still dealing with the short nap

[v0micj01]

My lo is now 9 weeks. He has been taking 20-30 minute naps since his 6 week GS. He has some gas and reflux issues which we are dealing with, but are greatly improving. He does not nap well. He goes down pretty easy then jolts Around 20 minutes, that doesn't wake him, but it does bring him to a lighter sleep which he them wakes out of shortly after. I've true lessening his a time. He's tightly swaddled, with loud white noise, and the room as dark as I can get it.

E6
A
S715-8
A8-9
E9
A
S-10-1030
A1030-1130
E1130
A
S1230-1
A1-2:30
E230
A
S315-345
A345-430
E(cluster)430
A
E(cluster)630
S7
Df10

He usually wakes once between 3&4 for a NW.

[katie80]

Is he on meds for the reflux? If so, for how long?

20-30min naps can definitely be discomfort, so it may be that as things continue to improve, he may be able to get past that jerk into the light sleep. Have you tried Holding Through The Jolts from around 20-30min to see if you can get him past that? There's a good explanation of that here: How do I address habitual wakings? (wake-to-sleep and other methods). If he's in pain though, I don't know that would work. Are you able to resettle in any way, i.e. your arms, a sling/wrap, the stroller, a swing, etc?

He's got some really long A times for his age as the day goes on. Ideally, you'd want to keep to an age-appropriate A time of around 1h15-20min, and some of his are 2hr+ in the afternoon. This is probably contributing to OT and making it quite difficult to get anything more than a 30min nap. Does he respond to any AP? All of mine were short nappers from about 2/2.5-5/6mo. With DD, I just let it go and kept putting her down as I wasn't sure what else to do. With both DSs, I APd one long nap per day however I could get it, mostly in the wrap or the swing. I did this until they were 5/6mo old and then worked on extending their naps. It helped them from getting overly OT, gave me a break during the day, and helped us stay a bit more on track with feeds. Honestly, at 9 weeks, I'd AP all naps if I had to... there's always time to work on independent sleep and it's much easier to do if they're starting out better rested.

[*Liz*]

Agree with Katie,

But, I doubt they will go away any time soon. It's very common at this age. For many even developmental.

You may need plan B to get by until he matures a little.

All the things you mention work for some eg tight swaddle/ dark room/ white noise. But not all.

My DS1 short napped until 6mths, DD was the same without an AP extension for one, and Thomas is a disaster  .

[v0micj01]

The long a times are due to the unwillingness to nap. It's a vicious cycle. Last night in the evening, he napped for 40 minutes, but he was so tired from the lack of napping all day that I think he finally passed out.

He's not on reflux meds, I'm doing an elimination diet(all milk and soy) and it has definitely made a big difference, and I've only been doing it a week.

I have tried holding through the jolt, both by putting a firm hand on him while he's in the crib, and by holding him in my arms, neither work.

I know Los need good restorative sleep during the day, and 20mins is definitely not enough, but he's doing wonderfully at night, and doesn't seem cranky or grumpy from exhaustion. Is it possible, that maybe Calvin is going to be one of those babies who has short naps, even when they're long? Like maybe I'm never going to get a 2.5 hour regularly, it may be that a good nap for him will be an hour or so. I'm trying to kinda relax a bit, and just go with the flow. He's growing, and healthy, and doesn't seem to be particularly grumpy. His discomfort is lessening, and he's consistently down to one nf. I'm sure this short nap thing will work put, I just need to be patient. Easier said than done

[katie80]

Yes, definitely easier said than done, but you're right that sometimes no matter what you try they're going to short nap. A lot of it is developmental, but often those naps are 30/40/45min long. 20min does seem to be more of a 'something not right' kind of thing, I guess. Have you tried wearing him in a sling/wrap or going for a long walk with him in the stroller or putting him in a swing? Does he ever sleep longer? If he's happy and you're fine with it, then I guess you can accept the short naps. It just doesn't give you much of a break during the day either.

[ZacsMumme]

I have tried holding through the jolt, both by putting a firm hand on him while he's in the crib, and by holding him in my arms, neither work.

Httj won't work if he is waking from discomfort Hun. Also with httj I had to put both hand really across Z and almost gently shh or move him a tiny bit to 'lull' back to sleep. That said I think Z was side sleeping and it was easier to do with him on his side.

I know Los need good restorative sleep during the day, and 20mins is definitely not enough, but he's doing wonderfully at night, and doesn't seem cranky or grumpy from exhaustion. Is it possible, that maybe Calvin is going to be one of those babies who has short naps, even when they're long? Like maybe I'm never going to get a 2.5 hour regularly, it may be that a good nap for him will be an hour or so. I'm trying to kinda relax a bit, and just go with the flow. He's growing, and healthy, and doesn't seem to be particularly grumpy. His discomfort is lessening, and he's consistently down to one nf. I'm sure this short nap thing will work put, I just need to be patient. Easier said than done

I'm going to say something that may not make me very popular LOs don't NEED restorative sleep during the day, they function better if they get it. Your baby won't loose anything from these rubbish naps mentally. I have a very smart 4 yr old who sleeps fine now and he did 2 min naps from 6wks to 4 mths. They were horrible and I made myself sick over it, but I can honestly tell you looking back I wish I didn't worry so much about him 'loosing' anything from the lack of sleep because it just are me up with guilt. Your baby will be ok, even with the short naps. You just keep trying different things and do what you can. I promise, things will get better as he grows.

During the 20min nap phase Z sttn from exhaustion, and I let him. You might find your lo is catching up overnight too, and that's ok. Definitely go with the flow if you can like you say and make sure if odour feeling stressed you get out and enjoy a coffee, or a walk, or watch a TV show you love with him sleeping on you.

lots of hugs and it's fantastic your seeing improvement