I watch for the signs (e.g. eye rubbing, yawning, fussiness) in our 12 mo old, quickly change his diaper for the night and attempt to nurse him to sleep, but even after nursing, he more and more frequently gets his second wind and just plays in bed, which includes peeking over the bed rail, beating on the headboard, crawling all over, biting me, hitting me, etc. I don't play with him and try to keep my eyes closed as much as possible, while trying to keep one eye on him.
I use a fan for white noise and the room is darkened (though not pitch black, as my black out cellulars let light in on the sides). I also have to keep a night light on so I can see him, which I put under the bed so that it's not too bright.
I usually end up spending 45 min to up to 2 hours laying in bed with our DS, waiting for him to fall asleep before I can leave. I get very resentful and lose my patience as the minutes are ticking by and I think of all the things I need to get done.
His naps are erratic. He has been skipping morning naps more frequently, which I know is normal around this age. Today, he ended up taking an earlier afternoon nap from 12:30-2pm. He usually gets tired about 4 hrs after his nap (sometimes earlier). Figuring he would be tired between 6-7pm, I fed him his dinner at 4:30pm also knowing that he needs some time to unwind after eating. He was fussy all through the meal and rubbing his eyes and nose, but once he was set free from his high chair, he wanted to crawl all over the place, which is great because it lets him burn off energy.
He started getting fussy again at 5:45pm (but no eye rubbing or yawning), so I whisked him up to bed to nurse him to sleep. However, he was still wide awake 30 min later and playing and shouting and not wanting to nurse anymore, so I gave up and took him out of bed (I usually just lay there until he falls asleep). At 6:30pm he started getting cranky again, so I took him back to bed. He again just played in bed and was still awake at 8pm. I finally lost my patience and took him to my DH, who sleeps in the spare room, so I could get some housework done. He finally fell asleep at about 8:30pm, 6.5 hrs after waking up from his nap.
I've tried taking him to bed earlier (when he's not showing tired signs) and at the beginning of his tired signs, and I just cannot seem to figure out when is the best time to get him to bed so he'll nurse to sleep.
What if he's cranky, but isn't yet rubbing his eyes or yawning?
How can I find the sweet spot period that will enable him to be going to bed when he's tired?
I use a fan for white noise and the room is darkened (though not pitch black, as my black out cellulars let light in on the sides). I also have to keep a night light on so I can see him, which I put under the bed so that it's not too bright.
I usually end up spending 45 min to up to 2 hours laying in bed with our DS, waiting for him to fall asleep before I can leave. I get very resentful and lose my patience as the minutes are ticking by and I think of all the things I need to get done.
His naps are erratic. He has been skipping morning naps more frequently, which I know is normal around this age. Today, he ended up taking an earlier afternoon nap from 12:30-2pm. He usually gets tired about 4 hrs after his nap (sometimes earlier). Figuring he would be tired between 6-7pm, I fed him his dinner at 4:30pm also knowing that he needs some time to unwind after eating. He was fussy all through the meal and rubbing his eyes and nose, but once he was set free from his high chair, he wanted to crawl all over the place, which is great because it lets him burn off energy.
He started getting fussy again at 5:45pm (but no eye rubbing or yawning), so I whisked him up to bed to nurse him to sleep. However, he was still wide awake 30 min later and playing and shouting and not wanting to nurse anymore, so I gave up and took him out of bed (I usually just lay there until he falls asleep). At 6:30pm he started getting cranky again, so I took him back to bed. He again just played in bed and was still awake at 8pm. I finally lost my patience and took him to my DH, who sleeps in the spare room, so I could get some housework done. He finally fell asleep at about 8:30pm, 6.5 hrs after waking up from his nap.
I've tried taking him to bed earlier (when he's not showing tired signs) and at the beginning of his tired signs, and I just cannot seem to figure out when is the best time to get him to bed so he'll nurse to sleep.
What if he's cranky, but isn't yet rubbing his eyes or yawning?
How can I find the sweet spot period that will enable him to be going to bed when he's tired?
