Reassure me please

[mistressploppy]

DS (9mo) is, in the scheme of things, a good sleeper - he's done 7pm-7am ish since about 4mo, no bfing or anything. He self-settles usually. His naps are pretty good (2 a day, usually 1 - 2hrs each). He's a pretty easy baby.

But I have a bit of a problem with obsessing about his sleep - I'm convinced it's all about to go horribly wrong. I'm so fixated about his routine that I avoid going out in case it spoils his naps/bedtime. If he takes a bit longer to settle I literally go nuts with worry and frustration (have thrown things around and actually pulled my hair out ). This is my problem and I'm working on it, but...

Can someone please reassure me that; A. Good sleepers don't usually just turn into bad ones. B. If the routine is broken he WILL get back on track after a while, and C. As they get older they can cope with having their sleep messed with a bit more???

We are going on holiday soon and I really need to Calm Down or I'm going to spoil it for everybody

Yep, can reassure you that a change in routine doesn't have to mean a broken routine for ever!

I was exactly the same as you, v strict about bedtimes in particular but pretty fixed on naps too as DD really needed them, same sort of routine as your DS.

We took her abroad at 6m and everyone told me the time difference would ruin her routine and it didn't. Took her abroad again at 9m and the same.

We go to watch lots of track cycling events and they tend to be for a few days and not finish until 10pm, was sooo worried that her sleep would be awful but it was all fine. She adapted really well and literally went straight back to her routine once we were home.

So now I'm much more relaxed about the odd late night, early start, missed nap as I know she will be OK.

I think once they are settled in routines you can probably mix things up a bit now and again and they will just fall back in - hope this reassures you a bit and you can really enjoy your holiday.