16 month old. Sttn but now having short nights.

[Jem88]

I've made a few posts on here and had alot of help and advice which seemed to get into a good nap routine but it hasn't stopped her NWs.

She's been on 30min AM and 1.5-2hr PM for about 2 months now and is still having NWs. She is teething at the mo (her 9th tooth, first molar) Which i'm medicating the best i can with nurofen, teething gel and powders.

For the past 3 nights she's went to bed fine, slept 2.5hr without making a sound and then she's been up every hour - 1.5hr and i've no idea why.

i'm thinking maybe UT? As she was in bed for 7.30pm lastnight, slept 2.5hr was up every hour then woke up at 6.50am chatting and playing in her cot which she NEVER does! she always wakes up crying.

I tried 1 nap yesterday and it went great so i'm wanting to try 1 nap for a few days and see how she goes as the 2 naps are just not working for us and her A time before bed is getting longer.

Yesterday went:

2nd april.
7.00am - up.
11.55am - nap. A time 4hr 55mins.
2.35pm - up. 2.5hr -( She did wake at the 1hr mark but resettled within a few mins.)
7.30pm - Bed A time 5hr.

The day before yesterday she had 2 naps and we had the same night as lastnight, slept 2.5hr and then up every hour.

Can someone please help? x

[*Becky*]

so is there no difference at night whether she has one or two naps?

If not then I would think it is more likely to be teeth that are the issue. Are you giving meds before bed?

[Jem88]

She had 2 naps 3 nights ago, slept 2.5hr when she went to bed then was up every hour. Then she had 1 nap the day after and we had the same night 2.5hr - up every hour. I then tried 1 nap again yesterday and she only slept 1.5hr and last night was awful, she was up every 10-30mins

I'll be doing 2 naps today and i know teeth are mostly to blame at the mo but she's been sleeping terrible for nearly 2 months now

[*Becky*]

sounds like 2 naps is necessary atm. Can you post your routine with 2 naps?

Do you give meds at bedtime? Have you tried nurofen? I find it works much better for teeth.

[Jem88]

I've been giving nurofen at bedtime and teething gel. She woke at 6.20am this morning and has already gone down for a nap after 2.5hr. I'll just let her sleep today as we had such a bad night.  It's roughly give or take 30mins:

7.00am - up.
10.00am - nap. A time 3hr. - sometimes 3.5hr.
10.30am - up. 30mins.
1.30pm - nap. A time 3hr.
3.30pm - up. 2hr (We sometimes get 1.5hr)
7.30pm - Bed. A time 4hr.  Although it's starting to be 4.5hr before she settles even after a 1.5hr nap.

[*Becky*]

hmm. well if meds are making no difference then it could be routine I guess. Her A times are similar to my lo and she is 10 months so it may be that you need to push out that first nap and then cap the second to 1.5. It is tricky with teeth as it could be that she is ready for one nap but the NWings and the discomfort prevent that.

[Jem88]

I'm not sure what to do really.. She was really tired this morning so she went down after 2.5hr. I just let her sleep/wake herself for both naps. I'm hoping for a better night tonight tho. Think i'm going to have to stick with 2 naps for a while.

I could try these A times and see if she starts to sleep better?

6.30am - up.
10.15am - nap. A time 3hr 45mins.
10.45am - up. 30mins.
1.45pm - nap. A time 3hr.
3.15pm - up. 1.5hr
7.15pm - Bed. A time 4hr.

[*Becky*]

yes that looks good or if you want to shorten the day a little you could try
A - 6.30am
S - 10-10.30am
S - 1.30-3pm
Bedtime - 7pm.

[Jem88]

I'm really not sure what to do, we keep getting long days 13+ and short nights 9.5-10.5hr. She's always done 11.5-12hr nights.

I'm finding it hard to stick to the routine when she's waking early
yesterday went fine until bedtime - she took 4hr 45mins to settle to sleep. BUT she didn't wake after 30-40mins which she has been doing.

