Sleep and EASY Support for spirited babies

[lily_layne]

Thanks for the ideas and support! Yesterday we had a great day (2 long naps that I had to wake her from) so I was feeling optimistic about having a good night but no luck there.  She was up at 10:30 to eat and then went back to sleep fairly easily but was up and ready to play at midnight - it was past 3 before she went back to sleep   The good news is that DH voluntarily got out of bed to help and he's going to try to leave work early today so I can get some rest.  The bad news is that this is our 5th night with multiple/long NWs I have no idea what's causing this.  It doesn't seem to matter how our day goes, DD is waking up multiple times.  The only thing I can figure out is that the more she sleeps in the day, the longer the NW.  Has anyone else had similar nights?

[Lindsay27]

The only thing I can figure out is that the more she sleeps in the day, the longer the NW.  Has anyone else had similar nights?

I was actually going to mention this to you as soon as I started reading your post.  I limit my DS's daytime sleep to about 3hrs - 3.15hrs, maybe 3.5hrs as an absolute max.  Anything beyond that, and we are having crib parties at 3am.  I know Kirsten had similar issues and I think she has pushed their BT back quite a bit.

Now that you know she CAN have good naps, I would stick to whatever A time you used yesterday that worked, but limit each nap to about 1.5 - 1.45hrs (not sure what you capped them at yesterday?)  Hopefully that will help

[lily_layne]

thanks for advice. I capped her naps at 2.5 and 2h yesterday. I think it was too much day sldoes

She just put herself to sleep for her nap which she rarely does so at least some good things are happening.

[Lindsay27]

Ah, just realized that she is just under 5 months old.  So, I would say 2 x 2hr naps is probably sufficient, maybe a little less even, and no CN

[Kirsten~]

Maybe you posted this early, and I missed it, but how much daytime sleep is she getting now?

As Lindsay said, we also had a lot of long NWs. Moving her BT back an hour helped a lot. You may not need to move it a whole hour, but maybe see if doing 30 mins later would work?

[NewMum79]

FYI I limit DD's day sleep to 3.5hr (she is 5.5 months old) so ideal day for us is 2 x 1.5hr naps and a 30 minute catnap. I don't always manage to get that much out of her but as long as she gets c.3 hours she seems to be ok. Fingers crossed we haven't had a long NW in quite some time so it seems to be working.

[lily_layne]

When she was STTN earlier this month she was getting around 3.5-4 hours.  This last week with the short naps, it's been as little as 2 hours on some days but yesterday was close to 5 hours.  I'm fairly certain that 5 hours was way too much and was the cause of the long NW - I think I can definitely rule out OT as the cause of the NWs.  She's consistently had lots of NW this last week, but on days when she's slept less she actually wants to go back to sleep so I agree with all of you that limiting her day sleep will probably help.

Moving her BT back an hour helped a lot. You may not need to move it a whole hour, but maybe see if doing 30 mins later would work?

How much A time do you give your LO before bed? 
DH's vote is to drop the catnap but I think moving her BT back might be better because without the CN we'll either have way too much A time before bed (3-4 hours) or we'll have to shorten her day too much.  She'll be 5 mo in 2 days so I think she might be too young to go without the catnap yet, but if you think otherwise, please let me know.

Things aren't all doom and gloom today - I think we may have her A time figured out.  She put herself to sleep for both naps which she almost never does!!!  I think DD knew she needed to do something to make up for last night:)

Thanks for all of the advice - it's really helping my sleep deprived mind sort all of this out.

[NewMum79]

I agree with you lily_layne, we couldn't manage without the catnap either yet as I don't fancy the potential consequences of 3-4hr A time before bed or super early BT 

[lily_layne]

NewMum - How much A time are you doing before BT?

[Kirsten~]

How much A time do you give your LO before bed?

Her A time before bed is the longest. If she's at home, then her 2nd nap usually ends around 4 or 4:30, so she'll have a 4 or 4.5 hr A time. But on days when she goes to the babysitters, she usually fall asleep for the 30 min drive home, so then she only has a 2.5-3 hr A time. She still falls asleep no problem though. We are finding the fixed BT to be working. Her naps are just about fixed too, but we go more on her cues than on her A time (DH's policy and it's working, so I won't argue).

NOt sure on dropping the CN vs moving BT. I think you have to see what works best for your schedules and your LO. If she fights the CN, then maybe she is ready to drop it?

[NewMum79]

We do a shorter A time before bed. DD tends to wake up from catnap around 5.15/5.30 and BT is 7.00/7.15 so A time is around 1hr45 and it usually works fine.

Has anyone else had bath time problems? DD used to LOVE the bath but has screamed (tears and everything) the last few nights for no apparent reason. Last night was ok as I took a bath with her but tonight was back to screaming again. Any suggestions?

[Lindsay27]

Our A time before bed is pretty close to our other A times throughout the day - usually between 3 - 3.5hrs.  We pretty well work on a set BT now too, unless he wakes from his PM nap really early, BT is usually around 7:45pm (bottle at 7:30pm).

Dropping the CN is hard, and you will probably find that some days they need it, and others they don't.  I think we frequently switched back and forth between having a CN and a later BT and not having one and an early BT, dependant on whether he would actually go down for the CN or not.

Has anyone else had bath time problems?

We did around 6 months when DS learned to sit on his own - he didn't want to be reclined in the baby tub at all, but he wasn't quite stable enough for us to take the infant seat out of the tub yet.  I did the same as you and took baths with him for probably 2 or 3 weeks until he could sit on his own without the insert.  Wasn't a huge deal for me because I love the bath myself so I found it kind of fun

[NewMum79]

Thanks Lindsay, that could be it as DD is learning to sit at the moment. I have also noticed that she doesn't like being placed on her back on the activity mat so much either and when I sit her up and prop her against me to play she is much happier. All makes sense now! 

[Lindsay27]

I have also noticed that she doesn't like being placed on her back on the activity mat so much either and when I sit her up and prop her against me to play she is much happier.

As soon as my DS learned to sit up, he completely refused to be on his back at all.  You should see me trying to change his diaper or get him dressed...it's a nightmare.  I found once he learns something new, forget about anything he did before!  Now that he crawls do you think I can get him to sit...ever?  Nope.

You will probably find that as soon as she sits on her own and is stable, she won't need to be reclined in the tub, and bath time will be happier

[SEA0680]

Hi- quick question. Have a 4.5 month old spirited son and wondering about a mobile above the crib. Will it entertain him while he falls asleep and when he wakes up early, or will it distract him from falling asleep?

Thanks!