LSN 15mo less than 10h night sleep

[claudiaklipp]

Hi!  I posted a month ago about long NW.  Turns out it was likely due to discomfort related to an oncoming cold.  She had 4 in quick succession so we've dealt with long NW many times over the past couple months.  I found out that she was a LSN baby, as I long suspected, and was advised to watch out for decreasing night sleep. 

Well!  In the past month we have fluctuated between periods where she gets stuck in sleeping less than 10 hours at night (and as a result is of course cranky, tired, and irritable), then we seem to swing back to periods of longer night sleep (11ish hours) and she's fairly happy.  I suspect she's swinging back and forth between OT and UT.  Or she's having "catch-up" days.  Tonight we tried putting her to sleep 30 minutes earlier (at 7:30pm, after 5h15 A time) and she finally fell asleep at 8:05pm with me sitting on the floor with my hand on her back.  5h15 sometimes seems to work before BT and sometimes she doesn't seem tired enough.  How to tell the difference between OT and UT at BT??  Her am A time is up to 6h.  I am capping her nap at around 2h.

So I guess what I'm asking is, any other LSN mums out there with advice on how to find the balance between OT and UT?  Is there any way we can get her to sleep an adequate amount every night?

Thanks,
Claudia

[claudiaklipp]

... and as an addendum, she's awake now, after 1h25 of sleep, crying.
She had less than 10h last night, so I really suspect OT now. 

[claudiaklipp]

Can anyone help me out here?

[bloosiern]

Early crying NW's usually mean OT.  What is her WU, naptime and BT at the moment?  Are you certain she's LSN?  The only reason I ask that is because you say she's fairly happy when she gets 11h ONS but with less she is cranky/tired/irritable.

[claudiaklipp]

Hi Lisa,
Usual WU is 6:30am, nap time 12:30 or 1 until 2:30pm (I wake her up), and BT at 8pm.  We've been on this schedule for many months, as she dropped to one nap around 12 months.  If she wakes up later than 2:30pm she is often not tired enough for BT at 8pm.  She's been sleeping 10-10.5h at night probably since she was 9 or 10 months old.  10-10.5h has been fine in that she's quite happy and not overtired.  It's when we have those under 10h nights that things go sideways, and those have been happening more and more recently, which is my concern.  I'm not sure whether we have a schedule problem, or whether it's a temporary teething problem that comes and goes.  I find it hard to tell.
A moderator on this site suggested to me a couple months ago when I posted that she is likely LSN; I had long suspected that she was.

[bloosiern]

Since she was a baby have her wake times been on the higher side of normal then since she's LSN?  If so, maybe a longer WT in the am with same amount of nap then shorter WT to bed?  How does she seem before her current naptime - is she ready or do you think she can wait longer?

I don't have any experience myself as mine were HSN and ASN so that's all the advice I can offer right now.  Hope it helps!

[MommaStorms]

I have 2 LSN babies, 3yr old & 10 month old.

I don't remember dealing with any issues like this AFTER we went to 1 nap a day at 11 months for DD. I'd try to keep everything consist day to day. She is getting less than 10 some nights? How is it happening? You said:

WU 6:30
Nap12:30-2:30
BT 8

I know this is the most annoying this to hear but... Do you think she may be teething? 

[claudiaklipp]

That schedule is what we aim for; however, some nights it's 8:30-6 or 8-5:45 etc.  And yes, I do absolutely think it might be teething!  In a way I hope it is teething, because then at least I know it's temporary.  I'm just wondering if we've missed something, or if you see something we don't in terms of her schedule and what we're doing.

[MommaStorms]

I guess the only other thing I can think of is making sure she gets time to physically burn off energy. I do remember sometimes naps didn't go well if she hadn't gotten to go outside and run around. That or throw some cushions on the floor and climb and wrestle around.