EW after illness

[*Liz*]

Hmmm, so tomorrow I'm gonna try all 3 hrs A times - keeping them all low-key. Poor little mite, she's such a great baby, lots of fun and very inquisitive, but so very, very tired now.

I agree honey - just watch for cues but still make sure she is down early.

((hugs)) and sounds like a VERY trying day.

[huby]

hi there, was pretty trying, yeah. Can't believe she didn't sleep once in the car on three hours of motorway!

[*Liz*]

J has done things like that as well on occsasion. It really is just awful when they get that tired though.

((hugs)) again 

[huby]

she went to sleep at 9pm and woke properly at 6.15 - think it's hardwired into madam's system.
She seems ok this morning so far..
Gosh, not long for the new arrival!

[huby]

hi there,
today she woke after nine hours sleep and no NWs at 6.15am but was tired soon after ...put her down for nap one after 3hs A time (her usual nap time) and he slept 3hrs
She got her second nap at 3hrs and slept another 1.5 hrs.....

DH putting her to bed now at 6.30, it's 6.40 now and she's crying.....i get the feeling she thinks its too early for her? Not sure what you both think, she was happily playing before wind-down.
No doubt she'll wake early tomorrow again....but am wondering...how can i sort these early mornings and bedtimes out, it seems any tweaks and she goes bananas...i do think she has got used to set nap times for AM nap.

The A times seem to be regressing but that would be because she's OT, like empowered mama said....ok it's about 6.50pm and she's stopped crying now, so am guessing she'll be asleep by 7pm and DH AP her to sleep.

It's weird, i wonder if she has some SA issues as I never seem to get the same amount of tears when I put her to bed and i'm with her 24/7 almost

[Yazzie]

mmm, SA could be a possibility, not sure though, my only concern though is that the 3hrs nap, may have been too much, anyhow let's hope that the extra sleep helped her overcome OT....let's see how the night goes & then assess, maybe try the same A time tomorrow, we want you guys to recover from those wonky days first

[*Liz*]

That will get her all caught back up again  .

I guess she might think she needs a little bit more A before bed to make up for it though.

When they get hardwired to a certain nap time then you do have to extend the A 5-10 mins at a time to overcome it. BUT TBH sometimes it really really is tough to do as some LOs are just very prone to EWs. My DS is and we still drift back to 5.30am wake-ups from time to time. These days I try not to stress it too much as I honestly don't think we always have as much control over their sleep as we would like too.

((hugs))

[huby]

ok, great stuff. Will try that. She started rubbing her eyes around 6ish but then perked up again...i think she's conditioned to get tired then as it's been her bedtime then for so long.

i think she's always been an early bird, the latest she's done while around 6+ is 6.30 and that was a whoppinh lie in for us, but anything before 6am is too early for me to want all the time tbh.
I agree though we don't have as much control as we would like, and the books tell us we should have

I will keep her back on 3hrs A time tomorrow and see what that brings ....and then try again the next day to extend the first A time very slowly, by five mins a day if that's what it takes.

Out of interest...how much day sleep should she be having now do you think? One long nap and one 45 min nap?

Thanks

[Yazzie]

That would usually come when she's doing about 3.5 ~ 4 hrs A time.

[huby]

Hi there
I see. Ok last night she cried and didn't fall asleep until 7pm. But she stirred a lot in the early hours from about 4.30am and kept going back to sleep. She woke properly at 5.50am to start the day, but wasn't chirping, was more growling this morning.
I'm not sure if her last A time is too long for her - she woke from her last nap at 3pm, tried for a 6.30 bedtime, she was having none of it and fell asleep at 7pm.
Not sure how to play it.

[*Liz*]

Post 6am has always been my target to start the day as well - but over time I have just come to accept that sometimes he will wake early. We never lift him out the cot until 6.30am though - and these days he will just lie quietly and wait (but it took a while to get there).

I think you are right and that final A might have been too long - but again you offered sleep earlier and that is the best you can do. You offer her sleep and eventually she will learn to accept it.

Let us know how today goes with the slightly shortened A's.

[huby]

I'm not sure if she just wasn't tired enough (having had three hours day sleep) or too tired, having had a long A time. Hard to figure?

[*Liz*]

Could be either really but at the end of the day the night was good enough to give you a clean slate today - and that is the most important thing really. Essentially you have got a mega OT day, then a catch up day, and now back to the blackboard.

And that isn't bad - somethimes it takes days to even get the catch up day in  .

[empowered mama]

Very true Liz - we are still trying to get our catch up day....much easier said than done 

[huby]

Blimey. And I was out with friends last night, one of which has one of those babies that sleep anywhere, and if they're out late, the baby catched up on through night sleep. Wow!

Anyway, that's not ours, so back to reality. Ok I put her down for afternoon nap 10 mins after her 'scheduled time' of 1.30, (she fell asleep at 2pm) She freaked out and went all OT (i think) frenzy and cried and cried. I managed to AP her to sleep - she's a heavy one too so am now suffering...and she's still asleep having managed to make it througha  sleep cycle. So, I'm thinking maybe the 'set nap times' are so ingrained in her now.
I thought it would be ok to put her down ten mins later as she woke tens mins later from her morning nap...hmm, the madam.
 
I don't mind the early starts too much, but would so love a later wake-up time - 6am would be ok, 6.30am heaven. I think she's just one of life's early risers...she'll never be a 7am baby. I used to wake her at 7am when she was younger and feeding through the night a couple of times, in the hope it would be ingrained in her body clock, but no.
Perhaps I should leave her in her cot until 6.30am like you did then?

So i have a second long nap, albeit one she was a wee bit upset about taking ten mins later.

So at least she can have a slightly later bedtime maybe which means possibly a slighly later morning? Hope so!

My sister wants me to go to hers tomorrow and have no idea how or what to do about the afternoon nap - any ideas - don't want to say I can't go again because of LO naps, but it's getting that way. I've only been three times with her since she was born!