Monday - up about 6:15 for the day (didn't go to sleep until close to 10 pm)
first nap attempt began at 8:42. She had been acting so clingy and whiny, and hurt herself a number of times in a short amount of time. So we went up to her room to snuggle and rest. I told her we'd go rest for 10 minutes, and now by that point, I can tell if she is definitely not going to fall asleep. Well, sure enough, it didn't even take 10 minutes. The whole time, she just looked so sleepy, not like her normal fighting to stay awake. Start to finish it took 8 minutes, and that included snuggling on the floor mat, rocking in the chair, rocking sitting on the floor, and snuggling on the floor mat again. Success! Very sleepy girl!
The rest of week 2 (or 3 for that matter!) didn't exactly go as planned! But I still think we have made great progress! Even if she is not falling asleep on her own yet, we have been able to get her to sleep on her own for more than half an hour at a time, which for us is a huge victory! Today, for example, morning nap was 40 minutes, but afternoon nap was almost 2 hours! Wow!
However, yesterday, she only took a morning nap... She fought me all afternoon to not take an afternoon nap, and finally crashed around her normal bedtime. We weren't at home the whole day, we had family in town visiting, so we couldn't just stop everything and try whatever it took until she would fall asleep. We still have some work to do, but at least I can see progress and that encourages me!!
Monday, September 30, 2013
Monday, September 16, 2013
Our nap battles - week 1 summary
Didn't have time to detail every day of week 1, but in general, I think we had a lot of success and made good progress towards figuring out how to get little monster to sleep! I decided I could only handle a nap attempt for about 10 minutes at a time, and if it wasn't working, we'd come back and play for a while. Usually with LM in a great mood! And eventually it would work. A lot of days we didn't have morning nap until 11 or even 12. And several days she wouldn't go down for an afternoon nap until she just couldn't make it anymore about 5:30 or 6. Which meant very late bed time. But it's still a work in progress. Maybe week 2 will even out a little bit, now that she's getting more used to falling asleep laying down, as opposed to completely being held.
It's gonna be a slow process, but I'm glad it seems to be headed the right direction!
Last night, she even let me lay her in her crib to finish falling asleep at bed time! She wouldn't quite get settled when we were sitting in the rocking chair snuggling, so I tried laying her down. She wasn't real happy about it, but wasn't screaming like normal. I got as far over the railing as I could so I was still sorta snuggling with her, but she was laying down, and she rolled over and only took a minute or so to be asleep enough for me to leave. A very painful minute for me, with a crib railing in my abdomen, hah! But it worked, so it's totally worth it!
It's gonna be a slow process, but I'm glad it seems to be headed the right direction!
Last night, she even let me lay her in her crib to finish falling asleep at bed time! She wouldn't quite get settled when we were sitting in the rocking chair snuggling, so I tried laying her down. She wasn't real happy about it, but wasn't screaming like normal. I got as far over the railing as I could so I was still sorta snuggling with her, but she was laying down, and she rolled over and only took a minute or so to be asleep enough for me to leave. A very painful minute for me, with a crib railing in my abdomen, hah! But it worked, so it's totally worth it!
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Our nap battles - day 3
Up, for the day at 5:30 am. Painful all around...
But that meant I started seeing tired signs at 8 am. I know there's no hope of napping now. Still very content to play, taking snuggle breaks now and then. We had second breakfast, drank some milk (yay!), played a little more. By 8:45 - 9 am, we tried for a few minutes to go to her bedroom, rock in the chair, drink a bit more milk from a cup, lay on the floor and see if she's willing to snuggle... nope, she wants to get up and wander around.
Fine with me. We're only going to try for 10 minutes, tops. I can't handle getting so frustrated because we're trying to force something that's not going to happen. So we get up and go play for a little bit longer. 15-20 minutes maybe.
9:30 we are back in her room. She was no longer happy playing. Just wanted to be held. So we went to her room and snuggled in the chair for not even a minute, she seemed to be happy snuggling, but almost like she'd be better if we just laid her down. So I laid her on her nap mat on the floor, and half laid next to her, half crouched above her. She wriggled a bit for a minute or two, but did not try to get up. I could tell her eyes were drifting closed. By 9:35, she was fully asleep.
