Crying it out

[Nic]

I had similar problems with the second nap of the day when my daughter was a about 7 motnhs. She would go down for her morning nap and at night time without a fuss but the sleep after lunch was a nightmare.

I resorted to giving her lunch and then giving her a quick bath, sometimes even in the sink, and more or less doing exactly as I would do for her evening routine. It worked for her, gradually we stopped having to put her in the sink(!!!) and we now manage about 2 hours sleep after lunch.

I don't know if that's of any help, just an idea.

 

[putput]

That's an interesting idea. I'll give that a go and see if it works. Did you have issues getting her past 40 minutes?

 

[Nic]

Before we tried this yes. She would usually go down without too much trouble but be awake after 45mins- 1hour. She would then cry/chat/ entertain herself for the rest of her nap time. It was a last resort for us and I think my husband thought I was mad and should just accept her nap would be 45mins (easy to say from the office! and not having to deal with a long afternoon and overtired baby). It worked for us, so maybe worth a try... at least its something new to try!

 

[mushi]

milkmonster, thanks for the suggestion ......i think u could be right about him being hungry....maybe tomorrow i will give him more dinner and little more milk at bedtime and see what happens.//////today when he woke up at 6.00 am i tried like u said to give him his milk earlier and see if he went back to sleep but he just kept crying and when i picked him up he was readyu to play ....so i guess it could be hunger.....wish me luck!!

 

[mushi]

putput, thanks for sharing yr schedule....i don;t think i am a great expert but just giving you mine so u can compare and maybe pick up something.
6.00-wake up
6.00 - 7.00 - playtime with mummy trying to doze off inbetween
7.00- milk
7.00-8.30 - change, play
8.30 - stroller walk to his bro's school
9.00- breakfast
9.40-nap for 40 mins to an hour
10.45 -bath
11.00= milk
11.15-12.15 - play
12.30- lunch (very very little) - do u think this is too close to milk time?
12.45-13.45-play
13.45-nap for 40 mins to an hour
15.00 - milk
15.00 -18.00-play witha small snack in between
18.00- dinner
18.00-18.45 - play
19.00 - milk and sleep till morning

reason i am emphasising on playtimes in my schedule so that u see if yr baby is getting enough of it too......normally the 3-5 pm block i try taking my kids out to the playground /elsewhere so that they r both happily tired when they come home.

 

[mushi]

putput, i read yr schedule again, i think 11.30 to 12.00 is too short a gap for yr baby to get tired.....u need atleast an hour;s gap with full crawling and playtime before she is really ready for a nap.

 

[MilkMonster]

good luck putput! nap time is the only time i get a break so i totally feel for you! Agree with mushi that your baby needs at least 1hr of real playtime/stimulation to get tired out but if you're sure that's not it, then hopefully Nics suggestion will work!!!

mushi, i usually feed solids first and then top up with milk. that way i know he is really full. how much solids is he taking each meal? if your baby isn't taking a lot of solids, it could be a sign that you need to space out the milk or switch to feed solids first. For my elder son, I dropped formula at 12mths so by 10mths, he was on a mostly solids diet with milk top up after meals and at snack and bedtime. I plan to do the same with my younger son.

 

[putput]

Hi there,

After her morning nap she is getting approx 1.5 hours of playtime so it's not that. Mushi, my daughter is getting approx same amount of sleep as your little one but do you feel that's enough as my concern is my daughter's not getting as much sleep as I feel would benefit her throughout the day. Does your son not get grumpy/irritable from 1.5-2 hours of sleep only during the day as my problem is that my daughter does so clearly needs more sleep? i can get her to sleep for her naps by rocking her; it's getting her to sleep without rocking that's causing the problem!

Ok, now, I'm off in 2 weeks for a break to see my family. I don't really fancy having her cry throughout the day while training her so do I now wait till I get back or do you think 2weeks is enough to get this sussed?

Btw, you've all been absolute stars for being so helpful and taking time out to help me get this sorted!

 

[putput]

"I don't really want her crying throughout the day while training her" - I was referring to during my holiday.

 

[mushi]

putput, my son used to wake up EVERY HOUR at night and he would be cheerful during the day inspite of that so i really can;t complian about him being cranky with a FULL NIGHT's sleep and 2 hrs daytime naps.....to answer yr question i think some babies need lessser sleep that others.....i would like to think that way instead of coaxing/forcing themt o sleep for another sleep cycle.....sometimes however when he wakes up in just 30 mins at afternoon nap i ask my helper to rock him back to sleep......this is more for me so taht i get more time to myself cause i know that if i dont do that extra sleep cycle he would be just as fine!! so pls. check if yr baby really needs extra daytime sleep? one thing i read in one of yr comments is that yr baby wakes up at night 2-3 times.....now how long is she awake at that time? cause mine sleeps thru the night ..i would say 2 weeks is enough time to adjust her to a new schedule --- infact my baby got it in 2-3 days and i was in a similar situation like yours.....i completely enjoyed my trip after the initial period of adjustment.....since i had scheduled every hour for my baby, i knkew when to stay at home and when to plan actvities outside with friends leaving a helper behind.....so pls. do work it out now before u leave.
my own personal suggestion is that u ensure she sleeps thru the night by herself.......daytime u can manage rocking her to sleep if self-soothing is getting too difficult to achieve after 3-4 days.......all the best!