10 month old naps have turned into a disaster!!

[Kymmi13]

My LO turned 10 months a little over a week ago.  For the past few days, she's been going down and waking up from her naps crying/screaming.  She USE to be so easy and calm and now I fear every nap.  Here's a brief little schedule:


7am - wake up (most of the time, she's awake before this, usually 6:30ish and she lays in her crib and plays with her hands or just rests quietly)
7am - 9am : breastfed, breakfast, play time
9:15/9:30am-10:30/11 : nap 1
11am - 1:30-pm : lunch, expressed milk in a cup, play time
1:30pm/2pm - 3/4pm : nap 2
4pm-6:30pm : snack, playtime, dinner, bath
7pm : bedtime (asleep by 7:30)


We use to have to bottle feed her right before her naps as a way to soothe her.  She never fell asleep while eating, but the eating did make her drowsy.  We stopped that 2 weeks ago and it didn't really affect her nap lengths or her attitude before or after naps.  I still breastfeed her right before bedtime.

As I stated earlier, the past several days have been terrible for her naps.  She will SCREAM when we go into her room (something she has never done) and then start to cry uncontrollably in her crib.  The morning nap isn't too bad; most of the time, she cries for less than 5 minutes and then falls asleep.  Her afternoon nap is the worst.  We will go in to change her diaper and she will cry on the changing table.  I've tried to alter her wake time before the afternoon nap.  I've tried 2, 2.5, 3 and even 4 hours between.  The 4 hours seemed to be the best, but, that was only 1 day and I think I'll try that again today.  But, she still cried when I took her back to her room, just not as long.  Her nights have been pretty normal.  No crying at all.  She did have one night where she cried out 6 times but went back to sleep.  Last night, she cried out twice (all of which is under a minute) and went back to sleep.

She has been crawling for quite some time (probably 2 months now) and have been pulling up and standing for 2 weeks now.  She started cruising about a week ago.  

Can someone please tell me what I should do?  I am so worried when nap times are coming up and I hate to hear her scream/cry.  It's terrible.  I know that developmental milestones as well as separation anxiety can reek havoc on the naps, but, I want to make sure what the cause is (and it's not something I can fix).  Am I not keeping her awake long enough between naps?  Today was the first day that she cried before her morning nap.  I woke her up at 7am (something I haven't done in months - she's usually awake by 6:50am) and she was rubbing her eyes by 9:15am.  As soon as I stepped into her bedroom, she started to cry...as soon as I put her in her crib, she started screaming.  

Please help....

 

[ZacsMumme]

This could be that your LO needs more A time, esp for that first A...or it could be developmental. I think there is a developmental leap around this time, plus they get so alert that if they are trying to master a new skill they dont want to sleep! Is your LO trying to crawl/walk? pull up? master a cognitive skill at the moment?

Only other thing I can think of is discomfort, for us when Z is teething he is often irritable and whiny but okay, then at nap time he loses the plot. I think it is because they are distracted from the discomfort when out playing. Have you checked his teeth?

[Kymmi13]

Hi Sarah,

My LO is getting her top two teeth.  I know these hurt a bit more than the bottom two (she got those about a month ago).  We give her cold chew rings and cold apples.  She usually is cranky the days she is teething.

She also is pulling up and standing a lot.  She started cruising just last week.  When she has an "episode" of crying/screaming before a nap, she's usually sitting up and staring at the camera or she'll stand at the end of the crib that faces the door and scream for us  

Do you suggest me to extend her A time in the morning as well as the afternoon?  She had a 2hr 15min A time in the morning today and a 4hr A time in the afternoon.  She cried for about 5-10 minutes the first nap and then slept for an hour 15 min and then cried less than 5 minutes for her second nap and slept for an hour and 10 min.

I'm wondering if it's everything...teeth, not long enough A time and developmental....how do I fix this or narrow down the issue?

[ZacsMumme]

Oh we just got the top ones and they were awfully painful for my LO. (hugs) and fast teething vibes! I would medicate before naps (if you feel comfortable doing so) to help your LO sleep, and I wound worry too much about sleep training while shes poorly.

I do think her first A time be a bit longer. You could be heading towards the 2-1 as well. Have you read the 2-1 links in the naps board FAQs?

[Kymmi13]

Yes, I've read the 2-1 links and I'm being mindful of the possibility she's heading towards that direction.

We medicated her this AM right before her nap.  She went down with a breeze and is still asleep after 1hr 15min.  We also extended her A time 20 minutes and she wasn't cranky at all.  We'll see how the afternoon nap goes.

Crossing my fingers for the teething to be quick. 

[ZacsMumme]

Great progress! I used to really wonder why Z would pack it in before naps when he was just a bit grisly during A time, but I think they really focus on the discomfort when trying to sleep. I guess we all do dont we, once we try to relax that little headache suddenly feels very loud and sore!

Hopefully the teeth come through quick and the meds take the edge off the pain.