How to prevent the afternoon complete meltdown?

DinabethL · September 2012

I need help! This has been torture. She wakes at 7 (after about 10-11 hours of sleep), goes back to sleep until about 8:45 or 9. She stays up with me for a couple hours, and takes another nap about 11-3 (not completely through, it is different everyday) but around 3:30 and 4 she has a complete meltdown. I don't know how to prevent this. She gets so much sleep! I feed her more often as the evening comes to a close. I am so frustrated, and she is crying in the next room because I have such a headache and feeling so defeated!

I don't mind that she is awake, but it is the constant screaming, and nothing I do makes her happy.

devotchka81 · September 2012

DinabethL:
I need help! This has been torture. She wakes at 7 (after about 10-11 hours of sleep), goes back to sleep until about 8:45 or 9. She stays up with me for a couple hours, and takes another nap about 11-3 (not completely through, it is different everyday) but around 3:30 and 4 she has a complete meltdown. I don't know how to prevent this. She gets so much sleep! I feed her more often as the evening comes to a close. I am so frustrated, and she is crying in the next room because I have such a headache and feeling so defeated! I don't mind that she is awake, but it is the constant screaming, and nothing I do makes her happy.

try getting another nap in there and spacing the naps abt 90 mins from when she wakes up. we were having this problem + are now using the 90 min baby sleep program + it works much better. i know it sounds like too much sleep but in my experience so far, theres no such thing! ;P

so your "schedule" (ours varies, thus the quotes - you just have to watch baby for signs of tiredness and put her down accordingly) could be something like this:

7a-wakeup

830a-nap

930a-wakeup

11a-nap

1230-wakep

2p-nap

3p-wakeup

430-nap

730-bedtime

I also found that ds sleeps muuuch longer in my bed (naps only) than his crib for some reason, but to each their own

HTH!

laurack · September 2012

What about getting out and about during this time? I know when mine is being a pain if I pop her in the stroller and head out for a walk she stops complaining. Something else to look at, fresh air, distraction etc.

DinabethL · September 2012

Someone gave me a harness (baby wearing?) at the baby shower, but last time I tried she didn't fit. I tried it and she loved it! We went for a walk, and she fell asleep. So cute. I will definitely have to add more walks to our routine.

DinabethL · September 2012

devotchka81:
DinabethL:
I need help! This has been torture. She wakes at 7 (after about 10-11 hours of sleep), goes back to sleep until about 8:45 or 9. She stays up with me for a couple hours, and takes another nap about 11-3 (not completely through, it is different everyday) but around 3:30 and 4 she has a complete meltdown. I don't know how to prevent this. She gets so much sleep! I feed her more often as the evening comes to a close. I am so frustrated, and she is crying in the next room because I have such a headache and feeling so defeated! I don't mind that she is awake, but it is the constant screaming, and nothing I do makes her happy.

try getting another nap in there and spacing the naps abt 90 mins from when she wakes up. we were having this problem + are now using the 90 min baby sleep program + it works much better. i know it sounds like too much sleep but in my experience so far, theres no such thing! ;P

so your "schedule" (ours varies, thus the quotes - you just have to watch baby for signs of tiredness and put her down accordingly) could be something like this:

7a-wakeup

830a-nap

930a-wakeup

11a-nap

1230-wakep

2p-nap

3p-wakeup

430-nap

730-bedtime

I also found that ds sleeps muuuch longer in my bed (naps only) than his crib for some reason, but to each their own

HTH!

Are you saying I should wake her up after she has been sleeping for 90 minutes too? I try to get her down about 90 minutes after she wakes up, but I never thought to wake her up.

devotchka81 · September 2012

DinabethL:
devotchka81:
DinabethL:
I need help! This has been torture. She wakes at 7 (after about 10-11 hours of sleep), goes back to sleep until about 8:45 or 9. She stays up with me for a couple hours, and takes another nap about 11-3 (not completely through, it is different everyday) but around 3:30 and 4 she has a complete meltdown. I don't know how to prevent this. She gets so much sleep! I feed her more often as the evening comes to a close. I am so frustrated, and she is crying in the next room because I have such a headache and feeling so defeated! I don't mind that she is awake, but it is the constant screaming, and nothing I do makes her happy.

try getting another nap in there and spacing the naps abt 90 mins from when she wakes up. we were having this problem + are now using the 90 min baby sleep program + it works much better. i know it sounds like too much sleep but in my experience so far, theres no such thing! ;P

so your "schedule" (ours varies, thus the quotes - you just have to watch baby for signs of tiredness and put her down accordingly) could be something like this:

7a-wakeup

830a-nap

930a-wakeup

11a-nap

1230-wakep

2p-nap

3p-wakeup

430-nap

730-bedtime

I also found that ds sleeps muuuch longer in my bed (naps only) than his crib for some reason, but to each their own

HTH!
Are you saying I should wake her up after she has been sleeping for 90 minutes too? I try to get her down about 90 minutes after she wakes up, but I never thought to wake her up.

Noooo, please don't wake her up ever! Haha, that's what the author says at least, unless theres an extremely special circumstance - waking up a baby = baaad news ; ) Let her sleep as long as she wants to, but limit her awake time to 90 minute increments. As she gets older, she will stay up later in incrrements of about 90 mins, according to the author. This more or less is what happens w/ us. Sometimes that last stretch is a good 3 hours before he goes down for the night. Our LO wakes up 1-2X a night to nurse too, btw. It's different for every baby. Check out the book and see if it will work for you. I posted about it a few days ago, I highly recommend it (I sound like some crazy convert but it's true).

Fresh air helps us too - my babysitter takes LO for a walk in the middle of the day in the ergo and he naps in it. He LOOOVES fresh air but is more likely to nap in the ergo than the stroller for some reason (warmth? snuggles?) - but this works for us in the early evenings or on the weekends too. We went to the beach last weekend and he napped for an hour while we walked, it was nice! The fresh air just knocks him out.

Want a personalized experience?

How to prevent the afternoon complete meltdown?

Re: How to prevent the afternoon complete meltdown?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards