13 months DD nap and early waking issues

[LimesMum]

Hope someone can advise or help me?!

We've always struggled with early waking (like 330-4 for the day) and eventually sorted this by moving to one nap at around 12, which is roughly 1.5-2 hours long. When I say sorted she still wakes at 530 but that's more manageable!!

The problem I seem to have is if I go anywhere in the car before 12 then DD falls deeply asleep. This is often only for 10 mins or so but I then wake her to get her out of the car when I get home.

Originally this didn't seem to be an issue as she would still go for her nap ok. But lately if she has nodded off in the car it's seems to disrupt her pattern or something and she then finds it really difficult to go off for her nap. Yesterday she cried for over an hour in her cot and eventually we had to take her for a walk in her buggy and she fell asleep immediately.

Anyone know what I'm doing wrong?? I can't always stay home til 2pm everyday!! But if I let her nap twice then she resorts to waking at 4am!!!

Aside from all of this, even if she does just have the one nap on time 12-2 she has recently started waking at 445-5 again anyway!! Arghhhhh

Would really appreciate any advice, thanks

There's no easy answer to this I'm afraid. Because of her early waking she will be so tired by late morning that going out in the car will cause her to fall asleep. So you either (temporarily) avoid car journeys late morning, shout & sing loudly with windows open to keep her awake while you drive or if a car journey is necessary could you plan for it so that you can let her sleep for longer than 10 mins?

In terms of addressing the early waking, you need to try & establish the cause so rule out the easy stuff first i.e. teething/too hot/cold/room not blacked out. If none of these, then look at her daytime routine.

Early waking can happen if she is overtired at bedtime. How is she coping with the one nap generally? Happy & smiley or tired & miserable? Does she last through to bedtime ok (what time is bedtime btw?). Are her nights unsettled? Difficulty falling asleep at bedtime and/,or waking in the evening can be signs of overtiredness. If you think this is a problem try putting her to bed a bit earlier. Sounds counter-intuitive but it can actually help her to sleep for longer.

If you don't feel she is overtired, then I would try pushing the nap a touch later. Early waking is often linked to the nap starting too early. Do it 5 mins every few days/week until it starts at 12.30 & see if it helps.

The alternative is to accept she still needs 2 naps some days. If she has that 10 min nap in the morning still put her down for an afternoon nap but perhaps a little bit later as she will unlikely be tired enough to drop off at her usual time. We did a mix of 1 & 2 nap days til around 15 months when ds could cope with 1 nap full time.

Thanks Omama. I think you helped us once before!?

Ok so daily routine is :

5am ish : wakes up, usually let her stay in cot for a while 15mins or so then get her up
6am: attempt to give a cup of milk (this is another story... Trying to wean off bf)
8am: breakfast
1130: lunch
12-2 nap
430 tea
615 bath
645 feed
7 bed

She does often seem tired before 12 but is easy enough to distract and push through this and is generally happy. Like I said she always sleeps if I go out in car tho which would suggest to me she is tired and possibly needs it.

At nursery she follows this sleep routine too.

A couple of weeks ago she wasn't well and went back to 2 naps for about a week but it made no difference to anything really, but I guess she was unwell.

She goes off to sleep with minimal problems, occasionally needs a few pats and once asleep at night she tends to stay asleep until she wakes at her unearthly hour (so I know I can't complain too much!!)

I don't think it's too hot or cold and the room is blacked out and it's still pitch black then anyway!! She is teething at the moment but has been constantly for months!!

Do you think I should do an earlier bed time??

Thanks for listening!!

I notice you give a milk feed at 6am. Is this something your daughter needs, or just something you do as routine? I am wondering if she is waking early morning with hunger.

4.30pm is an early tea time so what about giving her supper?

Do you feed to sleep or need to have the last feed straight before bed? Longer term (in terms of teeth brushing) you will want to separate feeding/drinking and sleeping so that you can brush teeth and then go straight to bed.

So what about a 6.15 supper (porridge?) and milk. Then bath then bedtime.

She's always been bf at 6am, I'm trying to stop this so just today and yesterday she has had milk in a cup as a replacement with her Dad otherwise she goes nuts looking for me and milk!! But no this is not something she needs and will be stopped soon.

I don't feed to sleep and see what you mean about teeth brushing. My aim is to stop the bed time bf in next couple of weeks too then it will be easier. At moment she feeds then we do story and then she goes to bed awake.

The reason for the early tea if that she is in nursery 3 days a week and they give tea/supper there at 330 pm!! Ridiculously early?!! So by that time on a non nursery day she is hungry!! I do often give a little snack at 530 on these days too.

Agh yes the nap transition from 2 to 1 is a bit of a nightmare. I recall having to prod and tickle dd all the way back from toddler group so that she wouldn't fall asleep. And also pushing her round the garden on a trike to keep her going and realising she had fallen asleep on the trike!

Can you make sure you stay at home for a few weeks or do something active? After a few weeks she will be able to last longer before her nap.

I do try to do that but it's been almost 3 months now!!!!