Predictable Unpredictability - Please help us!

[labrodyk]

9.30-10.00 is all we got in the car.
I put her in bed and she lay awake from 10-10.40 before I conceded.
Nap 2: 12.30 - 1.50, then fell back to sleep until 2.10
Is 5pm too early for bedtime, 5.30 too late, 6?
 If she's falling asleep so early in the car for naps, perhaps at home I should be doing the same?

ETA: BT: 5.30; asleep 5.35ish woke after 40 minutes crying but was able to resettle thank goodness fingers crossed she sleeps through...

[labrodyk]

Well that was a FAIL. Awake from 2.30. Finally got her back to sleep for 40 minutes in my bed at 5 and now up for the day.

Nap 1: 10.00-11.30
Nap 2: 3.00-3.20 (car)

[becj86]

Well that was a FAIL. Awake from 2.30. Finally got her back to sleep for 40 minutes in my bed at 5 and now up for the day.

Oh Blah That's a pain. I was hoping EBT would be a turn out to be a good backstop. How was she when she woke? That can be chronic OT waking - that 9hr into the night and struggling to resettle.

[labrodyk]

I thought so too - it worked the first time but not the other night! Well, she woke and was whingy and restless but after about 30 odd minutes of that and not being able to soothe herself even with her thumb she started crying. We listened to her for a little while and then hubby tried to resettle for quite some time and she did fall back asleep but woke shortly after he left the room. I tried, then offered some water and a cuddle and she fell back asleep in my arms so I went and lay down in my bed. Co-sleeping has never worked with either of my kids, they' rather crawl around and kick and scratch and anything but sleep 

The last two nights she's woken after 30/40 minutes crying but at least has been able to resettle! then you've got a day like today which was:

WU: ? Awake at 6.20 when I checked the monitor
OOB: 6.30
Nap 1: 9.50; asleep shortly after - 11.10
Nap 2: 2.30ish - 3.30 so less than an hour
BT: 6.30. Went down crying (same as usual) and didn't fall asleep until closer to 7.00pm but at least didn't wake crying early on.

Man she's hard work! I totally can't crack her or even know what I should be doing with her!

[becj86]

-sleeping has never worked with either of my kids, they' rather crawl around and kick and scratch and anything but sleep

Mine too. At least that's one habit I can't get into... Ah, he does now, at 5yo, but only in the last few months.

You know, 2 x ~1hr naps worked for us for a while with L. I changed again to make sure we had a long nap for when we went to one nap.

Your days are still pretty variable but she is getting some sleep now

[labrodyk]

Yes, you're right, she is getting some sleep just have to be careful of too many short naps but with kindy it's just so hard. Hopefully things will improve when we move to one nap just I hope she doesn't continue with the super early car naps!!

Today I have NO idea when she woke but awake when I woke at 6.20. Stayed in bed until 7.00 but was SO much happier when awake so I just kept her up and pushed a little bit until 10.10. She fell asleep really quickly and no fussing at all and slept 2 hours!! Is that because her A was nearly 4 hours or massive catch up? Grrrr, I couldn't replicate that nap if I stuck to 10.10am nap tomorrow if I tried. Makes it easier to push nap if she's happy to crawl around, play and have cuddles, rather than whinge and cry constantly!
I stuck to 3hrs second A but she started bawling as soon as I entered the room! Added a book and a cuddle to wind down and she settled quickly shortly after PD at 3.12pm. will try and conserve the day and cap at 4.15 with a BT of 7.00 or later perhaps?

[becj86]

I stuck to 3hrs second A but she started bawling as soon as I entered the room!

UT, do you think?

You may end up having one long nap and one short pretty consistently soon. If you were to do short AM/long PM with the short AM nap in the car on kindy days, that could maybe work?

[labrodyk]

Quote from: labrodyk on Today at 06:25:12
I stuck to 3hrs second A but she started bawling as soon as I entered the room!
UT, do you think?

I thought so too but she stirred and wriggled from 30 minutes so I assumed OT, but then woke fully after 40.

BT was just after 7 but she took until 7.30 to fall asleep. Fx she stays asleep.

Your suggestion of short am/long pm sounds perfect but I've never been able to get it right - even when I do it on kindy days! Second nap is only ever those 1hr20 or less which don't seem restorative and and then a really long A to bed which never seems to have been her thing. Her best nap has always been am. What would your suggestion be time wise for both long am/short pm vs short am/long on and how could I incorporate into car naps as early as 9/9.30 if needed do you think

Thank you so much for continually helping me, you're so amazing. Maybe I should just delete this thread cause it's a little embarrassing after 25 pages

[becj86]

Well, if you're getting something like this:
6:30-7 - WU
9/9:30 - 30-40min nap
1/1:30 - nap (I think you have to push the A time here even after the short nap or you won't get enough long A time into the day for her to be tired enough to sleep well in the early hours of the morning)
6:30/7 - BT depending upon WU from nap.

[labrodyk]

Problem being that two days a week I'd have to wake her from the arvo nap at 2.30 to do kindy pick up

This morning wasn't very good...

WU: 6.25 or earlier
Nap 1: 10.04: 10.07-10.43. 10.45ish-11.23. Then dozed and fell back asleep but woke at 11.30!

[becj86]

Ugh That kindy pickup time really does throw another spanner in the works.

I cannot imagine she'd transfer well from one spot to another - like if you picked her up asleep and put her in the car - dyt she'd keep sleeping on the way to kindy?

[labrodyk]

dyt she'd keep sleeping on the way to kindy?

That's my current problem, she doesn't sleep long enough in the car (maybe 20 minutes at best) let alone transferred outside. If I just undo my seat belt or open my door with the car still running she wakes.

Second nap: 2.35, asleep 2.45-4.17 I had to wake her.
BT: 7.00. Went down crying and couldn't settle. I went in and gave her a little cuddle and put back down but took her another 20 minutes - until just after 8pm to finally fall asleep!

What did I do wrong?! She was really upset, not UT upset either.

[becj86]

Separation anxiety? Super little thing that often pops up around 9 months... Separation Anxiety

That's my current problem, she doesn't sleep long enough in the car (maybe 20 minutes at best) let alone transferred outside. If I just undo my seat belt or open my door with the car still running she wakes.

I was thinking nap in bed then transfer to car - would that be different, with the movement?

[labrodyk]

Grrrr, that could have been it but she woke at 10.30pm crying and stirring from 6am, completely awake from 6.20am! If I get her OOB at 7 with Harry, it's proving very difficult to make it to 10.10 nap!

Oh I've tried to transfer before but once I lift her or carry outside she's awake. If she doesn't then the sound of the car doors, the change in light, lifting and clicking into car seat and buckling her in wakes her. I've always wanted a transferable child, would make things so much easier.

[becj86]

I trained L to transfer with shush/pat variation while I carried him... still works at 5 but he was much like A when he was younger.

You might find a 12hr night is not a reasonable expectation until she drops another nap, yk?