Friday, May 7, 2010

Trouble shooting

Thanks for all of the great advice! I am going to have to do this more often! I think that mostly we need to be more consistent with naps and bed time. We were doing pretty good when he was about 5 months but then he kept getting sick and it threw everything off. It gets a little tricky figuring out getting Will and myself to work, and getting off work at 7 but we just have to make it work. Since you all have more experience than me I thought I would through out a few more questions.

#1 I have tried two naps a day, one around 9 and then another around 2. By the time we are leaving work around 6:45 he passes out in the car. Do I wake him up or let him sleep?

#2 Occasionally Lincoln decides that he only wants to take a half hour nap. Do I add a third nap later in the day to make up for it?

#3 Do you let them Cry it out if they are teething or sick?

Thanks again everyone!

P.S. Lincoln did sleep from 8-3 and then from 4-7 last night! Progress!

5 comments:

Kayla and Austen said...

Sounded like my life not too long ago haha. Kollen would fall asleep randomly sometimes when I didnt want him to but there was no way I could keep him up. Cuz he's a car sleeper. So sometimes you just gotta let them sleep. He also had constant ear infections and started teething at 3 1/2 months so I know what you mean on #3. If they are sick or teething thats when they need mommy's comfort the most. So I say dont let them cry it out during that time. Wait till they are better :)

Sharlene, Mom, Grammy said...

I totally agree with Kayla on giving them a break when it comes to teething and ear aches, etc. That's why I had those two years of very little sleep. That child was teething at 3 months and had on-going ear infections and bad colds. I couldn't just let her cry. She needed me.

If my child fell asleep at 6:45 p.m. (in the car or elsewhere), I would bring them in and put them to bed for the night. Waking them up usually means they'll want to stay up for several more hours.

Also, remember that every child is different, even within the same family. What works for one, might not work for another.

Glad Lincoln gave you one good night. :)

Holly said...

1.) That's a toughie, but I would probably just let him sleep and put him down for the night when you get home.
2.) Tucker used to to that too, when he wouldn't take very long naps. I usually let him stay in his crib as long as possible to give him time to go back to sleep. It didn't always work, but sometimes it did! And yes, I would probably give him that third nap to help make up for a short nap earlier on.
3.) We didn't/don't make him cry it out as much when he's sick or teething. Tucker's teething lasts seriously for months, so we just kind of adjust to if he's having a really painful night or not. (We don't get him every time he cries, but if he's having a really hard time, we will go in.) And same thing when he's sick. (If we start to go in every time he cries, he starts crying more to get us to come in more--too smart for his own good if you ask me--so we just kind of pick and choose times to go in.)

Good luck! Glad you had a better night!!!

annie (the annilygreen one) said...

maren always took short naps when she was that age. we were lucky if we got an hour. but having her take 3 naps a day made all the difference. and even if she woke up from her third nap at 5, she'd still go down perfectly at 7. because, as someone said, they should never be up for longer than 2 hours...it makes it harder for them to sleep restfully. and i'm with everyone else....there's absolutely no point in letting him cry when he's teething or sick. it's a totally different game.

The Bock Family said...

I just have to say that I read everyone else's comments from that last entry and all of my advice came from "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" too just like a few others said. I just never told you the name of the book I read. It is awesome!!