My 4.5 month old has gotten very unpredictable with her daytime sleep, which would be totally fine with me...except I absolutely cannot plan our day around her naps, because I never know when she will nap, or how long. Some days, she is up barely an hour in between naps, and it seems like she sleeps all day...others, she just takes 3 or 4 naps in a day. Some naps are 30-45 minutes long...others are 3 hours. When she wakes up effects when she goes down for her next nap. This wouldn't be a big deal if we were at home all the time, but I think we'd both go crazy if we were...she loves to see new people and things, and I need to get out of the house at least once every day. However, this often leads to her missing naps. Yesterday was a prime exampe:
Went for a long walk from 8-9 am, she slept in the wrap
Came home, and I *thought* she would sleep from 10-11, and we had a dr's appointment at 1130. For some reason she wouldn't go to sleep, and she was just about to fall asleep when we left, but the transfer to the car woke her up enough that she didn't fall asleep on the car ride. Of course, dr's office was busy, so she couldn't sleep even in the sling while we waited...meaning she didn't nap until we left at 1 pm. She got close to an hour in the car ride as we drove to pick up a friend, and the friend and I went to lunch, but she woke up when we got out of the car, still tired, but happy. When we got home at 3, she was starting to fall asleep in the car, but I had to move her in the house (we don't have a bucket seat, we have a True Fit that stays in the car) and she was too awake to sleep. I tried laying down with her, and she was flipping and flopping around, wouldn't nurse to sleep or anything, so I got up at 4 & she stayed, talking and looking at the ceiling fan. I *thought* she fell asleep around 430 because when I looked in she was still, but her head was facing the other way, and sometimes she does that still awake. Then she was talking again at 5, etc etc...later on, she got a bump and was soooo upset, crying for like 45 minutes, because she was so overtired, and finally slept, exhausted, around 7 pm in the wrap. Let me note that this little one usually sleeps by herself, and is totally fine going to sleep by herself, but I put her in the wrap for one or two naps a day usually just to cuddle (so its not like she normally *has* to have the wrap to fall asleep. It's our 'last resort' to get her to sleep, if she doesn't go to sleep on her own and she won't nurse to sleep, but that is very, very rare.) Yesterday was rather unusual, but what pushed me to the point of knowing we *needed* to do something differently because what we are doing now isn't working for my poor baby.
Any way, all that to say, if I'd only known she would be napping approximately from 1030-12, I could've made the appointment at 1230...could've made our lunch plans differently...I also work two days a week from 11-4, and she comes with me...her nap schedule always seems to be off when we are at work (I'm a nanny, so it is a different house & a different pack N play that she is supposed to sleep in), and she has SUCH a hard time sleeping, then ends up super unhappy by the end of the day. I don't want to *schedule* her or *train* her (aka, force her to stick to some crazy nap regiment), but I also don't want her to be so tired! I know it is just miserable when you want to sleep and can't...
I thought about starting to wake her up at the same time every day, then trying to put her down for naps at the same time every day, but this morning I tried to by kissing on her and talking to her softly...she opened one eye, then closed it (as if to say, GO AWAY!) and didn't even wake when I transferred her from the bed to her crib since we were leaving the room...so I know she was still really tired (she goes to bed at 8 or 830 pm, so she'd already gotten about 12 hours of sleep...she wakes to nurse but we cosleep at night so she doesn't really *wake*)
When she was smaller, she would sleep anywhere--pack N play, wrap, floor, couch, bed, swing, etc. But the last month or so, it's become pretty important that she have less distractions in order to sleep. **The problem is not GETTING her to sleep, but getting her to sleep more regularly, so I can know when she is going to sleep so that she can have a quiet and restful place to do it.**
Went for a long walk from 8-9 am, she slept in the wrap
Came home, and I *thought* she would sleep from 10-11, and we had a dr's appointment at 1130. For some reason she wouldn't go to sleep, and she was just about to fall asleep when we left, but the transfer to the car woke her up enough that she didn't fall asleep on the car ride. Of course, dr's office was busy, so she couldn't sleep even in the sling while we waited...meaning she didn't nap until we left at 1 pm. She got close to an hour in the car ride as we drove to pick up a friend, and the friend and I went to lunch, but she woke up when we got out of the car, still tired, but happy. When we got home at 3, she was starting to fall asleep in the car, but I had to move her in the house (we don't have a bucket seat, we have a True Fit that stays in the car) and she was too awake to sleep. I tried laying down with her, and she was flipping and flopping around, wouldn't nurse to sleep or anything, so I got up at 4 & she stayed, talking and looking at the ceiling fan. I *thought* she fell asleep around 430 because when I looked in she was still, but her head was facing the other way, and sometimes she does that still awake. Then she was talking again at 5, etc etc...later on, she got a bump and was soooo upset, crying for like 45 minutes, because she was so overtired, and finally slept, exhausted, around 7 pm in the wrap. Let me note that this little one usually sleeps by herself, and is totally fine going to sleep by herself, but I put her in the wrap for one or two naps a day usually just to cuddle (so its not like she normally *has* to have the wrap to fall asleep. It's our 'last resort' to get her to sleep, if she doesn't go to sleep on her own and she won't nurse to sleep, but that is very, very rare.) Yesterday was rather unusual, but what pushed me to the point of knowing we *needed* to do something differently because what we are doing now isn't working for my poor baby.
Any way, all that to say, if I'd only known she would be napping approximately from 1030-12, I could've made the appointment at 1230...could've made our lunch plans differently...I also work two days a week from 11-4, and she comes with me...her nap schedule always seems to be off when we are at work (I'm a nanny, so it is a different house & a different pack N play that she is supposed to sleep in), and she has SUCH a hard time sleeping, then ends up super unhappy by the end of the day. I don't want to *schedule* her or *train* her (aka, force her to stick to some crazy nap regiment), but I also don't want her to be so tired! I know it is just miserable when you want to sleep and can't...
I thought about starting to wake her up at the same time every day, then trying to put her down for naps at the same time every day, but this morning I tried to by kissing on her and talking to her softly...she opened one eye, then closed it (as if to say, GO AWAY!) and didn't even wake when I transferred her from the bed to her crib since we were leaving the room...so I know she was still really tired (she goes to bed at 8 or 830 pm, so she'd already gotten about 12 hours of sleep...she wakes to nurse but we cosleep at night so she doesn't really *wake*)
When she was smaller, she would sleep anywhere--pack N play, wrap, floor, couch, bed, swing, etc. But the last month or so, it's become pretty important that she have less distractions in order to sleep. **The problem is not GETTING her to sleep, but getting her to sleep more regularly, so I can know when she is going to sleep so that she can have a quiet and restful place to do it.**
