what am I doing wrong?!?

[kendallnangie]

Hi I may have this post in the wrong folder but I had no idea where to put it!!
here is the problem.
My DD is 8.5 months old, until we started her on solids she was a wonderful sleeper, she was 6 months old before we started her on cereal and I guess for the first month, she did great but man alive!   she has just really gone down hill.........ok this is what I have been doing

E 8:30 am  BF and cereal
A 8:30-10:20
S 10:30-12:30 (give pr take a few minutes)

E 12:30 BF and lunch
A 12:30-2:30
S 2:30-4:30

E 4:30 BF
A 4:30- 6:30
S 6:30-7 or so

E 7 BF and dinner
A 7-9
E 9 bf
S 9:15-8:30   (she is put to bed while awake)
       
that looks great huh? well that is actually just on a good day. today she woke up early from every nap, which mean that tonight is not looking good.
do you guys think that I should give her the lunch, later in the day, even though it wouldn't exactly be lunch time?
her feeds would look like this
bf and cereal.....bf.....bf and lunch.....bf....bf and dinner?!?   would that help at all with the naps and such? I have tried keeping up longer and that is no good at all...the day really goes to pot when that happens and the same goes if she doesn't get that catnap in the evening...I know this is a little petty compared to what we read so often on the message boards but I really need some help...
in short, she is taking short naps and waking up at night about 4 days out of the week
thanks in advance,
Angie

[Aarismom]

Just a thought...Is it possible that you could put him down for bed at 8 or earlier? Here's why...

I have a feeling he may need to stay up longer before naps. You have him going down for sleep 2 hours after he gets up from one...a 9 mo. old can usually stay up over 3 hours I believe. After 6 months it's usually a good idea to drop the cat nap as soon as you can get him awake for more than 2.5-3 hours because it messes with bedtime and other naps. When the cat nap drops, it's usually a good idea to start putting them down for bed earlier. I know it seems he can't stay up any more than 2 hours, but if he's cutting his naps short I'm relatively sure that's the problem. You can extend his A time by 15 mins every few days, not all at once though.

See if this works and keep in touch!

*HUGS*
Sonya =P

[Alison_3]

I agree that I would eliminate the cat nap ASAP.  At 9 months my ds was staying up 2.5-3 hours in the morning and then around 3 hours before his afternoon nap.  His bedtime has always been around 7:30.  He finally does sleep through the night but is an early riser (6:00 a.m. or earlier!   However, I could put him to bed later and he would still get up at the same time!

What time does your dd wake up in the morning?  10:30 seems late to me for the first nap but your bedtime is a lot different than mine!

I wouldn't do lunch later because then your afternoon nap is going to get too close to bedtime.  These are just some ideas I have...I'll be interested to see what some others have to say! 

Good luck.

[kendallnangie]

thanks...
BUT,
what in the world am I supposed to do when she gets up at 8:30 normally and then is ready to take a nap by 10:30???  I have tried really hard to get her to stay up even an until 11....it usually ends up in disaster. YOU BOTH totally make sense because it does, and has messed up the rest of my day when naps are off and like today I skipped feeding her at lunch and was going to do it later but now I am REALLY messed up:(  oh well tomorrow is another day:)   
I know that our bed time is later than most people out there but putting our kids to bed at 9 really works best for our family. We have activities outside the house about 3 times a week and then if we ever go out for dinner that makes it 4 so to me it makes sense that we maintain a 9pm bedtime. I have 2 other children and really have never had a problem with them....this little girl though is different....sweet angel...mostly:)
anyhow you are both saying that she would only take 2 naps right?  WOW
HMM I am at a loss ...
I'll try it out an see how it goes tomorrow
thanks, Angie

[Alison_3]

Angie, I completely understand that your bedtime is what works for you.  I really do think two naps is the way to go, but again each little one is different.  And of course just when you think you have them figured out, everything changes! 

Good luck to you!

[Aarismom]

Yep 2 naps is it

However, you have to do what's best for your family too. While an earlier bedtime would probably help her a lot, the truth of the matter is, as long as bedtime is consistant you should be ok. I would start waking her up in the am at a certain time though, just so her day becomes more routine. Pick a time, like 8 am (giving her around 11 hours of sleep at night...12 is best, but 11 works too). Babies thrive on routine...if you change their day every day they don't know what to expect next, and it throws them off. As long as most days follow a routine (obviously in a perfect world all of them would), one or two days a week with a different routine isn't going to really gum up the works too badly.

Also, note that around 11-12 months you'll want to start transitioning her down to 1 afternoon nap if she's ready. Just a little advance warning, as around that time her naps habits are going to get a little wiggy

*HUGS*
Sonya =P

[kendallnangie]

Thanks to those of you who helped me see my mistake...I took away her catnap and so far she did great staying up for 2.5 hours! She has stirred around a couple of times tonight but the day did go much smoother!
Angie

Yikes she just woke up!   12am :shock: