Trying wake to sleep for 5 month old's naps today...

[yunnage]

My almost 5 month old daughter is a chronic short napper (30-40 minutes).  I think she's had a one hour nap maybe twice since she's been 8 weeks old.  I tried increasing her A time slowly (increase 5 minutes for a few days for just her first A time) as she got older, but that often resulted in shorter naps and more difficulty falling asleep unassisted.  I was going to take a wait and see approach in the hopes that as she got closer to 6 months she'd figure out how to transition through the sleep cycle independently, but her short naps are becoming more of a challenge.  Short naps result in short A times and I'm unable to go out for long when she's up, nor get anything done (like take a nap myself) when she's asleep.  I also end up having to nap her 4 times a day and she often won't go down for the last one, causing an earlier bedtime and earlier wake up.  I'm feeling pretty exhausted, as I'm sure other moms with short nappers are feeling.

So, I tried wake to sleep for two naps today and it didn't work.  I understand that it doesn't work right away and that it takes time, but I just want to make sure that I'm doing it right.  Since my LO wakes between 30-40 minutes, how early do I attempt w2s?  I tried it at 28 minutes for the first one and then 30 for the second one by just stroking her cheek.  Both times, she moved her head sideways after about a minute and was quiet, but then 2-3 minutes later she had some body jolts followed by more head turning and then a full wake up a minute or so later. 

Should I try it earlier?  Am I trying to catch her when she's still in a deep sleep or when she's coming up from the deep sleep (not that I can tell from her sleeping).  Do I hold her body after I disrupt her?  She's so sensitive that I'm worried I'll wake her and once her eyes are open I'm toast.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[yunnage]

Just re-read the wake to sleep link and realized that I was waking her too late.  So, I tried to wake my LO at 22 and 24 minutes because she usually naps 30-40 minutes.  She didn't stir after the first or second try, so I guess I didn't pull her out of her deep sleep.  At around 38 minutes her feet started to twitch, so I figured I'd try HTTJ, but I don't think I was holding her firm enough because she ended up waking up at 40 minutes.

How do I know if I've pulled her from her deep sleep for W2S?  What am I looking for?  Stirring?  Movement?  I tried stroking her cheek quite hard and then moving her lips around, but no reaction.

[*Jo*]

hi there, well some babies are really hard to stir, i used to wait for a quick sigh or change in breathing, I would stroke the back of Calebs neck so it would be like a little tickle and almost always got a reaction from that, and every baby is different, i think we used to do it at 23mins and then later on it changed to 27 mins.

apart from that can you pop your routine up for us to take a look at? might be able to spot something in tehre

[yunnage]

Sorry for the delayed response.  I tried W2S for her naps yesterday.  One time I tried at 22 minutes and she woke at 30 minutes, so I probably didn't wake her from her deep sleep.  The other two times I tried at 22 minutes again, but she woke at 27 and 28 minutes, which means I probably woke her too hard.

For the last month I've tried increasing her first A time in 5 minute increments over a few days from 1 hr 35 up to 2 hrs and I always get a 30-40 minute nap.  I've been at around 2hrs A time for the first wake up for the past week because she's waking up early and I have to drop off her brother at daycare around 8 am.  Generally, she goes down pretty easily when her second and third A times are around 1hr 35.  Also, she always wakes up happy and silent, no crying.  So, I'm not sure if it is a transition thing or an OT/UT thing.

We've tried to follow easy for 2 months now, but her E always ends up shorter than the 3.5 EASY that she should be on because of her short naps.  She's in reflux medication, so I like to feed her at least 30 minutes before she goes to sleep.  Also, I've never been able to get her down for the fourth nap on the first try.  I often have to come out, do the 4Ss and try again.  After 3 tries I often call it quits and hence she ends up awake for 4-5 hours until her bedtime (so bad I know!).

Here is what our routine generally looks like:

E 6:35
A 6:40
S 8:25 (31 min nap, total A=1hr 50)
A 8:56
E 9:20
A 9:30
S 10:37 (30 min nap, A=1hr 41)
A 11:07
E 12:00
A 12:10
S 12:48 (38 min nap, A=1hr 41)
A 1:26
E 2:30
A 2:38
S unsuccessful nap attempt, went up at 1 hr 30, tried two more times until 4:15
A
E 4:15
S 20 minute nap in carrier
E 6:00
S 6:30
A+E 7:15 (wakes up from bedtime/nap, can only get her back down with nursing)
E 2:35
A 6:15

I also find that sometimes she goes down really easy, sometimes not and it doesn't seem to matter if she's had a nap in the carrier.  I know that she's probably waking up 45 minutes after I put her down for bed because of OT.

Lots of issues here, I know  
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[tbrown3]

Hi!  I am having the same problem!  30 minute cat napper!  I am new to this sight as of tonight!  So trying to figure it out.  How do I get to the sleep-wake link? I'm trying to figure out all the abbreviations Sp? as well!  I think I just need to go to bed!  lol! Thanks for your help.