Calm activity ideas before bedtime? (spirited baby!)

[Merlin86]

Hi there,

Wondering if any one can help? I have a spirited baby girl (6 months nearly) and her day naps are good (1- 1.5 hrs in morning and then another 1.5 in afternoon- finshes by 3pm latest and we try and do a 7-7 day), and she sleeps well from 10pm to the next morning, but the 7pm-10pm sleep section is not good at all. She wakes 2-3 times, and cant settle herself (even though she can in her day naps, and at 5am wake up in night)- it seems she is too frantic? I think maybe because she is SO spirited she wears herself out by lots of afternoon play. Can anyone suggest calm play ideas for a 6 month spirited baby that I can do? We have a long wind down ritual for bed (45 mins ) including dinner, milk feed, bath and short massage) and its the same each night. When I try doing calming activities with her she gets really bored very quickly and just shouts for more things to do lol! Help! Im sure she's over stimulated in the late afternoon....  Has anyone else experienced lots of wakings in the 7-10pm bit? Is it hunger or overtiredness or undertiredness??!

[anna*]

Are you sure she's not just overtired?? 4 hours (3-7pm) awake is a long, long time for 5.5 months old - most can't manage that til they're a year old! My LO is 19 months and only has 4.5hrs A before bed. At this age most are doing 3 naps, and a max of only about 2.5hrs awake.

[anna*]

To answer your Q though, at that age our fallback low key activity was just laying on mummy and daddy's bed with me, chatting and/or singing some songs. Anything involving books/toys/music etc was just too stimulating.

[Merlin86]

Ah ok! Right, I didnt realise it was such a long time!! oops, I feel really bad now! Though I always follow her signs for naps (rubbing eyes/lots of erratic arm/leg movements/yawning) and after her second nap she does not show any signs until about 6.30pm normally, sometimes as late as 7 which is why I settle her then, but maybe I should introduce another nap? Oh dear, I feel bad that Ive maybe made her really exhausted!

[anna*]

(((((hugs)))))) don't feel bad! They often get a bit more unreliable with their sleepy cues around this age, so we have to start watching the clock a little more...

[Mashi]

Yes, I agree with anna that LO is probably just a bit OT -- wake ups in the few hours just after bed are usually from not being OT through the day, but from being OT in that spell right before bed.  I wouldn't feel bad about it, if she's sleeping well through the day and generally happy then you've not caused any problems, but I would try to deal with it now rather than waiting for probs!

6 months is usually when signs of dropping the catnap appear but it can take a couple of months for it to happen. If she is napping 1.5 hours, ending at 3pm, then I would try for a short nap at 5ish, which you MAY need to AP to get in -- ie/ walk, time in her swing, a bjorn, car ride, etc. If so, don't worry, that's totally normal!  Let her have 30 minutes, and then she shoudl be ready for bed at 7/730ish and sleep a bit more soundly.