Short As and Ss, 'normal' or not?

[Mamamateo]

Hello!!

My 4 month old has been on EASY since day 1 but I've found that we've been having trouble keeping up with the 3 hr intervals since his A and S periods are shorter than expected for a baby of his age.

In general, I can only keep him up for 1h15. This includes the feeding time once he wakes. Isn't this short for a baby of his age?

I'd also expect there to be a link between that and his S time (I know there usually is) since his naps are usually only 1h long. As soon as I hear him wake, I'll go into his room (curtains drawn, no talking to him) and try to shush-pat (PU PD hasn't yet worked for me). Most of the time, I'll give up since the whole time he will be smiling, cooing and gurgling at me. Either that, or I'll spend the full half-hour trying to put him back down and end up picking him up once it's up. I tried keeping him in his crib to get him to take his extra nap time, but after a full week of trying, nothing changed. If he seems happy and refreshed after an hour nap, should I insist on trying to keep him down for his S?

I'm concerned since he should soon be transitioning to the 4 hr EASY and I can't imagine being able to keep up the EASY sequence since I'm now having problems wit the 3 hr one...

Any help or comments would be very much appreciated.

Merci!

[becj86]

Those short naps could be developmental, or they might be undertired (which is where I'd put my money if I were a betting woman).

What are the cues you're following when you put him down for a nap? Tired signs can also be boredom signs, so a change of scenery may be what he actually needs to increase his A time.

For what its worth, I didn't bother keeping DS in bed if he woke happy because it was just frustrating for me and after a while, upsetting for him. But I did take short naps as an indication that he needed more A time, so then the next day, I'd work on pushing the A time. For you, it may be best to push it by 5mins every few days. For me, we just jumped up by 15-20mins on day one and he'd be fine. You'll have to choose what you think is best - you know your baby better than I do!

[kitcat]

I would also suggest extending the A times. If ever you find your naps drops to 30 minutes you probably extended his A time too quickly. You should be able to transition to the 4h EASY by now.