Losing my mind...pls help

[SleeplessSam]

I just don't know what else to do.  My daughter is 6 months.  We have always had her on a modified EASY and got more strict with it about a month ago.  She is on a 4 hour schedule.  At 4.5 mos we took her on vacation for 10 days and she hasn't slept properlysince.  She went from sleeping through most of the night to up 5 times a night.  Naps disapeared completely.  My mistake - boobing her back to sleep in the night.  I stopped this about three weeks ago after reading the BW books.  We used pu/pd to get her back to sleep.  For nights it worked like a charm with a dreamfeed.  If she wakes in the night she usually puts herself back to sleep now in about 5 mins and she never wakes more than once. 
Naps...now naps are another story.  About a week after we were following EASY she was napping and sleeping like an angel.  Then all hell broke loose as the book says it might.  Well...it's been 10 days and I can't get her naps back.  She goes down for every nap with no fuss at all.  We have a windown of quiet play and then shutting blinds and two stories.  She sleeps about 30-40 mins and then turns into the devil's spawn.  She wakes up and immediately starts to flip out.  If I go in and do pu/pd or pat/shh (without the shh...it bothers her) we'll do it for an hour and then I have to get her up.  It's almost like she's figured out if she holds out I'll pick her up eventually.  It's very rare she'll go back to sleep and if she does it takes an hour.  I've tried putting her down a little earlier thinking she's overtired...no change.  So I tried a little later thinking she's not tired enough...no change.  I did each of these for four days ending with the latter.  What the heck am I doing wrong???  Maybe I'm responding to her too easily?  My problem is that when she's crying she SCREAMS so I can't just leave here there...I've tried waiting it out a few minutes but she just screams harder.  I tried going in before she woke and nothing changed.  I'm PRAYING that someone has a suggestion for me.  Here's her schedule:

6:45 - wake/eat
7:00 A
7:45 Solids
8:00 A
8:35 quiet A
8:45 nap
9:30 awake pu/pd/pat with no more sleep
10:15 eat
10:30 A
11:30 quiet A
11:45 nap
12:15 awake pu/pd/pat
1:05 back to sleep
now I'm waiting for her to wake up again and the cycle continues.  We never do anything overstimulating and if we do it's at the beginning of A time so our activities get quieter as we approach nap time.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...I'm pulling my hair out!!

[lisaadebree]

Oy - me too! Pulling my hair out that is!

I just posted a Q and my angel/devil screams the same way after 45 minutes. He used to sleep beautifully! We're still on a 3 hour routine, since he's about 3 months from his due date, but he's actually almost 6 months old.

I want to scream too. I actually beat my head against the wall this afternoon. Not the drywall, the metal-reinforced archway to the kitchen. Hurt like the ens but it distracted me from the yowling....

Lisa

[SleeplessSam]

Anyone else??  PLEASE??

[Tori's Mom]

So sorry you are having a hard time but I remember 6 months as a hard time for naps  .

My suggestion is to try to extend A time by 15 min in the morning and then try the winddown rountine.  Do you do the same routine before every nap?  I put my dd in my lap (facing out) and rock her to soothing music for 10-15 min before putting her in crib.  She now knows that the music is a sleep cue and she starts to calm and settle. 
If this doesn't work, I also went in about 5 min before I knew she would wake up (20, 30 or 40 min into the nap) and stand next to the crib.  When she starts to stir gently put your hand on her back and rub or pat her.  This would calm Tori down and she would, normally, go back to sleep. 
Also, read the sleep interview with Tracy......there is some valuable info in that which is not in the book.
HTH!!!!  Keep me updated as to your progress.

[Caroline-Charlies Mummy]

Jacki's right, 6 months is a hard time for naps. She may well be telling you that she can go for longer A times now, as it is a time for growth spurts. If she used to be able to nap for longer, and the 45 minute monster has raised it's head, that is usually a sign.

I'm wondering if you have tried wake to sleep? If your lo is touchy or spirited like my ds, then pu/pd was too stimulating for him in the middle of a nap. If so, wake to sleep might be the way to go.

Please read the stickies at the top of the Naps forum. There are a few there that would be helpful to your situation, especially: the ones regarding wake to sleep; the sleep interviews with Tracy; and teaching sleep to babies over 6 months+.

I hth, remember we are always here when you are tearing your hair out, and want to scream into the pillow and bang your head against the wall, b/c we've all been there