unswaddled and now 20 min naps

[Ryan&HollysMom]

hi all, i realize there's a similar topic out already but i didn't want to hijack hers...
we unswaddled holly about 2-3 weeks ago as she seemed to really hate it and squirmed and fussed and struggled against it. her night time sleep has so far been unaffected, but her naps have turned 180 degrees. she now when in her crib only sleeps 20 min. shushing doesn;t seem to do anythign. i've applied pressure to her body, held her hands down, etc. she might drift off again but hte minute i leave she's up again. even if i wait 5-10 min. my back is getting stiff from not moving and barely breathing. she doesn't cry wehn she wakes, just looks around and acts like she's slept 90 min. i usually try to get her to go back to sleep, and eventually just do A time with minimal interaction, like i put her in the swing and do some office work, etc. or in a chair. speaking of which, she's in the swing now and just fell back to sleep. am i doing some serious APing here? i do try to then extend the time to close to 3 hours before i feed her again.
we're not on a serious EASY, were for a while but it didn't work so well with her being the second child and me having to maneuver around ds' s activities.
this was our routine:
E 7:30/8
A
S about 1 hour after wakeup - 10
E 10
A
S 11:15-12 usually out and about picking ds up from school, running errands, etc
E 12/12:30 depended on what lunchtime was like and whether i could nurse and eat at the same time
A
S 1:15/1:30-2:30/3/3:30
E 3/3:30
A
S 4:30ish, but from here on we always played it by ear and it depended on what we were doing with ds, might be in the stroller, carseat, snugli, etc
... clusterfeed from here on , squeezed in a catnap if/when we could
usually bedtime between 7:30 and 8, either goes straight to sleep, wakes after 20 min, up for a long time then down for the night, or fusses for a while hten asleep for the night
DF around 10:30
nightfeed usuallly between 4 and 5:30

will she outgrow this 20 min thing (which i'm certain is happening cause she startles herself awake) should i swaddle for the naps again? would it be wise to do different at nap than at night? any suggestions are much  appreciated!!! i just want my consistent napper back so that i can sometimes lay down again!

[~Sara~]

Hi hon!  Is she in anything like a sleep sack that might help her feel a bit more snug, but not so snug as a swaddle?  Also, how long have her naps been bad (did it start immediately after you stopped swaddling, or is it a more recent occurrence?)?

Some babies (like mine) struggle and squirm in a swaddle, but need to be swaddled to prevent themselves from waking--especially younger babies who don't know how to self-soothe yet or can't control their arms.  She might not have been ready to unswaddled yet.

Did you try the Aussie swaddling technique?  Some LOs like it much better because they still feel secure, but not in a straight jacket

At about 20 minutes into a nap, many younger LOs will startle awake from the jolt.  I know you mentioned that you've tried applying pressure to her arms.  When are you applying pressure (e.g. 15 minutes on, at exactly 20 minutes)?

Also, do you use shh/pat?  What does your wind down routine look like?  Is her room darkened?

Sorry for the 20 questions   It might be that she still does need to be swaddled.  Let's see what other moms have to say, too

[Ryan&HollysMom]

thanks sara!
shh/pat - never had much luck with that. i found my lips to get super dry and get tired from being hunched over her crib. also, she sleeps on her back, so no patting.
winddown routine: place her in her sleeping bag, close the blinds, sing twinkle twinkle, off to bed without much fuss
room dark: only as much as blinds will allow
pressure: am never quite sure when exactly she went to sleep (as i'm busy with ds and she doesn't fuss), but have tried pressure to get her to go BACK to sleep once she's awake, but not at 15 min mark... will try that
naps were definitely shorter after being unswaddled, but the 20 min thing is new for the last week to ten days.
what's the aussie swaddle? we've always just used a stretchy fleece blanket and done the traditional folding.
i could try and get her arms in the sleeping bag for the naps maybe (there's no way her big head would fit through the head opening!). i tried that with the lighter one that i use for naps but her arm was back out in no time, but should try the slightly heavier one that i use at night.
would i be sending her mixed messages if i swaddled for naps but not at night?

[~Sara~]

Oh, I so know what you mean about shh/pat being back-breaking.  We lay DS to sleep on his back, too, but still have used shh/pat.  You just turn them onto their side and do it like that, then turn them slowly onto their back once you've gotten past the 20 minute mark.

What I think needs to happen is for you to stay in her room with her until just past the 20 minute mark, either with shh/patting or applying pressure continuously to her to keep her from startling herself awake.  I'd also try the swaddle again to see if that helps.  The jolts are developmental, and most LOs grow out of waking up from them.

Here's a link for the Aussie swaddling technique (scroll down the page for pics and instructions):
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=1439.0

My DS is a squirmy-wormy, too, and we had to stop using only blankets for a swaddle for him since, oh, he was one month old.  We use the Kiddopotamus swaddles, and I know many of moms who use the Miracle Blanket.  Those might be good options for you, too.

I can't say for sure if it would confuse her to have the swaddle during the day and not at night.  There's obviously a distinction for her now, so maybe the swaddle will indicate a nap to her, whereas no swaddle will be a cue for bedtime? 

I think it's worth giving those couple of things a try and see how they go.  If you really don't want to use the swaddle, then at least stay with her for the first 20 minutes of her nap.  I know you have another LO to take care of, too, but I think those 20 minutes are worth it

[Ryan&HollysMom]

thanks so much!! she's had a few naps the last couple days where she slept longer than 20 or even 45 min, but the rest of the naps were in her carseat as we were out a lot. so haven't had a chance to try staying with her. i'm going to give the aussie swaddle a try, looks like something she might actually like.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

would i be sending her mixed messages if i swaddled for naps but not at night?

We did this with Spencer...one night she wouldn't settle at all so i finally unswaddled her and she fell asleep, but I kept using it for naps for quite awhile. Now we use a sleeping bag all the time. I think it was just that her night sleep was so good that she didn't need the swaddle to contain her, but naps she needed it.

[Ryan&HollysMom]

i put her in her night sleeping bag which is a bit bigger and heavier than the one i was using during the days and have noticed a bit of a difference. also, she has a slight flat spot on her right side of her head, so i've been putting her a tiny bit more on her left side (to help with the head) and have found that she now doesn't jerk with the left arm as it's sort of pinned. maybe that helped too.
thanks to both of you for giving some input. !

[~Sara~]

You're welcome   I'm glad things have gotten better...sounds like you found a good way to do things!