Sleep Changes and first Family Weekend looming-help!

[Fiona (Leah & Kians Mom)]

Well I am not sure if I am posting in the right place so moderators pls feel free to move this. Also apologies in advance for the lenght and probable incoherence of this post but I am really lost here and tired.

Dh is away on a 2 week business trip and after a year of asking has finally talked me into us joining him for the weekend, 4 nights in total and I am already in a panic. DD has been great since about 6 months of age but in the last 7-10 days things are changing and I am not sure which way to go.
She has been on one nap for about 3 months.
Her schedule was
7.45-8.00 wake up and breakfast
11.45-12.00 lunch
13.00-15 nap
17.30-18.00 dinner
19.40 Bed with sometimes a snack around 19.00 depending on dinner time. Baths are not part of the routine and she has one approx every 2nd night. Wind down is practically non-existent because she will not sit still for any amount of time or stop talking, so it's 5 mins on my knees reading her book before into her grobag and bed. She doesn't watch tv or have any hyper time instigated but is always on the go until story time.
Lately she is wakening up earlier, up to 45 minutes, taking a shorter nap, sometimes 1.5 hours sometimes only an hour and is taking about 25 mins of talking and singing before going to sleep though tonight she did whinge. Earlier bed times don't make any difference either before naps or bed time. She is always tired at nap and bedtimes.
I put her in bed on her back but she always turns on her tummy and goes to the other end of the bed, do you think putting on her tummy at this stage would just make things worse as she has always gone in on her tummy? She is getting her eye teeth very slowly but has gotten pain relief for the last 3 nights and 1 during the day, she never had many probs with her teeth before. Thankfully we have had no night wakenings yet and fingers crossed.
I so want to enjoy this trip and had finally decided to be more flexible- it took a lot on my part to agree to go with the flow a bit more for a few days but am so afraid things will get worse. I will be coming home alone with her too so will have to fix any probs by myself. This is our first family weekend away really as though we went home last year it wasn't really alone.

If you got this far thank you, and if you have any ideas, pls pls post,
Fiona

[jessica and emilys mummy]

Hi
I think firstly it could be her teeth,although luckily she's not waking during the
night,maybe the pain meds are starting to wear off early morning.
Also,both of mine are tummy sleepers ans always have been,so I would
try to lay her on her tummy and see how she goes,maybe try her at the
bottom of the cot as well (we had to do this with Emily)
She could also be having a growth spurt,so check her grobag and just
make sure she can move around comfortably with it getting twisted,this
can also wake them up.
Are you driving or flying?
If you're driving then I would invest in a car dvd player (if you've not already
got on) or borrow one.Excellent for long journeys.I haven't been on a plane
with children yet so I can't offer advise with that.
But I would go with the flow while you're away,try to stick to some routine,
but don't panic if you're out late,you'll only get stressed if you worry that it's her
bedtime and you're out all enjoying yourselves.
4 nights isn't going to hurt her.
When you get home,talk about the trip lots and slowly get back to the routine
will possibly take a few days,but try not to think of that while you're away.

Have fun with hubby

[Fiona (Leah & Kians Mom)]

Hi Sarah,
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately things have not improved they are getting worse and we leave tomorrow. Dd now cries when she goes for her nap and to bed, for about a minute and then sings or talks while moving round the bed or moans and groans or can even cry again. This is something she only did when small, she cried down for a few months and she did the singing and  talking when she needed to change to one nap. Naps are also getting short, down to 1 hour. I put her in lighter pjs last night, made no difference and lighter sleeping bag tonight as I thought it might be too warm. I also tried putting her in the normal end of the cot today but down on her belly, she was having none of it and started to sit up so I just put her down as normal. I dont know if when we come back I might just put her in the other end of the cot, but she seems to like to move herself. I honestly cant think of anything that could have changed in the last 8/9 days, she is getting much more active and much more aware of the things she can do with her body and doesnt stop talking so maybe its just developmental. I thought she went through a growth sput about 2 or maybe 3 weeks ago as she suddenly got a bit taller.
Our trip aside the whole thing is starting to get to me as she is clearly not happy any more about going to bed, she has gotten pain relief for the last 4 nights, I did notice she had chewed the bars of the cot  but maybe she is also getting to the stage where she realises she can refuse bed?
Anyway, thanks again and if you have any other ideas???
Fiona