Wind down tips for 17.5month old

[*Liz*]

Sounds like she might be being a monkey  .

J goes down for naps easier for my Mum than me. I find we have to be mega consistent with routine to stop him kicking off about it.

J has all his loveys in his cot - but no real toys. TBH it is dark in there and he is a sleeper that throws himself all over the place so I think soft toys are the only option for us.

[katie80]

Sounds like she might be being a monkey  .

I agree!

[scucci1979]

She is being a little monkey! I made hubby put her down for her nap and bedtime today and she went down easily.  After a 5hr and 20min A, I limited her nap to 2hrs and 20min. She was not too happy when I woke her up.
 She was asleep by 7:30pm. I think she was really tired as we spent the afternoon outside. 
I will see how the next few days go. 

[~*Nicole*~]

Hoping for the best!

[scucci1979]

So she started stirring around 5:30am and was officially up at 6:35am.  I suppose that is good as she gave me an 11hour night. Now I just need to figure out how to get my 11.5hour night back. I plan to leave her nap length to 2hrs and 20min for the next few days and hopefully we will get our 7am wake up back. 
If that doesn't work should I reduce it further or let her sleep 2.5hours and push bedtime to 8pm? 

[katie80]

Maybe you'll have to decide what works best for you; longer nap and later bedtime or shorter nap and earlier bedtime.  But I would give it a few days before changing anything again.

[*Liz*]

I agree - some LOs do best by slowly pushing the A out and others do best by shortening the nap but keeping it relatively central in their day.

I must say though - Madi much be a very good sleeper if you can manipulate her day to keep a set amount of night sleep. I have never had that much control over J and his sleep and I never will.

[scucci1979]

today didn't go as planned. She was very irritable and was falling asleep in hubby's arms. Thinking it was because of her restless sleep in the morning.
He  put her down at 12pm and let her sleep 2.5hours.    I will aim for a 7:45bedtime.

I will aim for a shorter nap tomorrow and see if this will give us a 7am wake up.

When I think of what I did in the past, I have always pushed out her nap out and reduced sleep to preserve bedtime. For some reason, reducing her nap ATM is causing her to become more grumpy in the evenings.    i wonder if her molars are shifting!!

[scucci1979]

Today didn't go as planned.  She woke up at 6:40am. Hubby said she was cranky and tired so he put her down at 12pm and let her sleep for 2.5hours. He also said she woke up once and is not quite sure how long she slept for because when he went to her she was up.  I put her down for bed at 7:45pm and she didn't fall asleep until 8pm.  It seemed like she was having a hard time drifting into sleep.  Not sure if she is OT or if something is bothering her.  We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow to rule out any illness.  Something tells me that her molars beginning to shift. 

Tomorrow is a new day and if we don't get an EW then I will limit her nap for the next three days to see if that improves. These 6:30am wake ups are driving me mad.

[*Liz*]

Let us know how you get on 

[scucci1979]

She woke up at 7am this morning after an 8pm bedtime.  I was happy!  Today I had to let her nap for 2hrs and10 min as we had a doctor's appointment. She went down for bed at 7:30pm-thinking it should of been earlier.  We will see what time she wakes in the morning!!

I believe that with a 2.5hour nap she needs a 5.5hour A time. Now I have to figure out her A for a shorter nap.

I will keep everyone posted.