Nap time traumas need you help

Hi ladies,

I posted yesterday about the trouble with having with Olivia (10 months) and her sleeping. We've introduced controlled crying at night which seems to be going ok. She's normally gone back to sleep within 20-30 mins in the night when she wakes up.

The real trouble I'm having now is at nap time. Olivia falls asleep with her bottle but she's going into such a light sleep that as soon as I move to lay her down she wakes up and screams. I left her in bed for over an hour this morning and she showed no sign of falling asleep. The crying was different to the crying at night. She didnt even sound tired (although I know she is) and after listening to her cry (and crying myself downstairs) for the best part of 2 hours I got her up.

I'm feeling really lost as to why she suddenly wakes so easily and why she wont let me lay her down. She's always been so good at napping during the day, normally for 1-2 hours. I'm not getting anything done during the day and starting to feel really down in the dumps. I'm almost nervous of being on my own with her during the day because I dont know what to do with her at nap times.

I'm feeling really pathetic and like a rubbish mummy today so if anyone has any words of wisdom they'd be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much
Shelley & Olivia xxx

Hi shelley

Glad you had a better night .. hopefully you'll have a better day today cos we all have bad days and wonder what the hell were doing lol.
I don'y know if its any help at all but i used to have trouble getting Dylan to nap for longer than either 20 or 45 mins during the day. I found that I had to put him down at the first sign of tiredness and that seemed to help himsleep longer than 20 mins .. but the key thing with him has been teaching him to fall asleep on his own. It took a while but now he sleeps for up to 2 hours each nap time with no fuss goin to sleep.
I am a wuss and can't leave him to cry .. i don't disagree with it as my mum said she did it with us etc but i just can't do it lol. I sat next to his cot so that he could see me but i just waited till he fell asleep occasionally giving him his dummy. The first time took 40 mins, the second took 25 mins and the third 4 mins lol.I kept this up for about a week every time he went to sleep so naptime and bedtime and now i just take him in his room close the curtains give him a kiss and a cuddle and pop him in his cot .. he play with his cuddly and falls asleep giggling. This has really helped with sleeping through the night too as he is haapy to get himself back to sleep ....
I really hope you can find what works for your lil angel as i went through 2 months of hardly any naps and know exactly how you feel !!

t care hun

Em & Dylan 5mnths x x

Napping

Hi,

Dont really know the answer to your question but perhaps she is a bit clingy at the moment - how old is she. I replied to your post in the week as I was having the same trouble with Emily but she was unwell therefore probably a bit clingy, she seems better now and had slept in her cot today.

I don't know how you left Olivia crying for 2 hours - I could not do it - I left Emily the other day for 15 mins crying and she was all hot and sweaty from crying.

Have you tried a dummy yet or perhaps she needs winding after you fed her if she falls asleep on the bottle. Does she have all her bottle? If not perhaps the teats are not right for her. I went through this with Emily and realised I needed to buy the next flow of teats for her otherwise it is hard work for them.. Only a few suggestions....

You are not rubbish, we all have days where we wonder what the hell we are doing (I had one of those yesterday), but all I know is that these little phases do finish....

Let us know how you get on.

Lots of Love
Natalie & Emily x

Hi natalie

Olivia's 10 months old and does seem to be going through a bit of a clingy stage.

I dont know how I did it either tbh! I went in loads to try and calm her down and had to change her nappy too. The crying stopped & started but she was playing in between rather than trying to sleep.

She used to have a dummy at sleep time but went off it when her first tooth came through and never wanted it after that.

Last night she went off without too much trouble - she cried when we put her down but hubbie sat quietly in the room for a bit and she stopped. He gradually left the room and after a while she went to sleep on her own & slept through (first time in over a week). I'll try that at nap time but I think she knows the difference between night & day! We have a black out blind but its still not dark enough during the day.

I'm glad to hear Emily's sleeping in her cot now and hope she's feeling better soon.

Thanks for your reply hun, it means a lot

Shelley & Livvy xx

Morning!

Hi there,

Glad it is going better and Olivia sleeping through - woo hoo!!

We are dropping the night feed tonight for the first time, it is getting silly waking Emily up from a deep sleep for 1 ounce so we will not do it tonight which means i can go to bed when I want - yey!!

Have a good day

Natalie & Emily x

Good luck

I'm sure Emily will go through just fine. Hope you enjoy your early night!!

Take care

xx