So exhausted -need help with plan to get dd to nap again!

[Jodes112]

The naps are often less than 25/30 mins arent they, which makes me wo der if she is comforable. Is she teething? What is her nature like theough the day is she grumpy at all?

Also where does she nap? Do u swaddle her, does she have a dummy?

Im tempted to say go for the age appropriate A time and see it out. As the short oneisnt getting you any better nap you may aswell pushbit out and aloow it to settle on its own. Try for 2hr45/3 hr A time.

Usually the earlt wake is due to the day prior (or it was for us) and indicated UT for us. But your LO is definatley OT. It could be that pushing the A times could help the EW.
Msorry it isnt getting easier yet!

Just keep going, well done for keeping calmer x

[Amycf]

The last two days have been pretty much th same, I hate to report, except she is not sleeping as well as th nights previous ( when she crashed!)

Yesterday she lasted 40 mins for nap one ( 2.15 wake time before... Since she had had an early waking). Nap two was 20 mins then 5 minutes soothing and then another 28(?), nap three was the best of them all ( not that I want to be doing that many naps at this age) at 60 mins - her wake time was 2 hr 45 mins, due to me being out and then needing to feed her. Her night was strange though- she woke 2.5 hrs after BT crying so hard. DH went up since it was not time to feed and to give mommy a break, but she starts to really loose it, she was crying so hard and flaying arms and pushing him away, but when I went up she started to calm right down and fell asleep in my arms aft some cuddles and a quick feed.
Is she at that age now where she is becoming attached to me? I felt so bad that DH felt rejected.
She woke again another 2 hrs later and then at 5:15 ( feeding) and an hour later for good.

Needless to say she was OT this morning I think ( we all were!!!) she went down at 8:30  for nap one and it lasted just 40 mins again! Nap two was worse 30 mins - she was clearly OT as she took forever to go down . Nap 3 was no better. She was hard to put down at BT tonight and needed a lot of rocking.

My husband and I are beginning to really argue about all of jpg his and I am getting emotional He really think we need to let her just CIO as many of friends have done, but I don't think that that will solve things and I don't know if I could bear it. This is really becoming a big source of stress and a wedge between us:(

Do you think that her falling asleep independently wealthy of really help naps? Usually she does well at night ( she used to anyways!) and only woke for feelings. I thought that day sleep and night sleep are different, but now I am not so sure. I think that the early waking a contribute to at least a part of the problem- it makes it so difficult to decide how much wake time she needs to get a good first nap!!

Any ideas? I really don't want to be fighting everyday with lo for naps and then DH about parenting- so exhausting physically and emotionally 

Thanks for listening.
A

[Amycf]

I forgot to answer your questions , sorry!

My lo sleeps in a crib in her own room, with a white noise machine, in a sleep bag. She was swaddled up to 5 months and it really worked for her well until she started breaking out of it and it was a fight to keep her in it, so we slowly weaned her off. She slept in a bassinet next to our bed until 4 months 3 weeks.
She is a content and smiley little girl and most people comment at how bright and happy she looks. That is until she so overtired and as her mommy I can see it well...red eyes form all the rubbing, burying her face in me and will no longer play ( wants to be in my arms). But this is usually not till around supper time, or just before a nap time if I wait too long.

I think that she is teething, but I have been thinking that for almost 2 months, haha! But every few day she'll get rosy cheeks, and need to chew on everything , and so much drool , but when I check her mouth this nothing poking through yet!

[Jodes112]

Im sorry it hasnt gotten much better.

I think now if i were you id just start putting down at 2.45/3hr & see how you get on wih that. Generally a 40/45 min nap means UT so it donfirm that the first nap is too soon, after 2hr 15 A.

The bad night could just be a reflection of the day in that she is OT or UT and it is making her uncomfortable.

Please dont CIO. It's not something that baby whisperer reccomends. I understand the feeling when you are desperate for her to settle, especially when you are so tired too. If you have a look on the shss pat board there's lots of help there on how you can help settle using that technique. It is possible that she recognises you ar this age and also that she finds more comfort in you.

