help...45 minute naps...do i adjust A time or E time or both??

[tubalubs]

so, my LO (8 weeks) often takes 30-45 minute naps... he looks tired when he wakes but i usually cant get him to sleep again.  my question is what do i do with him if i cant get him back to sleep. it is hard to post an EASY schedule bc it is often so different....sometimes it takes 15 minutes to get him to go to sleep, but this morning it took me an hour and then he only slept for 30 minutes.  in general, he feed for about 20 minutes, give him about 1 hour and 20 minutes of A time (including feed and wind down), i start his wind down about 20-30 minutes before nap time.  we do the 4s's (except swaddle bc he HATES it and he can never resettle when he wakes mid nap). he sleeps in a dark room with 2 white noise machines, ive tried top-off feeds and he has a little riser in his bed to help with any possible reflux. when he wakes after 30-45 minutes, i can sometimes get him back to sleep with patting, usually not.  so my easy very rarely looks the same bc his sleep can be so inconsistent and i dont know what to do with him when he wakes early. i usually eventually APOP and let him sleep on me just so he doesnt get soooo OT....if i let him sleep on me, he'll sleep for 2 hours.

do i:
1) feed him when he wakes up and then restart his EASY schedule
2) give him A time, feed him when it has been 3 hours since last feed and then put him to bed since he will have been up for a while by then
3) some middle of the road combination and then reset my EASY schedule

any help is greatly appreciated.

thanks.

[deb]

When we were stuck with 45-minute naps, our EASY was more EASASEASAS - without any appreciable Y!

We kept the feeding about where we needed it to be and worked the sleep we got into the schedule as best we could.

Incidentally, our big problem was reflux; does your LO have any reflux symptoms? For us, beyond the copious fountains of milk, it was my DD's absolute refusal to sleep horizontally, or to do so for more than 45-minutes; added to that was a pacifier habit because the sucking helped the reflux pain, and when it was out she awoke.

[first_time_mommy]

We have the exact same problem.  I try to get him a good nap with AP for at least one nap.  Of course, my sanity wins out many times and I just let him get up and then watch for another sleepy cue, which ends up being EASASE.  My daughter had 45 minute naps from 4 months until she was one year old...It was very difficult.  I feel for you.  I have tried topping off as well and it occasionally seems to help.

[tubalubs]

yeah...i have minimal Y!  he has a little riser in his crib to help with any reflux...not sure if he has it, but thought it couldnt hurt.  ill ask the MD about it this week at his appointment.  not sure of signs of reflux....he doesnt spit up very often, he isnt crazy about being flat, but seems to prefer the slant (thats what prompted the riser).  he occasionally will...sometimes its very liquidy and other times its thicker and chunkier (as i wright this , he just had some chunky spit up).  overall, he's a bit of a fussy guy so our A time isnt a very happy A time and i dont know if its just his temperment or if he is getting OT and just wont go to sleep or maybe its reflux and he's not happy bc of that?

for those of you that modified EASY, which aspect did you lengthen or shorten....the E or the A.  did any thing stay consistent? for example did your LO always E on schedule or S on schedule.  If so, did you shorten something to make that work?  ive heard that with a short nap, you should shorten their A time, if so, should i feed him earlier?

[deb]

This is from the Naps FAQ - lots of good stuff over there: How Tracy Helped Josie and her Family Get Past 45-Min. Naps!

And Reflux 101 from the CRC board: Reflux 101 - General reflux information

Hope this helps!