Too excited to sleep

Zara has learnt how to crawl, stand up (supported), cruise around furniture, stand and sit herself up within these last 2 weeks.

I think her own achievement has excited herself.

She has been sleeping quite promptly at 9:30pm the last few weeks. After I changed her to her pajamas, she would lie down to nurse, then drift off to sleep; or worse case, she would lie in bed with me, and after a few songs and some patting, she would fall asleep. Her usual routine is 10hrs of sleep in the night, and she takes 2 naps which total up to 2 to 3hrs.

But this week, after we'd come back home, she's still wide awake, even though I know she's very tired (since her nap time remain the same, and she is physically more active now). After nursing, she would want to get back down on the ground, do more cruising, practice more standing herself up.

She wouldn't stop, even if I turned off the lights, and tell her it's time for bed. She would toss and turn and sit up, and toss and turn and sit up. A few times, to calm her excited self down, I have to lay her on my chest with her tummy against mine, and her head on my chest; or I carry her in my arms and rock her to sleep, that way she'll drift to sleep in 5mins or so.

We have also raised the bars of her cot as she's now able to stand herself up. This is what she does now in the morning at 6am when she wants to come over to our bed to nurse, she'll stand herself up, hanging on to the bars facing my direction, and shouts for me "Aaah.. Eerr" until I come to her.

This is her still up and alert at 11pm wanting to practice more cruising.