Extend that A time and see how you go. Hang on in there x

[Amycf]

I'm sorry that I haven't checked in in awhile. Things have been crazy and here and I had ( still have) a bad bead cold:(
I just want to let you know ( despite a horrific night last night ( she was awake from her 11 pm feeding right to 3:30 am with fits of crying,,.we are trying to figure out what on earth went wrong...hence me on the computer today! And subsequently incredibly overtired,yielding 10 minute naps before crying today!) that things were improving !

Last week I bit the bullet Tuesday morning and went for 2:50 awake time, despite her sleepy cues that starts after 2 hrs. It lead us to an 1 hr 26 min nap!!!!:) I was soooo happy with the success. The en t day I tried the same, and got a 55 min nap - not perfect but better than the 30/40 min naps we were getting. For some reason though, I could not get the afternoon nap to go much better. In fact I had to do q couple of car naps to keep her form being way too overtired for bedtime.
If we ever get through today and tonight ( mommy and daddy are running on 3 hrs broken sleep - which happened with her co - sleeping, something that we never do but we were desperate !!), I am going to try 3 hrs awake times this week.

Any tips on braking the OT cycle?? I'll make a separate post for that I guess!

[Jodes112]

Well done for just throwing yourself in & stretching out the A time! & great that it worked!

Im wondering since its out of the blue could she be getting your cold? Hope you are feeling better soon.

Id do super ealry bed time - 6pm & see how you go. She will eventually catch up. Sometimes you have bad nights but she will catch up in one way or another. Id keep with the lengthened A times though since they worked, and see if she will flake and do a mega nap. X

[Amycf]

As you guessed, she ended up with my cold poor child:( She was very congested by last evening and I could tell that her fussiness was more than ovtertired. I went ahead and started bedtime routine an hour earlier and heave her a nice long warm bath, after I used saline and nose sucker on her tiny little nose. She went to sleep fairly easy, but was up again an hour later and had to be rocked for 20 mins. The night went much smoother than the previous though, although it was not without its frustrating wakings of course, but to be expected given her cold and how overtired she was. She woke 10:30 and after feeding, it took an hour and a half to get her back to sleep.Thankfully after that she only woke at 3 for a feeding ( which took some resettling again, maybe 20 mins) and then slept till almost 7, which is huge for us!

I was unsure how to approach naps today, given our current situation. I decided on 2:30 awake time this morning- it got us a 35 min nap:(. So I soothed and resettled by rocking for about 15 mins and that extended it by another 40 mins! Then this afternoon I went for only 2:15, since I figured that the 35 min naps was due to be ping overtired ( she would not have gone back for another 40 if she wasn't right?). Well...that only got us 27 mins:( I ran up quickly this time,and only had to rock for 10 mins to get her back to sleep. She has now been sleeping for another hour!!
I am lost about what is due to overtired and being undertired. I figure I'd go its ovtird theory today due to her cold.

Ooh she's up again!! Better go!

Amy

[Jodes112]

I think when they are poorly you just have to go with the flow of thing. Generally with a poorly spell comes rubbish sleep, unfortunately so i wouldt dwell on the bad naps until she is totally well again and can focus properly on it again. 30 min naps can also mean they are just uncomfortable so the cold could be causing these because she cant get through the sleep cycle as she's is feeling poorly.

Hope you have a better night. I find vicks vapor rub in a tub of boiling water, 30 mins in the bedroom before bedtime, with the door shut, really helps prep the room to clear their throat and nose! Especially since its worse when they are laying down!

Just get through the cold as best u can then focus back on sleep once its gone!

[Amycf]

Thanks for the tip!
I think she is coming round a bit. Didn't struggle with nursing today really, and doesn't sound as congested. Still very very fussy though, I think part of it is the cold and part her awful lack of sleep lately. Here's hoping tonight's a better night, and a better day tomorrow!
As soon as she is completely better I am going to revisit awake times and get on track!