19 months total meltdown at bedtime

[Eva's Mummy]

She has always been a great sleeper (well for a long time now anyway). She is very HSN and until a few days ago her routine looked like this:

WU 7:00
Nap 9:30 - 10:00
Nap 13:00 - 15:00
BT 18:40

I need to wake her from both her naps and in the morning or she would keep sleeping. The 3 days she is at the childminder she only has 1 nap due to nursery /school runs so only naps 1:30-14:45 and is shattered at Bedtime but will easily pull off a 14hr night to catch up.

The last few days she has napped as usual but BT has been a disaster, screaming and crying for over an hour, almost choking herself she's that upset. Its taking up to 1.5 hrs to get her to sleep, if i'm not holding her she will be crying.

I know I probably need to drop to 1 nap ideally 12-2 but I need to drop DD1 at nursery at 1 so she would get down until 13:30. But it seems to have happened overnight and I still need to wake her from her naps so I think she is tired.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Is the morning wake up flexible? And then do the nap after the school run (although would she fall asleep during the run??).  That or make bedtime a bit later until she can cope with one later nap. The day you wrote is shorter than 12 hours and with 2 naps I can see where she would be ut come bedtime.

[Eva's Mummy]

Yes wu can be anytime when we are at home. She never falls asleep in the car so I don't need to worry about that  (not usually anyway). It is a short day but up until 3 days ago went out like a light and slept right through. She just seems to have gotten so upset with bt overnight. Could she just have dropped sleep needs as quick as that?
I woke her up from her afternoon nap today after 1hr 45 mins and she sat on my knee for a cuddle closed her eyes and went back to sleep. Maybe all the upset at bedtime is making her ot when she eventually does go to sleep?

So do you think I should be aiming for

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

It could just be part and parcel with the 18 month sleep regression, these half birthdays (and birthdays) are notorious for all sorts - development leaps, growth spurts etc.

Personally I would want to attempt doing one nap for a time to see how it works (but due to the fact that the nap would be so late it may not be the best option for you).  How late in the am would she sleep (morning wake time I mean) to make one nap possible?

[Eva's Mummy]

I think she would sleep until close to 8, but on cm days she needs to be up at 7 cos I drop her off at 8. I keep forgetting about half birthdays, my brain is such a mess dd1 is nap dropping too so we are getting 5am wu's at the other end too.

Max nap at the cm is 1hr 20 mins between nursery drop off and school pick up.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Oh dear you have a lot going on then! Might just be a case of riding it out until she can do one nap...perhaps a bit later bedtime might be the trick until she can solidly do one nap.

[Eva's Mummy]

sorry for the dealya getting back on we have all been a bit ill.

So i was off for 4 days and i tried 1 nap.

something like:
WU 7:30
Nap 11:30 - 14:30
BT 18:30

However Bt has just been as bad, we are having crying as soon as i put her down right up on her feet trying to get back out. She seems wide awake but thats push from 3hrs 40 mins and 2 naps to 1 nap and 5hrs A time before bed so surely she isnt still UT. She will go to sleep if i hold and rock her for a few mins then out her down.

She is waking maybe 2-3 times before 23:30 then 1 NW around 1:30am

I'm not really sure what to do anymore x

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Maybe the nap length is too much? What are the nw like - upset or just up and chatty? Hope you all are on the mend, no fun when everyone gets ill at once xx

[Eva's Mummy]

NW are grumpy, mostly she just has a short cuddle then straight back down. On CM days she only naps from 13:30-14:45 adn she is exactly the same.
I think shes only STTN a handful of times ever.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Honestly my DD3 had nw's until somewhere between 18-24 months...not sure when they stopped really as it was such a gradual thing and I was in a daze of lack of sleep. Personally I would continue with one nap to see if she adjusts to it.