DD will be one next week and hasn't been on a schedule since she hit the 4-month regression. Worse, with DH working nights, we have shifted our schedule so it mirrors his. I did the same thing with DS until he started school, but this isn't working for us now because it means DS is on his own in the evenings and sometimes even putting himself to bed.
I'm terrible about sticking to a schedule, I nurse on demand, etc. We are very much a "go with the flow" family but I need some structure, mainly for DS' sake. Two things that make this challenging are that she still wants to nurse every 3-4 hours (she goes 5-6 at night), and I nurse her to sleep. I know these are habits that need to be broken but I have to start where we are, which is..
... A ray of hope! DH helped me keep her up all day yesterday so she was in bed at 7:30 last night and slept til 5:00 this morning!
Her schedule has been perfect so far today. She had what we call a "snack nap" (nurses while sleeping, and this only counts when I'm holding her vs. putting her in bed) from 8:00-8:45. And she took a good long nap with DH from noon to 3:00, at which point she woke up and nursed.
So now what? Should I give her another "snack nap" next time she nurses, or put her to bed? Uhh, did I mention we co-sleep? I went to bed with her last night and it took me several hours to fall asleep since I was still on DH's night shift. So until I transition her to the crib (an idea I feel horrible about since she's been with us all along), I might have to go to bed with her. It wouldn't be an issue if I kept her up until 10:00 or so, but do I want to do that?
Should I go ahead and start transitioning her into the crib? It is in our room so she wouldn't be totally isolated once I go to bed. But what about her MOTN feeding? I love side-lying while we nurse because it's so easy and comfortable, and of you haven't figured it out by now, I'm big on easy!!!
Are you still with me? What should I do? Will she be better off going to bed at the next feeding (probably around 7:30 again)? Will she even be ready for bed since she took a 3-hour nap from 12-3? Should I give her a "snack nap" instead and put her down for the night at the next feeding? Hulp!!!!