Frustrated
 

I feel the need to vent, so please, humor me.

About a month ago dd started really fighting her afternoon nap and sleeping terribly at night (and by terribly I mean 4+ nightwakings). So I thought, she's a year, maybe we should try doing one nap. It's been such a struggle since then. I've been trying all sorts of different nap times. She wants to nap in the morning but if she doesn't nap long, she wants an afternoon nap too, but she refuses to nap until 5 pm or later. Then when she naps that late she refuses to go down for the night until 10, and fights me to go down and sleeps terribly. If we try to do one nap, later in the day, like closer to 12, she gets overtired and wont sleep for more than an hour, if even that long. I know 45 minutes can't be enough daytime sleep. On these type days she goes to bed early, around 7 and goes down really easily, but still sleep terribly. Last night she went down at 7 no problem, but was waking EVERY HOUR, the best stretch of sleep was 7am-8:30am. Also she won't have anything to do with Dh in the middle of the night. She will allow him to put her to sleep sleep, but she won't let him near her when she wakes.

I really want to be able to attend births again, I even have one coming up this month, I just don't know how this going to work out. Makes me really stressed. Do I just wait another year to attend birth again, in hopes that by the time she's two she'll be sleeping better?

Re: Frustrated
 

I know your pain. I think you're in the throes of the 13 month sleep regression.

Read about it here:
http://www.askmoxie.org/2007/10/55-week-sleep-r.html

It hit us hard too. My DD wakes 4 plus times a night for a quick boobie anyway but at 12 months she started to wake at 11ish and not go back to sleep for another few hours. Nightmare.

Now she's 13 months and one week and were back to the just waking every two hours thing. Btw if anyone gas advice on that I'd love to hear it (she's always been a teribble sleeper, but from 8-10 months she only woke twice a night - bliss!!!! When will sleep deprivation hell end?).

Anyway... as far as naps go, the sleep regression usually hits them hard. With DD she went from two to one nap pretty easily, but that's not the norm. Apparantly they're terrible nappers for a few weeks then it goes back to normal.

Good luck mama, if your still in this position at 14 months it might be another issue. Hugs from me.

Re: Frustrated
 

I never heard of the 13 month sleep regression before. That encourages me. I need to remind myself, this too shall pass. Last night was rough. From 2am on she was doing the, "nurse/rock till she was in a dead sleep, then wake 15 mintues later, right as I was dozing to sleep" routine. Not sure how long that cycle went on, but sometime between 4 and 5 am she finally stayed asleep. :yawn. She's sleeping again now, going, to see if this is going to be a 2 nap day