2.5 month, OT or UT?

[kdawson]

My dd is 2.5 months and generally sleeps pretty good although lately she seems to be having a harder time calming herslef down for naps and her naps are shorter as well I think because she is OT by the time it takes her to calm down.  I can't say there is anything that I've changed in her routine.  I always put her down on my chest and wait until she is calm before placing her in the crib or sometimes when she is pretty much sleeping if she just can't settle.  She has pretty much no sleep cues and generally doesn't start yawning until we start her routine to go to sleep.

How do you handle a baby with no sleep cues?  I feel part of the problem with her restlessness is that I am not timing her naps right.  What do you think?  I know what the average A times are for her age but do they generally stay awake longer as the day progresses or is it completely different for all babies.  Right now I try to get her down for A times between 1 hr 10 min to 1 hr and 20 min although lately it's been more like 1 hr 20 to 30 minutes because it takes so long to calm herself down.  I am just confused.  Maybe it is just a stage?  Is it possible that she doesn't want to be swaddled anymore?  Thanks!!

[Haribo2012]

Bumping x

[cath~]

It could be a wonder week.  These affect sleep.

http://www.thewonderweeks.com/gb/

There is one at around 11 or 12 weeks from EDD.

If it's taking her longer to wind down, you could try starting her winddown a little sooner and making it longer before you PD, or keeping activities low key beforehand (eg just carrying her and taking her for a quiet walk around the house).

On the other hand, if she's just been through a WW, she might need a slight increase in A time.  You might have to experiment to see which of these helps!

[kdawson]

Thanks Cathn!  I think you were right in that it was a wonder week.  I completely forgot about so thanks a bunch for sharing.  She doesn't take as long to put down the past few days and falls asleep on her own.  I didn't know their A time increases after a wonder week so that is good to know.  I still don't feel I am timing her naps quite right so if you have some advice how to tell the difference between UT and OT that would be great as my dd doesn't really have much sleep cues so go by the clock.  Thanks!!

[cath~]

Tbh I have no idea if all LOs need an increase in A time after a WW but I did notice it with L.

Some signs of a lo being ut are:
- 45 min nap and waking happy
- poss protesting at being out down for a nap

OT signs could be:
- 35 min nap and waking crying
- having trouble settling, winding down, switching off before nap

But all LOs are different.

What I usually end up doing is trying different A times (making gradual changes, nothing too drastic in one go), each for a couple of days or so, to see which gives me the best naps and take it from there.  It is tricky when tired signs aren't 100% reliable.

If you suspect she might need a change you could try increasing her A time a little, eg by 10-15 mins, (either for all naps or poss just start with first A time of the day) to see if that helps.

HTH

[kdawson]

I guess I'll just keep having to figure to out.  I know if I get her down for her first nap too late then the rest of the day is pretty much screwed up....like today.   Have you heard of the One Sleep Cycle Syndrome that the author from No Cry Nap Solution termed?  I wonder if dd has that sometimes but she wakes up between 30 to 50 minutes and usually 40 minutes but it isn't consistent.  Therefore, because it isn't consistent I am thinking it isn't that??? Plus, I put her in her basinette awake and let her fall asleep on her own so she is a pretty good independent sleeper.

[cath~]

Haven't heard of it as such but I know from here a lot of LOs have trouble transitioning into next sleep cycle, esp for naps (My DD2 being a prime example at the moment). Sometimes if you stay with them you can help then through the transition, eg with shhh-pat, until they get the hang of it for themselves. I think this can happen even if they nod off independently.