Don't even know where to start.

[kellyincali]

DS1 is 26 months. His sleeping has been awful since getting a BBB at 22 months and now? It's freaking horrible. I originally thought that maybe he was dropping his nap, since he would be fine after not getting a nap and then BT would go smoother... now BT is getting really, really, really late (like 10:30 or 11 for the last week or so doing WI/WO) and he's waking up really early (between 5 and 6am) PLUS a nap every third day if I'm lucky. I have no idea how much sleep he needs anymore! He's exhausted and clearly so OT he can't settle down.

Where do I even start? He's on no clear routine anymore and I'm not even sure how to start a routine with him.

The biggest problem is that I have a second son who is having MAJOR SA and is teething right now so he can't handle being put in a room to play for a little bit while I put DS1 down; he just screams and screams and screams. I would wear him while I deal with DS1, but he just cries because he's sleepy. He will nap in the sling, but not if he has to listen to DS1 crying while I repeatedly put him back in bed for two hours....

I figure that I need to start with DS2 first (7 months) and get him napping in his crib after the SA and teething pass so that I can deal with DS1 during that afternoon nap... but then what do I do about WU? And BT?? Even then, it could take months for the SA and teething to pass, so do I just take it one day at a time and accept the crankiness/OT/toddler hell meanwhile?

I'm sorry for the rather emotional dump and the ridiculous amount of questions, but I'm exhausted and a little desperate.

[Buntybear]

Hi, was going to reply on your other thread about your 26 month old. First some HUGS as you sound exhausted xxxxx

Could you post your 26 month olds EASY? If he was napping 1.5 hours then I would guess he isn't ready to drop his nap quite yet. I would put his A time up (my 24 month old just upped his 1st A time by 45 minutes in a matter of weeks - then he went back to napping but I now cap it at 1 hour otherwise he is UT at BT).

The way I have always worked out EASY is by going to back to where we were before the mess and just adding a bit more A time. It is easier on 1 nap as you add it on the 1st A time!

Olly was also fine on his no nap days but I knew it was too early to drop it as he is a medium sleep needs baby. How about yours?

Sorry no advice on your little LO, maybe you should split your post so he is looked at by other Mums in the same age range?

Hope this helps a bit x

[kellyincali]

Thank you for the reply! I don't even know what his a time should be at this point. It's been months since he's been on a proper EASY. The BBB threw everything for a loop, then some bad bouts of illnesses, then traveling and then the holidays... So it's literally been months since he had a predictable routine. Hence the stress.

 Saturday went like this:
Wake: 7am
Nap: 1pm - 2:00pm (I was capping at 1.5 until he stopped napping altogether)
BT: 9pm (because of no WI/WO)

Yesterday went like this:
Wake: 6am
Nap: 1:30 - 2:15 (started trying around 12)
BT: 8:45 (no WI/WO)

He eats small amounts throughout the day and has never been one for set meal/snack times, which doesn't help keep him on a semblance of a routine.

Don't worry about advice for DS2, he's the easy one! I just wonder about how to juggle them both when they both have sleeping issues. Perhaps that's a thread better suited for the "And then there were 2" board.

[<Catherine>]

Just another POV.... have you tried moving the nap earlier? When my DS's sleep went wonky just before 24 months (for us it was the start of dropping the nap - it may well be in your case too) the first thing that helped was to move his nap earlier. If he's OT, like you say, then he may settle better with an earlier (but possibly still capped) nap, and that will hopefully mean he's not so UT at BT and settle easier then too.

What do you think?

[kellyincali]

Hi Catherine,

Well, I gave the earlier a nap a go just now and tried for about an hour to make it happen. Instead of a nap at 1, I tried for 12pm and nothing. I KNOW he's tired because he's rolling around on the floor, rubbing his eyes, crying at the drop of a hat.

If he's in the car and strapped to a car seat, he falls asleep easily. Does that mean I should bust out some duct tape and tape him to the mattress?  I just kidding. For now.

We'll try again when the earlier nap tomorrow to see what happens.

[<Catherine>]

I've also searched for duct tape in the past

I remember 11.30am working for DS for a short while (his usual nap time was between 12.30 and 1pm), so it might be worth trying a little bit earlier even - it may sound mad (it did do to me at the time too!) but it worked for us. If nothing else is working then give it a go.