Victory! And guess what... it's over an hour and a half later, and she is still sleeping!! I have not had to go in there at all. I heard her cry once and when I looked at the monitor, she was on all fours, but by the time I got upstairs, she was back asleep, with her backside still up in the air! What a sleepy head today!! That's what happens when you only sleep 8.5 hours overnight, baby girl!
Grand total ended up being about 15 minutes shy of 2 hours! Way to go little monster :)
But that meant I started seeing tired signs at 8 am. I know there's no hope of napping now. Still very content to play, taking snuggle breaks now and then. We had second breakfast, drank some milk (yay!), played a little more. By 8:45 - 9 am, we tried for a few minutes to go to her bedroom, rock in the chair, drink a bit more milk from a cup, lay on the floor and see if she's willing to snuggle... nope, she wants to get up and wander around.
Fine with me. We're only going to try for 10 minutes, tops. I can't handle getting so frustrated because we're trying to force something that's not going to happen. So we get up and go play for a little bit longer. 15-20 minutes maybe.
9:30 we are back in her room. She was no longer happy playing. Just wanted to be held. So we went to her room and snuggled in the chair for not even a minute, she seemed to be happy snuggling, but almost like she'd be better if we just laid her down. So I laid her on her nap mat on the floor, and half laid next to her, half crouched above her. She wriggled a bit for a minute or two, but did not try to get up. I could tell her eyes were drifting closed. By 9:35, she was fully asleep.
Victory! And guess what... it's over an hour and a half later, and she is still sleeping!! I have not had to go in there at all. I heard her cry once and when I looked at the monitor, she was on all fours, but by the time I got upstairs, she was back asleep, with her backside still up in the air! What a sleepy head today!! That's what happens when you only sleep 8.5 hours overnight, baby girl!
Grand total ended up being about 15 minutes shy of 2 hours! Way to go little monster :)
Our nap battles - day 2
Got up for the day at 7 am. An hour later than yesterday (bedtime the night before was 8, but it was a fitful sleep - lots of tears - teething pain??)
We had a breakfast outing this morning and then some company for a while, so although there were some tired signs, we were entertained, and therefore content to play this morning for longer than normal.
About 11, we knew sleep was unavoidable, so our company went home, and we went to go think about napping.
We had a lot of ups and downs, went back downstairs a few times, sat on the couch, wandered around. She is clearly so tired, but won't close her eyes.
About 11:50, she's ready to lay down in my arms, and her eyes are drifting. I sat on the floor holding her and we rocked for a minute or two, and she's practically out, so I laid her down on her nap mat on the floor.
Fully asleep at 11:55. Slept until 1:05 - an hour and 10 minutes, and no intervention needed! Hooray!
But couldn't make it through the day on one nap... fell asleep in the car on the way to dinner about 5:30. And slept for maybe half hour, 45 mins in the car seat?
Bed time ended up being 9 pm.
We had a breakfast outing this morning and then some company for a while, so although there were some tired signs, we were entertained, and therefore content to play this morning for longer than normal.
About 11, we knew sleep was unavoidable, so our company went home, and we went to go think about napping.
We had a lot of ups and downs, went back downstairs a few times, sat on the couch, wandered around. She is clearly so tired, but won't close her eyes.
About 11:50, she's ready to lay down in my arms, and her eyes are drifting. I sat on the floor holding her and we rocked for a minute or two, and she's practically out, so I laid her down on her nap mat on the floor.
Fully asleep at 11:55. Slept until 1:05 - an hour and 10 minutes, and no intervention needed! Hooray!
But couldn't make it through the day on one nap... fell asleep in the car on the way to dinner about 5:30. And slept for maybe half hour, 45 mins in the car seat?
Bed time ended up being 9 pm.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Our nap battles - day 1
This week I've promised myself we would work on naps. To me, this means I will spend as long as I need to getting LM (little monster) to fall asleep, but we will not resort back to having to nurse to fall asleep for nap time.
Here's today's status so far:
Awake for the day @ 6 am.
Acting sleepy around 8-8:15 am.
Sat on porch swing from 8:15 - 8:30. Read a book, snuggled, swung, snuggled.
