how to get 14-month-old to fall asleep on her own???

[Sunshine's Mommy]

Just a quick update.

It seems that things are becoming stable.  I usually need to WI/WO between 2 - 4 times each evening and it takes DD about 45 minutes to fall asleep.  Last night was a bit rougher then others and I had to go in about 7 times.  Also, she kept waking up and crying every 1/2 hr until about 1:00am.  She would sit in her crib and cry.  When I went in, I put her down and covered her and she went right back to sleep.  She made up for it this morning sleeping until 6:30 

[Missy Lou]

that's great she slept in.  i know i've said this in the past but it really sounds like she's overtired - taking so long to fall asleep, falling asleep quickly when you're there and waking a lot. 

[Sunshine's Mommy]

Ok, what I'll do for the next few days is that I'll put her down 15 min. earlier and the 15 more after a few days.  So that eventually she'll go to sleep at 6:00pm.  Hopefully this will solve my problem.    I'm just worried that she'll start getting up even earlier in the morning.   

[Missy Lou]

another side effect of being overtired is waking earlier.  if going to bed at 6 causes her to wake too early, we can try something else. 

[Sunshine's Mommy]

Yesterday we had a busy day, and I could see that she was worn out by 5:00pm, so I made sure that she was in bed by 6:00pm (30 min earlier then normal).  She fell asleep within 30 minutes (without any WI/WO  ) but kept waking up every 45 min or so and crying.  It was more of a whiny cry and most of the time she fell back asleep on her own. I had to go in 3 times until 11:00pm.  She started crying again at 5:30.  It lasted a while but as I went in, she stopped crying.  So I tucked her in and went back to sleep.  Then, she cried again, for a few seconds.  I didn't go in.  And finally she was up for good at 6:15 chatting to herself for about 10 minutes and then yelling "mama" to come and get her.

So I think you were probably right     .  Though it is hard for me to believe as she seems to get the "necessary" amount of sleep and it feels weird to put her down at 6:00 where many toddlers her age that I know go to sleep around 8:00 and get up about 7:00.  I guess every child is different.

We'll do the same tonight and see if the results are consistent.

I'm wondering if the night wakings could be related to teething.  She's been drooling more lately, chocks on her saliva, is much more whiny and has a low grade fever (36.6 - 36.9C).

[Missy Lou]

i know it's weird for such an early bedtime (mine has that too) but if she wakes at 6 (like m DD) then a 6 pm bedtime isn't too unreasonable. 

when i notice that my DD's gums are bothering her, i'll give her half a dose of tylenol before bed or some teething tablets.  i hate to over-medicate but when i'm not sure if she's in pain, to me it's worse to leave her like that.  so i figure a good in between is half of a dose. 

let me know what happens tonight.

[Sunshine's Mommy]

She's 16 months TODAY!!!

[Missy Lou]

HAPPY 16 MONTH BDAY MISS SUNSHINE!!!

[Sunshine's Mommy]

I know what you mean with drugging your LO.  I hate that too!!! and funny enough, I too give DD half the dose if I think she might be teething .  Right now I'm pretty sure she's teething.  She wouldn't eat anything yesterday even though she showed that she's hungry and tried to eat several different things.  The only thing she took was milk from her bottle.  So she had as much of it as she wanted.

We put her down at 6:00 like the day before an this time I gave her full dose of Tempra.  She still cried through sleep a few times, but she slept much better overall.  However it took her good 70 minutes to fall asleep.

She woke up few minutes past 6:00, so overall she got a very good night sleep.

[Missy Lou]

fabulous.  i find it so hard sometimes to figure out what's going on with sleep.  i never know if i need to increase A time because she's getting older or if teeth are bugging her or nightmares, etc.  i'm battling 75 minutes before she falls asleep at bedtime myself. 

that is a great night's sleep.  she must be in a great mood today - or at least well rested.

[Sunshine's Mommy]

OK, I officially need more help.

We're still working on WI/Wo and it's going OK.  No complaints there!   I'm very happy with all the advice I got. but... now I have two other problems. 

She's consistently waking up between 11:00 - 12:30.  I think it started due to teeting about 4-5 days ago and now it seems to be becoming a habit.  I'm considering Wake to Sleep.  Any suggestions???

Another problem is early rising.  She's been doing it on and off for a few weeks now, but now it is becoming consistant 5:30 am wake-up.  I tried WI/WO, but it's not working! 

I'm wondering that maybe moving her bedtime from 6:30 to 6:00 was not a good Idea after all, as she does not fall asleep much earlier then before (except for one night when it took her 20 minutes to fall asleep).  So she's in her crib at 6:00 and asleep between 7:00 and 7:30.  It takes her longer to fall asleep now, then it did before.  I realize that getting adjusted takes time and we're just in the 4 - 5 day of it, but it's just sooooo exhausting.

I'm just getting a bit desperate and frustrated, as getting up at 5:30 is not an ideal way to start my day.

Any support and / or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Missy Lou]

ok - let's start over.

she's up about 6 hours, naps about 2 and then up 6 hours.  is that right?

[Sunshine's Mommy]

Missy Lou... You're the best!!!   You're like a ray of light at the end of the tunnel for me, especially today, as I'm really tired and whiny.
So she's usually up at 6 and goes for a nap around 12:15- 12:30 for average 1.5 hrs, so she's up at around 2:00.  And then she goes back down at 6:00.  So she's up for 6 and then up for 4. 

[Missy Lou]

thanks.  I'm sorry you're feeling so off today.  i'm pulling in some extra help for us.  don't get discouraged!!!  we'll figure it out.   

[Zoey]

Hi there!

I would give the entire recommended dose of Tylenol or Motrin for teething.  Giving half is like giving nothing because it's not enough to treat the pain - its just giving medication, just because lol.  This is why there is a weight chart on the bottle, it is dosed by weight - so much medication per pound of baby.  So, I'd first start there!

Ok so she gets up at:

530am
First nap at 1215pm for 1.5h so til 2ish
Then is up til 6pm

Ok, seems to me like she is overtired.  How long have you been on one nap and how long did you transition to get there??

An early bedtime most often is the best thing for overtiredness, if that overtiredness is not recurrent.  Meaning - it can help for a few days if things get whacky in the routine, but its seems your Lo's routine is constantly making her overtired.  Have you tried giving a small catnap in the morning for say, 15m - then giving your PM nap at 1215pm?  Im thinking she is overtired before her PM nap - 530am to 1215pm is a LONG time at this age.  I think she needs something in between to help her sleep longer at her big PM nap.

Zoe