Where I am going wrong?

[Henty]

My DD is 4 months and her routine is as follows

Wu 7am (can shift half an hour in either direction)
E 7.10
A
S 8.30-10.30/45

E 11
A
S 12.45-2.00/15

E 3
A
S 4.00-5.00

E 7
A none
S 7.30 or so

No NF- she wakes a few times but i just pop her dummy in and she goes straight back over!

Shes not bad at putting herself to sleep. Morning nap she comes into bed with me and i just lay her beside me and pop her dummy in and she goes to sleep. During the day i give her a cuddle then lay her on her bed i have for in my living room. And nighttime she gets her bottle- but then cries and cries and cries and is so upset- i dont know why she does it as its no difference from during the day!

Do i need to shorten her sleep during the day?
Its just so horrible putting her to bed everynight! I get the occasional night when i can just lie her in her cot and she goes off to sleep after 20mins or so, and on those days i do nothing different.

Any advice?

Thank you!

[nevinsmama]

I remember lousy bedtimes with my DD at this age and couldn't pin it down. Your day looks like she may need a A time bump, maybe 15 minutes at a time to get closer to 2 hours, especially that 1st A time with that lovely long nap. I wouldn't let the nap go beyond 2 hours if I were you. I would also hold that last nap to no more than 45  minutes with a slightly reduced A time to avoid OT at BT. Hope this helps!

[Henty]

Thank you for your reply!

Do you mean have an earlier bedtime perhaps?

Thanks!

[nevinsmama]

Yes, possibly and temporarily. As she has A time extended earlier in the day ( it will take a few days for new A times to settle) it may end up being close to the same time as it is now but with shorter last nap and shorter last A. I see that her last A is the longest of the day and after the shortest nap. That COULD be part of the settling problem. Keep us posted!

[Henty]

Thankyou.

I tried extending her morning A time this morning but at 1hr 30 she was sooo tired and was very upset. I put her down and she was asleep within 2 minutes. She woke after 1hr 20mins though so would that suggest to you that that A time is ok or should i try extending?
She can however make it to 2 hours during the rest of the day. I always wonder if i should be putting her down after 2 hours or put her down around 1hr 45/50mins so shes asleep by 2hours?

[nevinsmama]

If she is sensitive to OT and is looking wiped sooner than you could put her down earlier. Some LOs do like their first A to be the shortest. If naps get shorter than you could try adding just 10 minutes on at a time and keep the last bits of A time very mellow. I would give her 10 minutes to fall asleep, so laying her down 10 minutes before "desired" nap time. New A times do take time to adjust!

[Henty]

Thanks!

This morning she woke at 6.55am and i put her down at 8.30am for some quiet time then popped her dummy in at 8.40am she was asleep so soon, maybe in 2 minutes.
Howver she woke after 1 hour so not even sure what that means?!