help!
my DD is 5 months old and for the last month her naps have gone from bad (short (45 mins) with rocking to sleep) to worse (shorter 15-30 mins screaming blue murder).
I have tried to figure out what i've done to cause this, but can only put it down to a bad week with a cold, then my mom came to stay for a week, and then me not being consistent with a routine... the thing is when i try to put her on a nap routine now, it's a disaster... she screams and won't stop - the crazy non breathing scream - i try everything i can but she won't stop and eventually i give up and bring her out into a brighter room where she'll stop crying for a minute or two and then it starts all over again.
it's so terrible because i can see she is desperate for sleep and i can't help her. sometimes she arches her back and fights me so much that i lay her down, but then she screams even more.
i've tried to watch her sleep cues carefully, but some days she goes from 0 to 10 instantly and i don't know what happened... i've tried to work on putting her to sleep 2 hours after she wakes, but that can be too long for her to go sometimes.
her night sleep is fine - she goes to bed at 7.30pm and wakes up around 11 for a feed, then sleeps through till around 6 or 7. at night she re-settles herself, why can't she do it in the daytime?
i feel like there are so many things i'm doing wrong with her i don't know where to start. i rock her to sleep, our routine is out of whack, if she's been screaming for more than 15 mins my neighbour starts banging on the door and i end up comfort feeding her etc etc
any suggestions would be sooooo appreciated. i feel desperate and like a failure - all my friends babies napped on the couch and no one seemed to care. i just got tracey's first book and have ordered her second one today ... wish i read this 6 months ago