having issues w/ sleep.

[fayth2012]

Hi, lately, I have been having issues with getting my 1 yr old and sleep.

Usually, she takes a hour or two hour nap sometime late morning, but after that, she either won't nap, and go to bed super early (to make up for it, I think), or won't nap, and go to bed usual time, thus being awake for 6, 7, 8 hours straight, even though she is obviously tired and rubbing her eyes. I am very in tune to when she is tired, so I always try getting her to nap then, but lately, I will breastfeed her, and she will be thisclose to asleep, then, suddenly, widen her eyes, say mom, push me away and try to get up. I think she may be doing this because she is so excited, and she is having so much fun during the day, that she does not want to sleep. But she is obviously tired, so does anyone have any tips on how to get her to nap more consistently? I already put all her toys in a big basket, so they are not distracting her. I am also in process of trying to get on her on a schedule.

Also, for the mothers who nurse their children to sleep: how do you nurse them to sleep, and are still able to put them to sleep, and get up? I always nurse her to sleep, but then I have trouble getting up without waking her. Any ideas would be much appreciated.

Lastly, how can you decrease the frequency of night time nursing? She usually nurses about several times a night. And I'm tired! 

Thanks!

[skycheattraffic]

11 to 13 months was a tough time for sleep for us. Naps didn't happen at all until I got blackout drapes and started putting the fan on to provide white noise. Those two are my first reccomendation. If the room wasn't dark, she just couldn't relax and let go - like you said it's daytime and there's fun to be had! The white noise helped her reach a deeper sleep and stay there longer and as a bonus it masked other household/outside noises.

For leaving her, I actually had to MOVE her while she was asleep. At that point we still had her in a crib and I would nurse her in the recliner, wait for her to go limp, then move her. It was hard, with a 24lb kiddo and a crib on its lowest setting! By 18 months it became almost impossible and around 20 months we got her a very low double bed. Now we lay down to nurse and once she falls asleep I wait a few minutes, then get up and leave without an issue. I still credit the drapes and white noise. She can take a loooong time to fall asleep but once she's out, she's out.
Good luck! That was a tough age!

ETA: she's in her own room and wakes less frequently when I'm not with her. We just sleep more soundly in our own spaces. Starting around 19 months or so she cut down on night waking signicantly on her own.

[Zirconia]

Same thing happens here, mostly with naps!  Almost asleep, then that hand slaps my chest to leverage herself to a sitting position and try to get up.  If she is really red-eyed and obviously sleepy, I stick with it and we struggle until she gives it up.  If she's being really silly/playful and I'm tired of wrestling a monkey, I give up and try again later.  I've learned that with my DD, putting her to bed at "the first sleepy signs" (like the books recommend) doesn't work very well - it's better if I wait until she's downright tired, but not yet wired.

As for nighttime, when I got off caffeine, bedtime got much shorter and smoother.  She immediately stopped fighting me at night.  I had been drinking half-caff in the mornings for months with no issues, but around 10-11 months when she started resisting sleep, it became a problem.  So, decaf in the AM only.  No decaf after noon, no iced tea EVER, and easy on the chocolate (I learned that one the hard way over the holidays).  My favorite vices...  the things we do for our little pumpkins...

[fayth2012]

Thanks for the replies!  For a short while, her sleeping was getting better. Now lately, it is more unpredictable, for lack of a better word. She will usually get up around 7 or 8, then she will either nap around 11-1, then skip her afternoon nap, and go to sleep super early around 5ish; or she will nap around 10 to 12, then 2 to 4, then bed around 7ish. So it is really touch and go. She will act tired, but then when I try feeding her to sleep, and she is thisclose to sleep, she pulls away, and tries to get up. Sometimes I keep trying to get to sleep, and that works, other times, I know she wants to play, so I just take a break and try again later. I keep trying to get her on more of schedule; I really think that would help her with her sleeping habits, but it is really hard. She tends to be an independent and very curious person, lol. So it is hard to structure things with her. But I do try to do errands in morning, some sort of activity in afternoon, and playtime (songs, shapes, colors, numbers, reading, etc) in evening. I am sure it just takes time!