8:30 went upstairs to LM's bedroom. I had laid out a bunch of blankets as a nap space on her floor since she has never been willing to lay in her crib, and this way I can lay next to her.
8:30-9:00 approx - snuggled on the floor but her eyes will not close. I laid with her, lots of changing positions, up and down, rolling around, but for the most part, sucking her thumb and willing to snuggle.
~9:00 - 9:25 - after about half an hour of seeming to be sleepy, she just started getting fussy, extra wiggly, crying when I tried to lay her back down or even remotely hold her still. She pointed to the glider in her room, so we tried sitting in the glider but she is no longer willing to snuggle calmly. Pretty sure if I was willing to nurse her she would instantly go to sleep. But that's not the point of this. Tried going in the other room and laying on the bed. Maybe the floor is too uncomfortable? Nope, no better. Now she's just screaming cuz I won't let her even move around. No, I'm not gonna let you fall head first off the bed. Tough cookies, pumpkin.
At this point I'm getting super frustrated and considering backing down. Finally after 20+ minutes of fighting with her, I decided I couldn't take any more trying to make her stay still, so I just let her go and see what she would do. She is up and trying to get out the door of her room.
Nap attempt #1 is over. Verdict - No nap.
~~~
So...I let her play for a while, she doesn't look sleepy at all at this point. Not very fussy either, so that's great. Maybe the half hour of resting was enough to rejuvenate her? Never know. So we played, had second breakfast, played some more... she crawled around, ran around, climbed the whole flight of stairs. About an hour and a half later, maybe, just maybe, she's showing signs of being sleepy.
Just after 11 am, we head back to her bedroom, sit in the glider for a minute. She's sucking her thumb, but acting like she can't get comfortable. She sees the pillow on the floor across the room and points to it. So I said Okay, we'll go lay on the floor again. Clock check - it's 11:05. She's not super calm, but kinda more like the first time we laid down, that at least she's quiet and half snuggling. Her eyes are sorta looking heavy, like she's really having to fight to stay awake now. I finally got her to snuggle up with me and lay still for 10 seconds. Our heads are kinda smashed together so it's totally dark over her face. I am kinda half sitting, half laying down - not comfortable at all, but I am NOT moving because this just might be victory. She kicks and pinches a little bit but she's definitely settling down. Within a minute or two I can tell her breathing is evening out. I lay with her another minute or two, and when I back away, and check the clock, it's 11:15. She's out and it only took 10 minutes this time!
Nap attempt #2 is over. Verdict - VICTORY!
~~~
Here's today's status so far:
Awake for the day @ 6 am.
Acting sleepy around 8-8:15 am.
Sat on porch swing from 8:15 - 8:30. Read a book, snuggled, swung, snuggled.
8:30 went upstairs to LM's bedroom. I had laid out a bunch of blankets as a nap space on her floor since she has never been willing to lay in her crib, and this way I can lay next to her.
8:30-9:00 approx - snuggled on the floor but her eyes will not close. I laid with her, lots of changing positions, up and down, rolling around, but for the most part, sucking her thumb and willing to snuggle.
~9:00 - 9:25 - after about half an hour of seeming to be sleepy, she just started getting fussy, extra wiggly, crying when I tried to lay her back down or even remotely hold her still. She pointed to the glider in her room, so we tried sitting in the glider but she is no longer willing to snuggle calmly. Pretty sure if I was willing to nurse her she would instantly go to sleep. But that's not the point of this. Tried going in the other room and laying on the bed. Maybe the floor is too uncomfortable? Nope, no better. Now she's just screaming cuz I won't let her even move around. No, I'm not gonna let you fall head first off the bed. Tough cookies, pumpkin.
At this point I'm getting super frustrated and considering backing down. Finally after 20+ minutes of fighting with her, I decided I couldn't take any more trying to make her stay still, so I just let her go and see what she would do. She is up and trying to get out the door of her room.
Nap attempt #1 is over. Verdict - No nap.
~~~
So...I let her play for a while, she doesn't look sleepy at all at this point. Not very fussy either, so that's great. Maybe the half hour of resting was enough to rejuvenate her? Never know. So we played, had second breakfast, played some more... she crawled around, ran around, climbed the whole flight of stairs. About an hour and a half later, maybe, just maybe, she's showing signs of being sleepy.
