Hello, please help, I am at the end of my rope with this one!
DD has been in a good naptime routine since about 5 months. Dropped to 2 naps per day at 7-8 months. Sleeps well (7-7ish at night). Until she hit 11 months.
For the last month, naptimes have been awful.
Her previous routine is:
7am wake, breakfast etc.
9am 1st nap, usually until 10-10:30
1pm 2nd nap, usually until 2-2:30
7pm bedtime
At 11 months, she decided she wasn't going to nap. She learned to stand up in the cot at 10.5 months so now just stands and shouts. I am lucky to get her to nap for 1 hour a day and that is after a 45-60 minute struggle.
Pre-nap routine hasn't changed - 15 minutes of quieter activities (books, singing - turn off the irritatingly noisy toys...), bedtime song, darkened room etc.
I have tried:
- pushing the morning nap back in case she needed more awake time in the morning, still refused morning nap
- dropping the morning nap completely and going to one nap - she fights this too
- bringing the naps 15-30 minutes earlier - still refuses
- walking her in the pram - still refuses
She is now basically having max one 60 minute nap in total and that is after a minimum of 45 minutes of protesting. She is miserable with exhaustion. Comes up to me crying and rubbing eyes, yawning. If I try to go out with her she just can't cope with the tiredness and winds up in tears. She's spending all day miserable and exhausted and I feel like a terrible mother. She clearly still needs two naps but even one would help.
I am grateful that she is a brilliant sleeper at nighttime but I've been dealing with an overtired, cranky baby for a month now (I am currently a SAHM and it's just me and DD at home) and it's getting to me. I need some help.