5 mo old 30-40 min naps then plays in bed until E time! Pls help!

[Amethist]

Hi! Thanks for the input! She is definitely teething and has been for months. No teeth yet thought... What else is this book about? I read the several leaps. Were you in a similar situation? If yes, was it just a phase and did you find solutions in this book?

Best

[Papaya]

I don't have the book myself, I just use the website, and you can google more info as well. I definitely notice with my LO that when she is going through a mental development leap her sleep needs seem to decrease, she has random NWs and naps are a struggle. She is usually more fussy during the day as well. They generally last a week or two, and then we come out the other side with something close to our old routine (although sometimes she needs a slight A increase) and she's a lot calmer and doing new things. Knowing that a mental leap is due just helps me to accept that I need to go with the flow for a little while and hope that things settle down soon! If it lasts longer than 3 weeks, something else is probably at play.

If teeth are moving, the discomfort can also cause short or disrupted naps. Have you tried any teething meds to see if it makes a difference?

[Amethist]

Thanks Papaya! I just downloaded the book and hopefully it will give me some insight. Yes, we have been giving her an homeopathic remedy for teething, but as with everything for teething it only helps her temporarily. I keep brainstorming daily and hopefully we can soon figure out what we can do to help her any further. At this point I have tried everything.
Your LO is gorgeous!

[Amethist]

OK, so here's how it has been lately:
6 am - wake and stays in crib playing or falls back a sleep or wakes up 6:30ish
6:50am-feed
8:30-40- am nap, falls asleep on her own usually 10 min or so after
9:05-15- awake (30 min naps lately then stays in crib either babbling or mantra, and rarely falls back asslep until next feeding time
11:00am-feed
12:30-35- I put her in bed since she has been awake since 9:15 or so
12:50-falls asleep on her own but awake 30 min later and the same above repeats
3:00pm- feed
4:30-5- down for cat nap usually 30 min, when she does take one
5:30 wake and super low key A time
6:15-30- Bath
6:30-feed
7:00-15- asleep
11:00-dream feed and then she sleeps until 6 am, occasionally 5 and 5:30 am and we do it all again the next day
What do I do with A times? She is awake for all that time when she is supposed to be asleep. How could she be UT after being awake for all that time, and how can I give her the proper A time and not make her even more OT.

Mind puzzling...she has not been happy to wake up so soon after she falls asleep. Now,  during the day she sleeps in her crib and in her room since birth, at night she sleeps in her cot in our room, but she can't see us. Im even wondering if she somehow is starting to become scared of the crib, but in another hand if she was, she wouldn't be falling asleep in it to start with right? How can I keep her on the EASY routine if she barely does the S time? She has on occasion fallen back asleep since she started short naps, but maybe 2 times only in the last 2-3 weeks. Another thing -is her morning EW messing up the day? I mean, How can I keep her awake from 5, 5:30-6, and 6:30 wakings and not put her down at 8:45 am the latest every morning? Sometimes I think that these EW are making her OT for the rest of the day.

Anyone out there going through the same situation?

[Papaya]

Sorry for not getting back to you yesterday.

I still think that first nap may be UT - I would try stretching by another 10 mins. When do you count A time from? If she's dozing until 6.30, I would count A time from then even if you first heard her at 6. If she's obviously wide awake and babbling, I would count the time in the crib as half time (ie, count 30 mins in crib as 15 mins A time).

BUT, the second A is then really long after a short nap - the 30 min pm naps are likely OT. If the first nap is short, I'd shorten the next A to about 2 hours. This will mean that your next nap is quite a bit earlier than it *should* be, but at this age it's generally better to go by A times than any sort of nap time schedule, to avoid OT. So in the example you give above, I would be putting her down shortly after the 11am feed (just not feeding to sleep). With short naps, you may have more of a EASAEAS routine, just try to have a little bit of A after the E, even if it's only a few minutes!

The EWs could be teeth bothering her, or perhaps a bit of OT creeping in from the short naps. Have you tried doing a dreamfeed of teething meds at around 3/4am to see if that helps the WU?

[Bermudamama]

Thanks again Papaya. Yes, it seems to make sense... Like today, she ate at 11am after a short nap this am. she then went down at 12 right away and slept for 1 1/2 hours straight. I will try to continue to extend the am A time. However I'm so confused with this one considering her 5:30 or 6 am EW. She also started not wanting to stay in bed at 7 pm so I do PUPD until she does stay, specially after a day of short naps and occasionally skipped late pm cat nap.

I'm having a hard time knowing how to adjust EASY for her age, she will be 6 months in 2 weeks.

Thanks again!