PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!

[CaptainDippy]

Please please please give me some words of wisdom, support and reassurence right now. My DD1 (2yrs) dropped daytime sleeps about a month and a bit ago and is usual very tired and grumpy all day long (from about half 10am onwards!!) It very very tiring for me (espcially with DD2, 9 months, in tow) and I just don't know how to handle it. Most of the time I cope ok and just take her to a group in the morning and have lunch then go straight out again (she sometimes falls asleep for a little while in the pram) - It's a pretty full-on day for me but seems to work ok. However, she just gets days where she goes completely nuts - Today is one of those days and I am scared that I might lash out at her or something.....

I took her to her group this morning and she had a bit of a paddy at the end, it was pretty difficult getting her home. When we got home, I tried to give her and DD2 lunch. DD2 was exhausted (I have to get her up early from her morning nap if we go out) so I've put her to bed and she is asleep. DD1 was screaming loads and tired too so I have put her down in DD1's cot (she sleeps in a bed ususally) - She is thrashing around and screaming like someone is killing her and I am finding myself just getting soooo It is horrible and I just feel helpless. Please pray for patience and understanding and that DD1 would just get this out of her system soon because it is not good for her and not good for any of us. I just feel so stressed out and out of control.

I have posted before when DD1 fisrt dropped sleeps and everyone was very understanding and gave me loads of great advice and support, I REALLY appreciated it. The biggest piece of advice was to implement a "quiet time" period in the middle of the day - I have tried, but she ususal gets to the point of no return before I even have a chance to sit her down with a book or a DVD and is therefore too busy screaming and thrashing around to be interested in "quiet time". Sorry for such a waffley rant, but I just needed to get that out of my system. Thank you!!

Morning - Well, 2nd morning of the new "put the cot side back on" regime and once again she went down at 9.45am and is asleep!!!!!! She got up fairly early (6.30am) and was getting pretty clingy and whingy - I am just gobsmacked - I have had all this stress for over a month and it was the cot side coming off all along - What a waste of time!!?

I shouldn't count my chickens though - It has only been two days and she could just be catching up - I am missing going to the morning stuff that I discovered (much as I love this little bit of time I've got now!) - So I am thinking, next week, when I am feeling a little less shell-shocked and little more "together", I'll try taking her to some morning groups and putting her down when we get home just after lunch and see if that works. It would be a shame to miss out on all these lovely groups I've found.

I'll keep updating and let's just see what happens over the next couple of days or so - Keep encouraging me, I'm scared it's all an illusion!!

Unfortunately DD1 doesn't "do" TV - She watched Tweenies yesterday morning for about 5 mins - That is the longest she's ever watched anything and I was most impressed!! DH and I don't actually own a TV either, but with live with PIL atm and I put thiers on downstairs for a wee while. Perhaps one day ..... we can all dream, eh!!? .... Sigh .....

So pleased it's all going better, CD. Enjoy the peace and quiet, won't you? There's no rush to get to those morning groups: they will still be there in a few weeks' time.
Funny about the cot side, isn't it? Maybe she just feels more secure having her naps in it with the side on. DS1 was like this (which is why I asked you). He would insist on napping in his cot but happily sleep at night in his junior bed.
Oh, and I'd feel very smug about the non-TV-watching if I were you. Once they start getting into it, they want it on all the time!

Smug as Smug can be!!

Hee! Hee!

I think that may be investing in a junior bed for night time and leaving her cot for the day might be the way forward - but what if the position of the cot is a problem though?? - DD2 sleeps in the same room and has her cot the other side of the room. I tried putting DD1 into the cot for a sleep the other day and it didn't work - Hmmmmmm!!? Can't be swapping cots / junior bed around all the time, think I'd do myself an injury - not to mention the nice wooden floor!! Dilemmas dilemmas .......