Late afternoon meltdown

I feel like I do so good all day, then 4:00 rolls around and I about lose it. They WERE taking a third nap but they have been fighting me on this all week. Today they were up from 3 until they went down at 7! They were miserable, I was out of patience and it was awful.

Is there really such a teeny line between sleepy and overtired? It seems by the time the yawns start, it's too late. But I feel bad watching the clock and just putting them down when they've been up exactly 1.5 hours. Yet if I wait, they are overtired and the screaming starts.

I didn't mean for this post to be all over the place, but it's been a rough 3 days. They have been such happy, healthy babies and I hate feeling at such a loss as to how to fix this.

 

:hug99: the last nap is always hard for us too. if I miss the window for this one they don't go down at all, so like you they are up from about 3-7pm and are out of control. :crazy: by 4pm for me it has been about a 9hr day with not much break since my 3yo stopped napping. try and enjoy some quiet time now that they are asleep! :winking0009:

 

I get like this too. I have started just putting them in their crib and shutting the door for a little while. Sometimes they fall asleep sometimes they scream for 10 minutes or so and then fall asleep or just lay there. For me just not having to lift babies and move them from one contraption to another for 20 minutes does wonders. I make a pot of coffee and put them in the room and shut the door. Sometimes I just sit in a chair and stare or I drink my coffee and sit on the computer . It may sound bad but it make me feel so much better to just set that 20-30 minutes aside for myself and know that they will be fine in their crib.

 

:hug99: I would still try to keep that 3rd nap, and don't feel bad about watching the clock if it works!!

 

We are still doing a third nap. Sometimes they fight it, but other times they go right to sleep. However, I lay them down every day for one because I know we all need it. Sometimes they just lay in their cribs and play quietly (while I sit in the living room and get on TS!), but we all need a little break so it works.

 

My kids fought the last nap like crazy around that age too. Finally I just gave up and moved up their bedtime by an hour. It worked well and didn't make them wake any earlier in the morning.

 

I am having the EXACT same problem with the third nap. Jack and Lily are 5.5 months and have fought that third nap all week long. Their second nap lasts to anywhere between 2-3pm and I try to put them down 2hrs. later for the catnap. This used to work well when they were taking more frequent shorter naps but now they will oftentimes sleep from 12:30-2:30 for their second nap. They OBVIOUSLY need the third nap but actually scream their heads off and even though they are in different rooms with white noise machines they still wake eachother up if one happens to fall asleep. It is a nightmare because they simply cannot go 2:30 TO 7PM WITHOUT SLEEPING!

Yesterday afternoon I put DS down at 4pm and DD down about 10 min. later. They had been awake about 1 hr. and 45 min. He presumably fell asleep in his crib and she played for five minutes and then started screaming (as she does before EVERY nap, an entirely different vent) and sure enough he woke and started screaming 10 minutes into her tantrum. I let him cry, and finally went in there and picked him up at 4:45. She finally fell asleep and I held DS and he finally fell asleep in my arms (which hasn't happened since they were tiny) and DD woke right up 20 min. into her nap and he actually slept until I woke him at 5:30.

Anyway, the point is we are right there with you and I totally feel for you. I hate to put them to bed earlier than 7pm as DD already gets up at 6am (with one night feeding included) as it is. They are completely miserable in the evenings now and they used to be so content at that time of night. It is completely deflating to have to fight them that much for a 20minute nap that really doesn't help them much anyway. Sorry to turn your post into my own vent - when you are going through this this afternoon just laugh at the thought that the rest of use are waging our own catnap battles in all corners of the U.S.!

Amy

 

I would shave my head for a third nap.

 

Same thing happening here. We can't even get any real naps in them. Another mil vent though. oh well. Hope you get something worked out.

Missy

 

It must be the age, because mine have been great sleepers from the beginning, but they've been all over the place for the last week or so -- I know I need to change up their schedule or something, but so far, nothing is sticking -- and it's making me crazy!

 

QUOTE
It must be the age, because mine have been great sleepers from the beginning, but they've been all over the place for the last week or so -- I know I need to change up their schedule or something, but so far, nothing is sticking -- and it's making me crazy!


Oh yeah! Just when you think you've got it all figured out - something changes.

I hate that late afternoon stretch between the last nap & bedtime. Especially now that it's cold out and gets dark early - can't take them out in the stroller so easily anymore, which used to be my salvation at that hour.

I love HSHHC, but there's one thing in it that is the biggest laugh of all time: he says that if your babies are fussy at the end of the day, it's because they're not getting enough sleep somewhere along the line - if they just get enough sleep, then they will be perfect happy little angels even at 4:30 or 5 pm. UH HUH. Weissbluth may be a great sleep researcher, but obviously MRS. Weissbluth was the one raising the kids! :lol:

 

Have you tried putting them down at 6 instead of 7? My babies are a lot older than yours and they can only now go a 4 hour stretch. At that stage, the MOST my babies could do was 3 hours awake.

Also, I found I stopped having my own afternoon meltdowns once my babies started sleeping through at night till at least 4 am. Hope your babies are already doing that or, if not, that they do it before my babies did!