs laying down anything between 1 and about 15 times before she goes to sleep.  I am lying down on the floor (where she can't see me) whilst we go through this process. I don't wait for her to really cry (because I'm tired and it seems quicker to just put her down when she stands up and whimpers).  She doesn't seem to be able to get herself back into a nice sleeping position though she can bend her legs herself and sit down if she chooses to (which she doesn't).  Am I becoming a prop or is this the right approach to the peering baby syndrome?

2. Her sleep routine is limited by my older DS nursery times.  We have to leave the house at 9am (return at 9.30am) and then leave again at 3pm to pick him up.  She can't sleep in the buggy when he is around or when we go indoors to the nursery so I have to get all her naps in whilst DS is at nursery.  Because that is only 5.5 hours, I'm having trouble getting both her naps in during that window.  She is very tired when we get home from the drop off so sometimes I have to put her down before at 8am (I try to avoid that).  She is sleeping anything between 45mins and 1.5 hours for this nap.  Then she is not really tired enough to go to sleep by 1 which is the time she needs to be down in order to get up and out in time for pick-up.  This leads to her being OT by bedtime, falling asleep during her BF pre-bath and therefore being refreshed enough to find it hard to go to sleep come bedtime.  Then she is starting to wake earlier and earlier in the morning.

Our day is roughly like this:

5.30-6  Wake up and BF

9.30     Nap (45min - 1.5hr)

10.30   Bottle

12       Lunch

1ish   Nap (sometimes resistant to this, sleeps anything between 45mins and 2 hrs)

2.30   BF

5       Tea (solids)

6 or 6.30 BF (often falls asleep, is very tired by teatime)

7      Bed (asleep 7-7.45 depending how much trouble we have getting off)

Occasional night wakings.

So - I am wondering whether I should be making any changes to this given the limits on our time, the trouble getting off to sleep sometimes and the early wakings.
And I wonder if I am doing the right thing staying in the room putting her back down to go to sleep.

Sorry for rambling, tired and confused.
Any ideas gratefully received!

[elmarie]

Hi it does sound as if you are having a hard time at the moment  .  Moving this over to naps for you where you will get great advice 

[yorkshire]

Thank you! She is also waking in the night now on a fairly frequent basis.

[Evgenia]

Hi, so sorry u r havin such a hard time.

First in regards to standing up in a cot, almost all los go through that. They learn how to stand up but then r too tiered to try an get back down. I would spend some time during the day teaching her how to get back down safely on hew own in her cot. Once she's mastered the technique while wide awake it will be easier for her to get back down during her naps and bedtime. So she wouldn't need to cry for u to come help her.

I know its a lot easier to stay in the room for u but I would try to avoid it as much as possible, maybe u could sit outside her room and go in only when she really needs u to? I would be afraid of establishing bab habits and u becoming a prop. Even though she can't see u she knows u r there, at this age they r alot more aware of what is going on around them.

Need to check my book regarding the naps an will get back with that

[Evgenia]

Hey,
Jus had a look a these too posts about recommended A times and Sleep

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64158.msg476652#msg476652

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=85134.0

And judging from these u r spot on with the mornin A time and first nap. Though I would try to push the second nap to 1.30, and aim for 1.5 hour nap here. That way she'll be up in time to pick up ur son and won't be left with a too long of A in the evening. If u r happy with her staring the day at 5.30-6 I would also move her bedtime to around 6-6.30 as you would aim for 12 hour night. And again this won't leave too long of an A time in the evening.
Does this make sense.

I'm sure there will be someone else here soon with better advice

[yorkshire]

Thank you.  I think she would rather wait til 1.30 ish for her second nap but that does cut it fine for me as I BF her before picking up her brother and often she has done a poo when she wakes up so needs changing.  As I have to leave home by 3.05 I need her up by at least 2.45.

I'm not very happy at all with such an early wake up time and would prefer it was 6.30/7 but that does leave this long A time in the evening which, on weekends, often leads to a catnap around 4.  That works kind of with a slightly later bedtime but it wont work during the week when I am alone with them both post-nursery. (She won't go to sleep in her cot for this catnap and I can't do pupd because I have to take care of older brother at this time).

So maybe your suggestion is best and I just have to grin and bare the early wake ups for now.