She fell asleep at 7.35pm, woke at 8.45pm, 10.35pm, 11.25pm, she was then fussing, so i gave a bottle and nurofen and she slept a full 4hr 40mins 11.40pm - 4.40am. She then woke every 15mins until 5.00am where she decided she wanted to play and mess around in her cot until i finally got her to sleep again at 6.30am where she again woke after 10mins.

I don't know if she was UT or OT. I'm really stuck at what to do next. This was our routine yesterday:

7th.
6.00am - up.
9.35am - nap. A time 3.35mins.
10.05am - up. 30mins.
1.30pm - nap. A time 3hr 25mins.
2.50pm - up.  1hr 20mins.
7.35pm - bed. A time 4hr 45mins. - I had her in bed for 6.45pm.

Also, do i count todays wake up as 5.00am, or 6.50am even tho she was only asleep for 10mins? x

[*Becky*]

I really doubt she was UT after yesterday hun...that sounds much more like OT/teeth to me. I would count wake up as about 5.30am today as the 10 mins will not count for much. FWIW I would just get her up at 6am if she has not settled by then.

[Jem88]

She's going to my mums today (she goes every sunday for a few hours.) and usually doesn't nap for long, and normally goes to sleep an hour after i say nap time is such a time so i'm letting her have a long AM nap.

What do i do for tomorrow, do i carry on with the current routine and A times and just keep putting her into bed after 3hr 45min A time and hope she falls asleep for 4hr A?

I'm really pleased with the 4hr40min stretch of sleep she done last night, we haven't had more than 3hr stretch in about a month lol. I'm just not sure how to "fix" the crappy sleep either side of the good stretch of sleep. x

[Kay Dee]

Hiya, the 2-1 is *such* a tough transition. If you feel her day is getting too long you could cap the AM nap a little more and try to bring the PM nap earlier. Then you still get a good A time to bed without bedtime getting too late. So you could try something like:

AM nap 10-10.20
PM nap 12.30-2.30pm
Bed 7pm

I think her A time to bed is too short at 4hrs causing her difficulties settling/unsettled nights, and then she ends up OT as she's not getting solid sleep and she has a long day.

What do you think?

x

[Jem88]

I don't know what's up with her She just won't go to sleep at bedtime. I did a long AM - short PM today and our day has been ridiculously too long again as she took forever to fall asleep. She fell asleep fine at my mums and i asked to wake her after 30mins but she let her sleep 40mins. She was yawning, poking her ears and just generally acting tired. So she had her bath and in bed for 7.00pm as i was hoping she'd fall asleep after a 3.5hr A. She messed around until 7.55pm and then got worked up and screaming - proberly then OT!.

I was thinking of sticking with 30min AM and 1.5hr PM. I could proberly get her to sleep for her AM nap after 3hr A time, but she won't go to sleep any earlier than 3.5hr after 20-30min nap i've tired LOADS of times

I know she hasn't ever slept well but we've always had 11.5-12hr nights and she's went down to bed fine. This is the first time we've actually had a big problem with her sleep/bedtime and long/short days

[Jem88]

So last night she finally fell asleep at 8.15pm making it 4hr A after a 40mins nap. She then woke 40mins, 2hr 15mins, 3hr, 2hr 20mins, then decided at 5.30am she wanted to be up for the day making it a 9.5hr night. BUT i managed to get her to go back to sleep in our bed but she only slept an hour, waking at 6.40am making it a 10.5hr night.

Her night time sleep is getting alot better, but we still have the short nights. Would you suggest i try a 1 nap, or 2 short naps and EBT to shorten our day? I can't see any other way of doing it if she's needing a longer A time before bed. x

[*Becky*]

have you tried one nap yet? I don't think it can hurt to try and see how it works out. If you do I would aim for the nap to be around 11.45/12pm.. xx