This is Hell. 6 mo EW

[katie80]

And I realized: I don't have to be perfect. I forget that sometimes. I can get so so bent out of shape when I get a 30 min nap. I have to remember: He's healthy. I'm not getting enough sleep, but I'm not PPD and exhausted. I have tools, knowledge, resources. A husband to help me. And tomorrow is a new day, with no mistakes in it.

^^this...  You are absolutely correct!  Enjoy your DS.  As frustrating as short naps, OT/ut, etc can be, babies are only babies for a short while.

Agreed! It sounds like you've got a really good pspective on it and are definitely making progress.  Keep up the good work.

[afranklin]

What a Day!!!!

Yesterday 3:10 hours of day sleep.
11hr night, minus an hour NW
Wake: 6:20
S: 8:30-9, then I left him alone for 20 min and he slept for an hour more! 9:25-10:20
S: 12:30-2:15
S: 4:30-5

Wow. A good reminder to not rush in!
I was following tired signs, and waiting a few minutes. Not rushing him to bed at the first yawn. And clearly he wasn't OT or UT for once!!

This was so different, I wasn't sure what to do. Unfortunately it's a lot of day sleep for him, and I think there will be a big cot party tonight. I wasn't sure when and which naps to cut off, or out or whatever. Dropping the catnap would have led to a BT of 5:15 at best, I think, or OT. I wonder if I just have to live with NW until he can stay up longer. I'd much rather that than OT.

It's strange, his sleep needs (usu.) look more like one of the 8 or 9 mo old sample EASYs. But his A time doesn't match... so it makes things rather difficult. He seems to need 10 hrs/night, 3 hrs in the day. But the 'nap math' doesn't work out very well since he can't stay up longer, so far.

I will try for a 2:15 or 2:20 A tomorrow...

[katie80]

I think he probably can stay up for longer if you push him gradually.  Once you get them pushed a bit, then it should be easier to drop the CN. I think the reason his times don't add up is that the day sleep is taking away from the night sleep and they're not even.  You'll get there... I think this is a common issue at this age, with the CN dropping, but once his A times even out a bit, it should work.

[afranklin]

A victory lap!

Like I said, I'm SO anxious and fearful re: OTness. I have this idea that once he has a short nap, there's a domino effect that takes days to recover from, and he won't catch up on the sleep he needs unless I work (and worry, 'cause that does something, right?) really hard and APOP.

Well, yesterday helped me relax a little about that. He had a short night (9:20) and not much napping (2:37), so less than 12 hours in the 24 hour period. At 7 mos that's a bit on the low end I think, and lower than his usual for sure. I put him to bed fully expecting an AWFUL night. And it wasn't. Yes, there were four WU, which I think were OT WUs, but he went right back to it with some comforting (no long cot parties or 5:30 EW!). And this morning he woke up around 6:20 and did that quiet babbling thing, and went back to sleep for another cycle. He slept about 11.5 hours! So he was OT from yesterday, but not too OT to get caught up last night. What a relief.

And this morning? For the first nap he was not going down, just partying in there. He ended up not falling asleep until he'd been awake for 3 hours. And he's still sleeping... past the 30 min mark, past the 45 min mark.

Yay.

You guys are right, right, right. My intention has been to push out his A gradually, but hey. Whatever works.
Amanda

[katie80]

Yes, it's really common to be afraid of OT.  I know I was big time.  But, then you have a day and night like you did and realize that it isn't the worst thing in the world and actually, I've seen UT be just as big of a problem on the baords as OT.  I'm rarely afraid of OT with my DS, because I know that he will work his way out of it and I really don't even have to do much to help him (my DD was touchy with sleep and needed way more help to get out of OT ).

And sometimes, LOs do need a big jump in A times.  Some like to go by 10-15min, some by 15-20. It sounds like he was defintiely ready after that nice, long night! 

Keep up the good work!