Happy wide awake babies....

[*Liz*]

Remind me what the approach is here.....

DS will go down sleepy but awake, go to sleep, wake after 20/30/40 mins and then just lie there wide awake for forever. No crying, no fussing. He would literally lie there for an hour  .

Can happen if he wakes after going down.

Is it developmental?? What possible solutions??

Shh/ptt the whole nap is not an option - I have 2 other kids  . Insane blackout isn't an option either as I live in a conservation area, so tin foil etc is a no go  .

Pesky baby!!!

[weaver]

Is he swaddled Liz?

At 20 mins I'd say he's jolted himself awake, so if you can creep in and HTTJ at 15-20 mins you might find he does the rest of the nap well.  30 mins is OT to me, and 40 UT, so that might be routine/developmental.  If he has a regular pattern WRT to time he wakes up at, I'd try the sneaking in, and holding his arms lightly when he gets jumpy, so it's not sh-pat for the whole nap, but just intervening at crucial moments.

If he's lying there happy, I'd leave him.  There's always the chance he'll doze off again, and cot time is going to be less stimulating/tiring than out of the cot.

Cuddles to the wee pest!

[michaeljacknnugg]

I'd say leave him to it, also. If he's ok just observing the world, why rush in?

Unless he's hugely ot by bedtime?

[*Ali*]

I'd probably just get him up and sit him in a bouncy chair in the living room with us. I'm sure you know they are supposed to take all their naps in the same room as you at this age anyway.

[lily_layne]

DD did the same although she started when she was a bit older. I just left her to it. Now that she's older and I can see her personality, I know that she liked/needed a bit of time to herself - it's just who she is. I had to go for pretty long A times to get her to have a decent nap.

[*Liz*]

I'd probably just get him up and sit him in a bouncy chair in the living room with us. I'm sure you know they are supposed to take all their naps in the same room as you at this age anyway.

Really? But then he is just awake all day long. He doesn't fall asleep, and as soon as he does the other 2 children wake him up. Jacob is LOUD. Not doing anything wrong, just playing, but it's the middle of winter and hard to keep him calm or throw him in the garden.

Must confess its been a really hard few days. I know it's developmental. But he wakes as soon as he falls asleep ie 10/15 mins later even in the car or sling or my arms, and it gets really wearing. By the end of the day he is crying a lot. Plus what do you do with the other 2 kids??

Jacob was the same. I know it's developmental etc etc etc. But it is hard.

[*Liz*]

I'm in and out like a yo-yo once he is asleep anywhere btw  .

[weaver]

Hugs Liz, sounds truly tough for you and Thomas!  I was lucky LO1 was only 2 (and pretty quiet) and LO2 loved her sling. 

Some sleepy vibes for T while the house is quiet this morning.  ~~~~~~~~

[*Ali*]

Yeah, I don't have time to spend ages settling for a nap in another room with the other two around.

If he is happy alone then you can just leave him. We like Isla with us watching us I guess.

[*Liz*]

Yes - overall he spends a lot of time in his chair watching us  . Even if he is just lay/ fussing I couldn't leave him there the whole time I'd feel mean yk?

Up to now I've mainly settled by walking around and patting him on my shoulder. These last few days it just hasn't worked  . Doesn't work in a quiet house either. He's also waking within minutes of being out down.

It really baffles me  . Today he slept for 15mins in the am (on my chest), 20 mins (in sling - yes - woke crying while I was walking outside) - 20mins (IS in bed) and has just passed out on a bottle 3hrs after the end of the last nap. Needless to say, it's extremely hard to look after the other 2 as once school is done he is a crying fussy mess  .

I'm not sure what is going on really.

Pesky child 

[weaver]

Tell us a bit more about A times, routine, please Liz.  I'm sure you'd spot anything obvious but more eyes always helps.

Poor wee thing, and poor you.  Hate that 'why aren't you asleep???!!' feeling. 

[Buntybear]

How old is he now? It is so hard isn't it! Esp when the first nap crashes. So hard to figure out what to do with the rest of the day  It is all very well shortening the next A time but if they not in the mood for sleeping then that doesn't help either 

[*Ali*]

Sorry if that last post sounded abrupt. I was trying to get a post out quickly, one handed. Of course you like him with you too. 

I've realised from being stuck home with sick boys and DH these last couple days that I rely heavily on car naps during the school runs and the sling or wrap. We had a couple of 20 min naps today, one in my mum's arms, one when she fell asleep in the bouncy chair and another in my arms. I then put her in the Moby wrap while I did the ironing and she was straight out and slept for 1.5hrs with just  and few shushes and pats if she started to stir. She had a couple other 10-20 min dozes in the babasling while I was cooking and eating dinner. She is OT and OS for sure but can't seem to get in a deep sleep. Kind of hard to avoid with 3 though 

I've been re-reading these FAQs which were quite helpful.
Short naps - why does my baby wake after 20 minutes?
short naps - remember to consider overstimulation!

[*Liz*]

Ahhh, it's all a mess really  . Plus his wind/ reflux ruins lots of naps as well.

I know what happened today - he woke at 7.30am having fed at 5.15am - and I was busy feeding the big 2 for school so just got him up and popped him in the bouncer. He sat and watched as I got the kids ready, and they left for school with their Granddad at 8.30am, so I took him up for a feed and he went super sleepy, but woke up winding and spitting up, and by the time I got him comfy enough for a sleep he was on 2 hrs A time. He fought the swaddle and finally passed out in my arms, only to wake up 15 mins later after jolting himself awake. And it was downhill from there..... I popped him in the sling 50mins later and went out on some errands and he fell asleep very easily..... But of course was already OT by then so jolted awake.

And after that the feeds and sleep were just not lining up, and he was getting more and more windy as he was fighting the bottle due to being OT.

My Dad does a fair few school runs for me  , but I sometimes wonder if it would be easier to do them myself as it would shorten that first A and see if he sleeps better on the go iyswim? But I would need to do it in the car while it is so cold. It's a good 20mins walk and that means leaving here at 8.20, which I don't think I can do yet  . The feeds don't always match up either.

He does feed predictably every 3hrs in the day now, and will accept a shorter feed before bed as his bedtime of 7pm seems to be well established now.

I guess I need to feed him at 7am and then see if I can get a better nap to start the day.

But the OT/OS?? Sigh. Impossible to avoid. Especially OS.

[michaeljacknnugg]

I would consider school runs, if you can. Having a predictable time that we were out of the house (horses, in our case) really helped with that first nap. He either slept in the car, or in the buggy once we'd arrived. T could sleep on the way there or the way back, so he would have some flexibility.

[*Liz*]

I think you are right. It's half term next week, so will start doing some after that and see if it helps.

I APd the whole lot today and felt much better  . Most were still short, but not so crazy short. I think a lot of it is the reflux/constipation issue as well. I held him for his morning nap and he woke every 5 mins gulping for the first 45 mins, and then drifted into a deep sleep finally. Then OT doesn't help either does it?!

[lily_layne]

I'm glad to hear you got some better naps and that you're feeling better. I was thinking of you all day. It's much harder to be annoyed/frustrated when you're cuddling the wee pests isn't it? I find it also helps when you can see why they are having trouble sleeping.