About to loose it...30 minute napper

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Ooh, sounds like a really good night even with the blind falling down!  Keep us posted on today.

[huby]

today was rather odd. She started the day at 6.30, milk, breakie etc. Kept her up for three hours, she didn't seem tired this time after three, but I did winddown and put her down, and she fussed a wee bit...and slept for just 45 mins. Sigh.
She got on with her day, had lunch and so and went down for her second nap (again quite awake) after 3 hours A time, and again slept just 45 mins. She was absolutely fine until her 7pm bedtime, but went a bit over and had to sort out some problems in her room and she did cry a lot from OT before bed (but because it went over her bedtime)
Tried for several catnaps but she was sooooo awake and unprepared to even fall asleep in our arms, or in the car. She was happily playing away until 7, when she because a little agitated we'd missed her bedtime.
Am worried about the short naps leading to OT again and EW tomorrow....will let you know. Teething still really bad, but cold getting much better. Poor thing had bleeding gums again yesterday.

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Oh poor girl!  Hopefully she'll have a nice, restful night tonight to catch up.  Otherwise maybe some short As tomorrow?

[huby]

Hi there,
She slept through ...from 7pm until 6.30am again, but slowly, day by day, it's creeping to a few minutes earlier again each morning - is there anything i can do to nip this in the bud. I have put her down for her first nap after 3 hours A time, will see what happens though new blind lets some light in around sides. Am fidning it impossible to black out room completely...does this matter. Have tried cardboard in conjunction with blind, still lets light in!

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

That's great news!! 

What time do you feed her?  Is it immediately when she gets up?  Try not feeding her until 7.  It's possible she's waking a little earlier each day to eat so if her body gets used to not eating until 7 she should sleep a little later. 

I would do the best you can on blacking out the room.  It matters a lot for my DS but every baby is different.  Aluminum foil over the windows worked wonders for us!

[huby]

yes, always wait until 7am to give her her milk, and then solids at 8.
She took a 30 min nap, and a one and a half hour nap but is tired again by 4.30pm, she took a catnap in the car seat when we went out and is still asleep now at 5.35.
I desperately want something that blacks out the windows yet means I can open and close the blinds to let daylight in and out, but is cheap. I like the idea of foil, but prefer something i can use like curtain or a blind but are cheap.

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

How's it going?

[huby]

Ohhh not good. She'd been waking at around 6.30am - slightly earlier by the day, but only a minute or two, but then last night was a categorical disaster.

She did her short morning nap and long (1.5 hours) for her, nap in the afternoon, waking around 2pm. Took all her solids well, and the protein at tea time seemed to be helping her sleep better. She was really tired by bedtime but refused the catnap again.
She fell asleep at her bedtime bottle, woke up again and started to cry. We settled her within a few mins in her cot and left her sound asleep....until....

She woke at 10.50pm - she'd been doing this anyway, but growling and putting herself back to sleep within minutes and never did a distress cry. So when she stirred I ignored it, but she started to cry and it escalated. It was weird, didn't seem like a pain cry because of teething, but she was crying hard so i went in and try to shhh and pat her. She just wanted to play, and was grizzling in between, arching her back in the cot, or sucking her fists or stamping her legs in the cot (which she does when she's excited)
She would not settle not matter how much i shhed and patted. So i changed her nappy - it was ok. I tried to pick her up in case she needed a cuddle and she calmed down but still wouldn't settle at all - we're about an hour and a half in now. I gave her some medicine and teething gel and also in the end fed her in case she was hungry. She drank the bottle (but she always would if offered it to her - she likes her food!) and still wouldn't settle. Eventually my DH had to carry her around her room until she slept on his shoulder and was tired enough to stop fighting and sleep in her cot.
By now she'd been up more than two hours. It's been ages and ages since she'd done a NW like this before.

Then she woke to start the day at 5.45. Ugh! I tried to shh and pat her or eventually carry her in her room until 6.30am when I tehn put the light on.

I have just put her down for her first nap at 8.50 - trying to keep her up as close to 9am as possible.

I feel so deflated - we were making so much progress (one long nap a day, now NW that needed attention, and fewer and fewer as we went along, and then sleep until 6.30am) For the first time in ages it felt like the hard work was paying off but now feel like i'm backt o square one. She can usually self settle pretty well, but not sure what happened last night....and why she didn't put herself backt to sleep this morning.

By the way - meant to ask, have a creadted a rod for my own back by feeding her last night too? I didn't know what else to do, but it didn't help her settle.

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Let's hope last night was a one off?  Could just be built up OT from continuing to refuse the CN.  Could you think about shortening the A times and APOPing the CN for a few days to try to catch her up?

I wouldn't worry about feeding her one night.  I would have done the same, probably.  Although probably a good lesson that it didn't really help?

[huby]

Hi there,
I can deal kind of with the night wakings - though get the feeling she's just learnt by using her voice she can get us in there, as she seemed less interested in sleep and more in playing and being picked up - but no amount of patting in cot would calm her.
Anyway, sooo hope it was a one off.

