Trouble getting 16 month old down

[Tabathagucci]

Ok, nap is at 12:45 for 2 days now.  Moved bed time to 7 the first night (fell asleep at 7:15 on her own yay!!!).  The night was awful, but don't think it was because of bed time, as she fell asleep earlier than usual.  She was having some digestive issues and had poop at 2 am.  Anyway, kept nap time at 12:45 regardless of awful night, she napped 2.5 hours!  Moved bed time to 7:15 because of later nap and she fell asleep on her own at 7:35.  Yayyy!!!!  She was awake from 3:30-4 am but I didn't go in and she is still asleep now at just shyer 6 am.  Whew!  I know this could be a one time thing because she's making up for an awful night and she tends to have a couple good nights and then they go back to bad again.  But I'll hold bed time at 7:15 for one more night and see how it goes!
Thank you for encouraging me to do a later bed time!!!!  I know it's only been 2 days and it could change but it's been wonderful not having to spend an hour getting her to sleep at night!

[creations]

Yay!!!!! 
Brilliant news - I know what you mean, just having one or two BTs which are not a huge struggle can make a huge difference to our own mood and energy levels!

Great long nap too!!  I'm just wondering if the long nap was down to the baddish night and that a little down the line (few days? week?) moving to 1pm might be more suitable.  Sorry I've forgotten if you're going to be able to do 1pm with other commitments.

[Tabathagucci]

Hi!  Yes, we can move to 1 pm.  Today's nap was 1h20m but that can be an OT nap for her sometimes. She was already falling asleep when I brought her in from our walk (our wind down routine), which she hasn't done in a long time.   I think I'll let it stay at 12:45 this week and see how the naps go. For BT she kept yawning during dinner so I put her down at 7 since she had a shortish nap and she was asleep by 7:15 on her own!!!!  Fabulous!  I am still getting the NW, tonight at 3:45 am.  I haven't had to go in and it seemed to be getting shorter but tonight was a full hour.  She just lays they're and moans (her settling noise) and rolls around.  Not sure why the NW is happening!?!? I'm super excited about bed time but would love for the NW to go away.
She ended up waking at 6:20 am, just over 10 hours of total nightsleep with the hour long wakeup.  Better for sure but not great! Wondering if I edged bed time back a few mins if her night would get longer. I know that's not what I planned to do, but earlier BT has almost always meant later wake time for her.  I'm always second guessing, sorry!

[Tabathagucci]

Just wanted to stop in and say THANK YOU!!! For the advice on putting her down later to bed.  She still wakes at night almost every night but it has gotten a bit better, she is now waking around 6 am most mornings and the best part???  When I put her down she falls asleep most nights in 10-20 mins with no help. Such a relief!!! I'm working on getting her nap to 1 pm.  Tried today, but she fell asleep on our walk at 12:45.  Hoping by pushing it to 1 it will push wakeup slightly later and maybe help with the night wakings... we will see!  Anyway, thank you soooo much!

[ginger428]

Hi! Wow great news! Creations would be so happy to hear this! She is currently on a break but will return for sure.

Edging back BT is risky... with your current routine, I wouldn't do any earlier than a put down at 7pm.  I've been exactly where you are, and it's easier to put down earlier for nap if the night was short and rough, than try to mess with BT.  Set BTs, give or take 15-30 mins (for you I would say between 7 and 7:30), truly help regulate their sleep, in addition to their digestion.  They're correlated. What do you think?

Just a quick note on the 4am NW... 4-6 is our lightest sleep phase so sometimes noises, discomfort, etc... can cause a full wake.  Do you see any teeth? I think you are doing such a wonderful job giving her the opportunity to go back to sleep... if it continues though after a few days, it might be discomfort. Is there anyone up around this time? Noises outside? LIght?

[Tabathagucci]

Hi and thank you!  She's still going to bed easy, whew!  She's also now sleeping through the night (I have a feeling that weaning the night feed was to thank for this!) and sleeping about 10 hours without waking most nights.  I have yet to get much more than 10 (maybe 10.5 if I'm lucky) and she's waking between 5:45 and 6 now that there are no NW.  So we're doing waaaay better than before.  Still dealing with EW and am on day 2 of nap at 1 pm so hopefully that wakeup will shift later after a few days.
On the bed time, yes I see what you mean. We have done an earlier bed time than 7 but only when we've been out all day (she will only sleep 20 mins when we're in the car, stroller, etc).  I put her to bed at 6:30 in those cases and she generally sleeps 11.5 hours till 6 am!  EBT has always worked better for us than early nap as the early nap leads her to EW.  But on normal nap days, I agree 7 pm is the earliest it should be!  We've been right around 7:15 lately and it's working ok.  Will update in a few days after we've been at a 1 pm nap.
Thanks again!!!

[ginger428]

More good news! Yay.
Yes, we do EBT occasionally, too... so definitely not to rule it out.  But rarely for us as my DS has never tacked on.. .
They say EBT 2-3 days in a row of EBT will shift schedule, so I think we're safe!
Can't wait to hear how the 1pm nap works. =)

[creations]

I'm back.  Sorry I had a really bad back and couldn't get on to BW at all.  Bit better now.
Thanks so much for stopping by Ginger 

Hurrah!!  You've made great progress   Wonderful news.
WRT the 10 hr nights, honestly if she is now sleeping for those 10 hours (or 10.5) I wouldn't worry too much about it, she might not do longer nights until the nap shortens or goes further down the line.
Also, if she's mantra crying in the night even for long periods Tracy said this is normal.  We od always try to look at routine to see if there is a reason and to see if we can eliminate it but it can also be just part of developmental stuff - I do remember at some point feeling kind of relieved that Tracy had said this is normal and just leave them to it, don't disturb them, only go in if it changes to a proper cry for you.

Lovely - really glad things have improved for you x

[Tabathagucci]

Hi!  Welcome back!  So sorry about your back but glad it's on the mend.  And yes, thank you Ginger! We are back to EW again the last 3 days (between 5:15 and 5:45) and she seems to go back to sleep off and on till 6 but mostly off.  We've also had a couple of nights of less than 10 hours.  I am putting her down between 7/7:30 every night except days where she takes a 20 min nap on the go.  Most days it's 7:15, asleep by 7:30.  Maybe I should put her down at the exact same time each night so she regulates?  She's had her hands or something in her mouth on and off for weeks.  Her canines are on their way but nothing coming in yet so it's hard to tell if this is teeth. She's had her hands in her mouth more than usual the past day or two so maybe teeth?  I'm fine with 10 hour nights but waking before 6 is too early for us! The only time she seems to sleep a long night (11.5-12 hours) is when she takes a 20 min car nap and goes to bed early!

[Tabathagucci]

To make up for the early wake ups the last two mornings (I've kept nap time the same every day), she's slept 2h15m naps...at least that!

Update: she took the long nap yesterday (1-3:15), put down at 7:35, asleep at 8:05, I woke at 5:30 and she was already awake.  Any idea what could be going on?  Yesterday I nursed her back to sleep for a bit because my MIL is staying with us and  I can't really be up and about with a toddler so early!  I'm tempted to do the same today even though I know I shouldn't!  Thank you!