Waking after first sleep cycle 5 months

[Conniesmummy]

We do try and squeeze a cat nap in if we can before a group to tide her over. Just missed it hence the meltdowns 

[Conniesmummy]

Today's update.
Woke 6:45
Fed 7:15 after wash and dress, I never feed her straight away.
08:45 wind down story upstairs,First nap with me, 2 hrs
A 11:00
E 11:15
Went out to supermarket, she actually fell alseep as we were leaving at 13:00 but woke when put into car. Fell back asleep at 13:30 for 30 mins.
E 15:15
Last nap she actually settled on my knee and I was able to watch a movie! Not done that for so long, it was beaches with better midler, old favourite of mine 
She slept for 90 mins which amazed me as she will normally cat nap on my knee downstairs!!
A 17:15
Bath 18:30 (wasn't sure how long to leave after better nap so aimed for usual bedtime routine??
Bottle about 18:40 ish
Put down awake 19:15, a little noise so far but appears to be settling, fingers crossed.
I know she is still napping with help, but no meltdown when out today and the nap on my k we was progress so I feel better that I'm not isolated to the bedroom with her all the time for naps!!
I want her to feel able to nap on the go if and when we have to, I get edgy if we need to go anywhere, like tomorrow we have friends visiting from a distance away and I'd hate them to see grumpy baby as she is so much fun when she's happy. Pity it's only me and daddy that see that side of her, well my mum does too, she loves her nanna 

[becj86]

I want her to feel able to nap on the go if and when we have to, I get edgy if we need to go anywhere, like tomorrow we have friends visiting from a distance away and I'd hate them to see grumpy baby as she is so much fun when she's happy.

This comes with practice (and planning & staying relaxed if things don't go completely to plan). Try to plan for them to meet you guys when LO has just woken, so there's some happy baby time when she's well rested, then you can rightly comment that she's tired when she is. You can also try taking her away from the new people 15-30min before naps time to settle her down from any overstimulation that might be involved with meeting new people so she can nap.

Yay for naps on the couch So nice!

That was a much better day, yes? You did well to recover from the unplanned CN and she got her two long naps and a CN. FX for a good night xx

[Conniesmummy]

Thanks. We did have a few tears on waking from the last nap, but she had a burp and spit up and think this disturbed her  she soon settled with a cuddle and had another 10 mins and woke happy and played nicely before bedtime.
She is tired at bedtime and is in the habit of trying to sleep whilst feeding. I sit and quietly tell her stories to keep her as awake as possible so she goes down awake, she may soon get bored with the same stories night after night lol 

[becj86]

I still sing the same BT songs to DS now at 4.5yo that I sang when he was 5 mo. He loves the "tradition" of it.

[Conniesmummy]

Well we survived the visitors 
I settled her for a cat nap before we went and she was a dream the whole time. She sat in a highchair and played happily. She did get tired,  but no meltdown, had a feed then we came home and she napped for 2 hours! Albeit with me, I fell asleep too, large lunch lol. I thought bedtime may have been off due to the longer nap but I just put it back 15 mins and she went down as normal 

[becj86]

Wonderful, well done. You tweaked your day around your activities and it worked well for you all. I'm so glad you had a great meetup with your friends.

[Conniesmummy]

I think it's just having the confidence to tweak things I guess. I'm still assisting naps, no real intervention except laying next to her, the odd cuddle, no rocking or anything and bedtime is still bath bottle and down to sleep in her cot awake and she settles herself.
I do hope that one day she can manage to nap without as much intervention, as much as I love snuggles, I find I dash about sorting myself out whilst she is awake. Good job my hubby is so good and we share the chores very well, always have done, and he's a good cook too. On a really organised day me and lo organise dinner, well she supervises me 
Thanks so much for your ongoing support. I like checking in with you.

[becj86]

Is she safe to sleep there without you? Would you be able to get up after she goes to sleep, for instance? Is she needing you to resettle through the nap?

I think it's just having the confidence to tweak things I guess

Definitely, the confidence helps. Its important, too, to realise that you won't 'break' her if she doesn't get perfect naps every day and that her crying isn't always a bad thing, its her only way to communicate, so when she's older, instead of crying when tired/overstimulated, she might whine or become clingy.

Lucky you with DH who can cook! Mine learned this year when I went back to uni

[Conniesmummy]

I am lucky he is fab 
I can leave her at the min but won't be leaving long til she's on the move as can already roll both ways!
At the moment I could let a bomb off in that first half an hour but after that I do need to resettle her as she is wide awake!
I do feel much better about managing changes in routine.
I have stopped checking the video monitor in the morning if I wake early. I set alarm for 6:45 and get her up then unless I hear her before. She is always awake so I still don't know what time she wakes, but is always smiley.

[becj86]

Have you tried white noise?

[Conniesmummy]

Used it when she was really little, not sure if it worked or not really. Should I try it first on my bed without me lying there or just go for it in her room? I've got a bear that plays a heartbeat but it only plays for 5 mins and responds to crying or motion but lo sometimes lies awake trying to resettle but not crying. Plus it isn't very loud so she wouldn't hear it if she was crying. Again I had an app on my phone but that only plays for 30 mins. Any suggestions?

[Conniesmummy]

If we did start using white noise what about overnight as currently she self settles and we don't hear a peep all night 

[becj86]

Again I had an app on my phone but that only plays for 30 mins. Any suggestions?

Probably what trained her to sleep only 30 min in the first place Why these things get sold, I don't know. Babies need things to be the same when they rouse in the middle of a nap as they were when the fell asleep for quite a while - generally at least until 10-11 months.

If we did start using white noise what about overnight as currently she self settles and we don't hear a peep all night 

I wouldn't bother at night, nights and naps are clearly different at the moment and if the night isn't an issue, I wouldn't try to fix it.

Its probably worth trying a sleep in her crib during the day. She might associate it only with nights now :-/ I'd definitely try it a few times and see what happens.

[Conniesmummy]

Funny thing, it's really windy tonight, kept me awake, but this is the first morning I've woken and lo is flat out when I've checked. Maybe the wind all night has helped so maybe white noise may too. What do you think?