I put her down in the morning around 2 hours 40 mins, but the A time varies on wake-up time and how well she slept during the night - often i get an OT nap. But now she seems, after 3 hours A time for second nap, to do long afternoon naps - 1.5 hours. It's just with waking so early this morning - 5.45am, she was really tired for nap one as didn't let her nap before 8.45am so that was OT. She was fine after second nap, but quickly wanted to sleep around 6pm, so did winddown. She didn't want her milk - had huge solid feed at 5pm, so didn't force it.
She was very tired, but wired by the point I tried to put her in her cot (6.40pm ish) and cried when i put her down. I left her for five mins and she self settled.
She been waking up and doing the same tonight - done so twice so far bu easily gone back to sleep. I expect she'll try to wake again tonight, I may leave her five mins of crying before going in to shh pat and check nappy - is that ok?
I'm awful at letting 'em fuss, but somehow i think she's learnt how to play us. She wasn't hungry or in pain last night i don't think, otherwise she wouldn't have settled when picked up, and would have settled if fed.
Like I said though, it's the EW that's hard as it throws the whole day - feeding and naps times out of the window and i end up being grumpy and snappy all round...no good for anyone especially poor baby.

Tried to get her to take catnap by driving her around abut 4.30pm, but she was too awake....she never settles for naps, ever unless she's tired enough.

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Hi - Sorry I'm just seeing this.  I hope you're sleeping and sleeping well!  I completely hear you on the EW, we're actually struggling with it again over here, too.  It sucks.  I would say that instead of letting her cry you could sit on the floor in her room and say your sleep phrase.  That's what I do when it seems like interacting with him is making it worse.  Then at least she knows you're there and she doesn't feel abandoned but you're not getting in the way of her self settling or reinforcing her calling you in there, you know?

Let me know how the night goes.  I'm glad you're getting at least one good nap.  I would stick with an early bedtime for a while, too, to try to break the OT.  Especially as she refuses the CN.  This is a really hard time when they're dropping the CN.  {{Hugs}}

[huby]

hi, thanks for this. Well, I feel a bit bad as she woke soooo sooo many times - more than she's ever done and screamed blue murder, and i left her each time for five mins to see if she would settle, but of course, she didn't until we went in and shhh and patted her back to sleep each time. She woke at 8pm, 9, 10.30, 12 am, 2am and got up to start the day at 5.30am. She just growled in her cot for the EW so i left her there until 6.30am doing so...she wasn't crying.
I am getting so exhausted that i can feel myself getting a bit shaky. I can't catch up on naps really as the first nap is always OT because i don't let her take it until about 8.30am, which is 3 -3.5 A time based on a rubbish nights sleep and then the next one is 3 hours A time to ensure a 1.5 hour nap. Agggh
By 4.30 shes yawning but won't catnap - will try again by driving up the motorway if i have to but london is tricky as there's always lots of congestion so you don't really get moving so she doens't sleep.
The NW have never, ever, ever since she was born been like this, and she's never not put herself back to sleep again.
Some people say don't go in unless they're really screaming...should i just sleep on her bedroom floor and reassure her as soon as she stirs instead, including in the mornings?
I hope your EW get better too, it's soooo hard, especially when you have the rest of the day ahead x

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Oh no, so sorry it was such a terrible night!  I've been there, it's awful.  But you'll get through this. 

Ok, let's see.  Are you sure she's not having a GS, in pain, or is sick? 

My next thought would be that maybe you need to take a couple days off.  Just put her down to sleep when she seems tired, even if it means she gets 4 or 5 30 min naps in a day.  (And hopefully you can get those naps, too!)  Sometimes when you're just pulling your hair out and nothing is working you need to hit the reset button. 

What do you think?

[huby]

Thanks, have still got a wee bit of 'fight' left in me.
ok, this is odd, i can't work her out....she wakes 5.30 after a terrible nights sleep. I keep her up until around 8.50am, she sleeps for 1.5 hours. She seemed ok with this actually.
She gets whingy around 12.30, but keep her up until 1.30, she falls asleep around 1.40pm and is still asleep (i'm betting around 1.5 hour nap) she woke at 45 min point, growled for seconds (wking me in the process, bless her) and went back to sleep. This should mean she lasts nicely to bedtime now. HURRAY.
Now I really hope she settles ok and doesn't have as many NW.

I don't know is she is having a GS, i don't think so. She has a cold still, but is fine in herself. It could be teething pain waking her - but if this was the case, why does she resettle once we go in there and pat her. I did let her scream for a bit (five mins max, never ever more) before going in and the third time she settled much quicker. I have no idea what's going on with her...am very confused.

Thannks for being there for me. Sorry I'm no help in return.

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Yay!!  Sounds like today is going really well!  If she gets another decent nap in, she'll be set for a good bedtime and hopefully a much better night!

Sometimes with teething pain they'll settle when being comforted but when you're not there to distract them they feel it more and are more upset, I think.  I would try some pain meds tonight.  I do acetaminophen at bedtime and dreamfeed ibuprofen 4hours later.  One of the moms on here taught me that and it's worked wonderfully for us.

I'm afraid if you let her scream she's going to start to not know when she can expect to be settled and when you're going to leave her.  I'd either go in when she gets upset or stay on the floor in her room and talk to her when she gets really upset.

No problem.  I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it all work!  I've been there, though, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.    (Might be another tunnel after that but that's how this whole parenting thing goes, right? )