Can someone please offer advice-witching hour related for 8 mo's
I want to start by saying that my girls have always been very fussy in the early evening hours... but here's what's been happening lately
From about 5 pm-7 pm (bedtime) they are very fussy and clingy I KNOW they're tired but one of them (baby A) really fights the 3rd nap. She really hasn't been taking one for the past 2.5 months. I've tried but she cries and cries and honestly it's just not worth it for 30 mins of sleep... Baby B will sometimes take a 3rd nap and is in better spirits when she does.
DH and I just dealt with it-held them, brought them outside to help distract them which often helps... but I guess I'm worried that I'm not doing the right thing by them. If it helps, their schedule is as follows:
up between 6 am and 6:30 am.
Down for a nap around 8 am (1-2 hrs)
Down for a second nap around 1 pm (1-2 hrs)
And then they go to bed for the night at 7 pm.
They are GREAT all day long but come 5 pm-which is when I think they should be napping, they start getting really cranky-they really can't be left to play independently until they go to sleep for the night.
As I said, DH and I dealt with it because we thought it "is what it is". And honestly, we both work from home at night so an early bedtime is convenient for us.. that being said, I don't want to compromise their development if it means they need more sleep. In totally, they're getting 14-16 hrs average.
Anyone have thoughts on what I can be doing differently is anything? Does everyone have a witching hour at this age?
Im open to all suggestions. TIA!
Re: Can someone please offer advice-witching hour related for 8 mo's
I have actually been trying to move that first nap but no luck, they r so tired!! They are teething. E has 2 teeth and S has 4! Did your little ones outgrow it? I guess Im worried tat maybe I should be forcing that 3rd nap.
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That's a good idea..and one Ive entertained... Im just afraid they'll wake 1/2 hour earlier.
Do it one night or gradually?
Pretty much what everyone else has said. My girls (I have an E & S too!) are 7 months today. They are in DC during the week, so that helps tire them out. There, they might get a short nap in around 4:30 (we pick up around 5), but on the weekends, they really don't take that late afternoon nap. Both at DC and at home, their morning and afternoon naps are about the same time as your girls'.
During the week, MH gets home with them between 5:15 and 5:30 and we do dinner about 5:45 (for them, we eat later). We've started solids and our S is a great eater, but our E really isn't all that interested in them. We play afterwards until they start rubbing eyes and getting that tired cranky look. Bath is every other day, so we factor that as well,; on bath nights we're a little quicker to jump at the tired signs. Either way, they are generally out between 6:30 and 7 these days. For us, following their cues rather than forcing a set time is still working out well enough that we're not going to mess with it.
We may have one up around 4 or 5 for a bottle, but even so, she'll still go right back down until I have to get them up and ready between 6:30 & 7.
When we dropped the 3rd nap, bedtime needed to move up for us. At that age we were in a sort of 2-3-4 pattern. They were up at 7, nap at 9, nap at 1, bedtime no later than 4 hours after getting up from their second nap. So if they only slept until 2:30, they were in bed by 6:30.
If they are up between 6 and 6:30, and cranky between 5 and 6 in the evening, I'd be shooting for a 6 or 6:30 bedtime.
thanks everyone! I needed the confidence to move their bedtime!
Going to try it tonight!