Just after 11 am, we head back to her bedroom, sit in the glider for a minute. She's sucking her thumb, but acting like she can't get comfortable. She sees the pillow on the floor across the room and points to it. So I said Okay, we'll go lay on the floor again. Clock check - it's 11:05. She's not super calm, but kinda more like the first time we laid down, that at least she's quiet and half snuggling. Her eyes are sorta looking heavy, like she's really having to fight to stay awake now. I finally got her to snuggle up with me and lay still for 10 seconds. Our heads are kinda smashed together so it's totally dark over her face. I am kinda half sitting, half laying down - not comfortable at all, but I am NOT moving because this just might be victory. She kicks and pinches a little bit but she's definitely settling down. Within a minute or two I can tell her breathing is evening out. I lay with her another minute or two, and when I back away, and check the clock, it's 11:15. She's out and it only took 10 minutes this time!
Nap attempt #2 is over. Verdict - VICTORY!
~~~
Our nap battles - background
My little girl is 15 months old and has never been a great napper. She'd sleep for 30 minutes most naps. You could almost time it. Occasionally we get 40-45 minutes, which is great, and every now and then we'd get an hour... amazing! For a really long time, I figured as long as she's happy when she's awake, and she sleeps plenty at night, it wasn't a big deal. Must be all she needs. And that worked for us for about a year. I'd try things here and there, but for the most part, she didn't seem to need anything to change.
Fast forward to the last few months... she's been waking up after her short half hour nap, very clearly still tired. She's standing up in her crib screaming at the top of her lungs, won't calm down unless I go in there and comfort her. It started happening more often than not, that when I went in to get her, if I picked her up and rocked her, she would go right back to sleep, and often sleep for another half hour, if not longer!!
To me, this meant she needed more sleep at nap time, and as Mom, it was my job to figure out how to help her get it!
A week or so before I started this, we were on vacation visiting family. I would let her nap laying on our bed instead of putting her in her crib. She'd wake up occasionally, and one of us would go in and snuggle with her to see if she'd fall back asleep. She'd sleep for several half-hour stretches, and by the end of the week, was sleeping an hour or more without needing us to comfort her back to sleep. This was my inspiration. Maybe the crib is what makes her so angry when she wakes up? Maybe it's just uncomfortable so she isn't staying asleep?
She's old enough that I'm not worried about her having trouble laying on a pillow or blankets and ending up not being able to breathe. I don't necessarily recommend this for babies younger than a year. But our solution is to forget the crib for nap-time. We set up a nap "spot" on the floor in her room with some blankets and a pillow. After a week or so, it evolved into an "egg-crate" type mattress pad for cushioning covered in a sheet or blanket. I think it's pretty comfy! Seems that she does too!
Fast forward to the last few months... she's been waking up after her short half hour nap, very clearly still tired. She's standing up in her crib screaming at the top of her lungs, won't calm down unless I go in there and comfort her. It started happening more often than not, that when I went in to get her, if I picked her up and rocked her, she would go right back to sleep, and often sleep for another half hour, if not longer!!
To me, this meant she needed more sleep at nap time, and as Mom, it was my job to figure out how to help her get it!
A week or so before I started this, we were on vacation visiting family. I would let her nap laying on our bed instead of putting her in her crib. She'd wake up occasionally, and one of us would go in and snuggle with her to see if she'd fall back asleep. She'd sleep for several half-hour stretches, and by the end of the week, was sleeping an hour or more without needing us to comfort her back to sleep. This was my inspiration. Maybe the crib is what makes her so angry when she wakes up? Maybe it's just uncomfortable so she isn't staying asleep?
She's old enough that I'm not worried about her having trouble laying on a pillow or blankets and ending up not being able to breathe. I don't necessarily recommend this for babies younger than a year. But our solution is to forget the crib for nap-time. We set up a nap "spot" on the floor in her room with some blankets and a pillow. After a week or so, it evolved into an "egg-crate" type mattress pad for cushioning covered in a sheet or blanket. I think it's pretty comfy! Seems that she does too!
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