16 weeks and short naps

[Eva's Mummy]

DD2 is now 16 weeks and we have started to short nap. Her A time is 1hr 25mins then she naps for 40-45 sometimes 50mins and wakes up happy but starts to get grumpier as the day goes on. I have tried a slightly longer A time (only a couple of time) and she naps for 36mins  But she cries and cries while I am trying to extent her A time as she just wants to sleep after 1hr 20.

I feel like I am feeding her too often as well now as I am worried that she will wake early from her next nap as her feed would be due in 30mins or so after her nap so she seems to be getting a bottle every 2.5hrs now. I know every baby is different but I think we were on 2 long naps and a CN with DD1 now we are having 4 naps a day.

example today.

WU 7:58
A 1hr 25mins
S 9:23 - 10:03 (40mins)
A 1hr 32mins
S 11:35 - 12:18 (43mins)
A 1hr 30mins
S 13:48 - 13:58 (10mins in car)
S 14:05 - 14:40 (35mins)

[Ima shel Alon]

Hi Gail,

It sounds like she is UT. I know it's tricky because on one hand she does UT naps with 1:25h A time but 10min more give you an OT nap. I remember that for a long time I had to hold DS for the last 30min of his A time because he was so cranky but if I put him earlier than that for his nap, when I thought he was ready, I always go an UT nap.
It's just that they still need help to cope with a bit longer A time, but it doesn't mean they are not ready for it.
I also think that after trying the increased A time for just a couple of times it's very normal to still get OT naps, that's why when you increase A time you can also see the result of it after 4 days and it's important to stick to it for this length of time.
If you think she won't be able to cope with 10 more min, then you can try just 5min for 4 days and if naps are still UT then you can increase again by 5min.

[Eva's Mummy]

Thank honey. So what A times do you think I should be aiming for and should I just push the first A time until I get a good nap or push them altogether?

I never know what to do after a 40min nap, when to put down again.

This is how it has been going:


WU 8:26
A 1hr 2 mins
S 9:55 - 10:39 44mins
A 1hr 21mins
S 12:01 - 12:40 39mins
A 1hr 34mins
S 14:14 - 15:09 55mins
A 1hr 31mins
S 16:40 - 17:20 40mins
A 1hr 25mins
BT 18:45 up and down until 19:18

WU 7:53
A 1hr 32mins
S 9:25 - 10:06 41mins
A 1hr 27mins
S 11:33 - 12:12 39mins

then crying at 13:05 and fell asleep taking her bottle at 13:10 which she never does.

[Rook76]

Have you read the post about transitioning to 4 hour EASY cycle? (Sorry - don't know how to link to it). I had similar problem, which I has just seemed to resolve itself after a couple of weeks of slightly longer cycle but I read short naps was a cue to transition to longer cycle and feed less often.  I've been trying to stretch the A times out, those later in the day seem more successful with my LO than first thing in the morning.

We've still had a couple of short naps. When I've decided shush pat is fruitless I've got him up, had a quiet 20 minutes (cuddle and a book) an at the first tired sign put him back down and he's done another 45 minutes. I've also figured out that despite what I thought the feeds were nowhere near big enough, so I increased the feed size whilst stretching the cycle to nearer 4 hours.

Hopefully at least one tip there that might help you out! Good luck x

[Ima shel Alon]

So what A times do you think I should be aiming for and should I just push the first A time until I get a good nap or push them altogether?

You can look here at the average: Average A times- BOOKMARK ME! but every baby is an individual so she might need a bit less than that or more. IIWY I would start pushing and see how it goes, it's really hard to think now till what point to push.
Whether to push just the first nap or the whole day is your choice as you know your baby best. I always did all A times at once because I knew DS can handle it and actually responded not too well when we did just the morning.
I looked at every A time individually as he needed a shorter A time in the morning then the rest of the day. If you write down every increase you do and what naps are you getting you might see that you get a good nap in the morning after a X A time, but that you'd need to look at the second A time separate than the first one.

There is no one answer what to do after a short nap, you'll just need to trial and error. For most babies it works when the next A time after a short nap is shortened by 10 to 20min (depends on the baby) but some babies, like mine was, need a full A time after a short nap. I only found it out because I gave a shorter A time after a short nap and always got an UT nap.

[Eva's Mummy]

Well she was crying her eyes off this morning so I put her down early (I know I shouldn't but at the time it feels like you are helping her as she is tired).Needless to say she slept 41mins  So I went for 1hr 36mins for her 2nd A time. I heard her cry at 36mins but resettled herself, then again and 1hr. It has now been 1hr 27mins and she is still sleeping 

Unfortunately we need to be out at 2:30 today just as she will probably need her next nap but at least she will have had 1 good nap and hopefully we will try that better tomorrow.

[Ima shel Alon]

How did today go? Did you manage a longer A time?

[Eva's Mummy]

Not fantastic. I was getting a first nap of 1hr 15mins on an A time of 1hr 36mins so today I went for 1hr 40mins and got a 36mins nap. All the rest of the days seems stuck on 36min naps and she is getting grouchier as the day goes on.

[Ima shel Alon]

So maybe tweak just the first A time and give less A time the rest of the day to allow her to catch up with sleep?

[katie80]

Hi Gail, just hopping on to offer support. I know it's frustrating, but I think you're on the right track. In your first post, she did a 36min nap after upping the A time, so you may just need to hold at 1h40 for a few days and see if she'll even out. Hang in there, hon. I've had 3 short nappers at that age and it can be tough, but it does get better!

[Eva's Mummy]

Sorry its taken so long to get back. Both LO's have been ill all over xmas so its been manic.

Naps are getting a bit better we are getting a good 1hr 35-45 for the first nap with a 1hr 45mins A time (I actually think she lies awake in her cot in the morning as I have had to go get her a few times and she's been wide awake just looking around). The second nap is usually 45/50 mins on a 1hr 45mins A but she gets cranky and I need to hold her for the last wee bit and then she does a 36min naps on the same A time before bed.

BT however is horrible just now. I put her down and she is fine for anywhere between 15-36mins then she is up and down like a yoyo for the next 2 hours. When I go in she is wide awake, sometime I replug her dummy and she goes back down for 5-10 mins then she needs it replugging again, Sometime she is crying and she still has her dummy in her mouth  other times she looks wide awake but as soon as I lift her she melt into my arms but wakes up again when I lie her down.

DD1 is also struggling with BT at the moment so I'm basically darting from room to room for 2 hours.

[Ima shel Alon]

It sounds to me like she needs a certain A time in the morning which is shorter than the rest of the day. I would try and increase the second A time by even 5-10min and see if it helps.
You are in an UT/OT loop in the afternoon/evening. She doesn't nap well for her second nap and then you offer a full A time which results in an OT nap. That would explain why she wakes up so often in the first part of the night.

[Eva's Mummy]

I'm terrible at this. I have been getting a good 1hr 30ish in the morning with a 1hr 45/50mins A time. Then I have been pushing the 2nd A time out just to 1hr 50 but getting a 30min nap (that's 2 days in a  row now), could 30mins be UT not OT. I think that is what is confusing me. Dropped her last A time to 1hr 40 its taking a little bit longer to get her asleep but once she asleep that is her all the ENW have stopped. It seems really low A times for her age. I don't know what is classes as HSN at this age?

[Ima shel Alon]

A 30min nap can be Ut for some babies. How is she waking up from the nap, grumpy and crying or happy and chatty?

[Eva's Mummy]

Always happy and chatty