1 long nap, all the rest 45 minutes. Can I fix it?

[Mama Kate]

My LO has finally figured out how to get past the 45 minute mark for her naps.  Well, at least for her first nap of the day.  She is 4 months old and has about 1 hr 45 min A time now, and most days she will sleep for about two hours for her first nap.  Then for the rest of the day she will only do 45 minute naps, or 30 minutes if she's in the stroller.

Just wondering, do you think this is just her biorhythm?  Since she sleeps for 2 hrs in the morning, why won't she do it in the afternoon?  I haven't had any luck with extending this second nap.  Do you think it is something that can be 'fixed' or should I just accept it?

Are there any other mums out there with LOs who do this too?

[choccielocks]

Hi,
No advice I'm afraid but just wanted to say you're not alone! My lo does exactly the same thing, tried everything to extend the second nap but to no avail! Hoping someone else can help?

Wondering if it could be something to do with awake time before that nap or overstimulation before the nap?

Do babies need longer to wind down before a nap as they get older and more aware of their environment etc? 

[sarahfairy]

I found shortening the morning nap has allowed a longer 2nd nap.  Most days anyway!!

[deb]

Might want to extend that A time another 10-15 minutes, maybe just with a longer wind-down, and see if that helps.

Also, have you seen this? http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=649.0

[Mama Kate]

Thanks Deb - I'll try extending her A time to see if it makes any difference.  I have read (and re-read many times!) the post about how Tracy helped Josie get past the 45 min naps.  I've finally cracked the first nap but just having no luck so far with the second.

Sarahfairy - how much did you shorten the morning nap to get a longer second nap?

[bexandlucy]

Hello! I have a similar thing, I have found that my lo will have a brilliant morning nap (usually i have to wake her up from it) but just catnaps for the rest of the day.

What I worked out recently is that that nap doesn't have to be in the morning but can be any time of the day - if we're out and about she doesn't nap longer than 20 - 30 minutes, and I found that if we're out in the morning she'll nap better in the afternoon. And as long as she has that long nap at least once a day, the catnapping doesn't really affect her night time sleep (she sleeps really well - usually 12 hours a night), so I'm not obsessing about it.

Although, as I'm learning - as soon as I think she does things one way, she completely changes and does it a completely different way!!! xx

[Mama Kate]

I've been trying to extend the second A-time for 10-15 minutes without a huge amount of luck.  At around the 1:45 mark my LO starts really fussing and just wants to go to bed.  I've managed 5-10 min extension of A time max.

Today though I seem to have had some luck with nap extension for the second nap.  I went in at the 30 min mark to do HTTJ but when that wasn't working did shh/pat and when that didn't work I did pick-up/put-down (had to do it twice) and she seemed to resettle.  Don't want to jinx it but she's now been down for 1 hr 10 mins and fingers crossed she'll make it to 2 hrs. 

Her napping isn't really affecting her night time sleep (apart from making it difficult for her to settle at night - usually 10-15 mins pick-up/put-down vs daytime when she's usually an independent sleeper) but it makes her a bit niggly and difficult for the afternoon.  Plus I selfishly really want the extra time to myself during the day!

[deb]

Nothing selfish about it. Plus it's better for the LO's to have longer stretches of sleep. I did find though that I'd gotten used to having a lot of short break throughout the day, and I almost missed them when she began napping longer for only 3 long naps. Before that, with the short A time, I knew I only had to get thru an hour till the next nap if she was cranky.

But once I got used to the longer stretches, I got over that. LOL

[sarahfairy]

I find allowing 1hour in the morning helps the next nap (sometimes it still all goes wrong!!)  Plus, when they are toddlers, the afternoon nap is generally the one they keep, so I aim to make this the longer nap of the day.  Try reducing the morning nap gradually? x

[sarahfairy]

Also, mine is a similar age - 20 weeks today! The A time has shot up really quickly (over the weekend)  We have 2hrs15 now.  Watch out for this! x