what the problem? Four month old....

[VeroniqueD]

Hello, first time post for me - someone please reply. At bout 14 weeks i began to prep my LO who turned four months yesterday for the four hour -easy, I did this so that the transition would be smoother once she hit the forth month mark- a week into it and I'm starting to worry. OK on Monday we napped for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon, in the late afternoon (catnap) she slept for another two hours and did not once wake up, i usually have to go in and wake her. At bedtime she went to sleep, no problem. She did wake up once but that was because she pooped and wanted her diaper changed - i changed it and she went right back to sleep. Same thing happened on Tuesday, i figured that since we had no problem falling asleep at bedtime she could be allowed to sleep as long as she wants (but not longer then two hours) for her cat nap since she always seems tired and a bit cranky. However on Wednesday it didn't work out like i planned, after bath we went to relax and wind down, when i put her in the crib she started to cry and continued for three hours until she finally knocked out, the same thing happened yesterday. It has only been two days of this crying (i do shush-pat) but like any other mother i hate to see her cry - should I make her catnap a lot shorter and if so what is the longest she should stay asleep for the cat nap. What if she get cranky? She use to co-sleep before this week but she sleep in her crib for naps, initially i thought that maybe she was crying because she wanted to go to sleep in her usual way, in bed with me but why would she have not cried the first two days she was put in her crib for bedtime. I have two of Hogg's books but i don't really understand the catnap portion. anyone help? Thanks in advance....

e - 6am
a- 6:30am
s - 8 am (2 hours)
e-10am
a-10:30am
s-12pm (2 hours)
e-2pm
a-2:30
s-4pm (2 hours)
e-6pm
a-6:30 bath, etc.
s- usually about 7pm or 7:30

[Ryan&HollysMom]

i'm not an expert or anything. the only thing that comes to my mind is that 11 hours at night and 6 hours during the day equals 17 hours. maybe a little too much? i was once told on this board to make lo's waketimes pretty much the same, so maybe your catnap is a bit too long leaving barely any time before bath and bed. i always thought catnaps were about 30-45 min, an hour max.
again, this is just what occured to me when i read your post.
good luck

[nursekat]

Yes, the catnap is generally just to stretch the baby out between the last big nap of the day (the afternoon nap) until bedtime.  I would try shortening that catnap gradually down to 45mins (too rapid of a change can cause issues as well) - maybe just 15mins every couple of days until you get it down to 45mins.  The longest stretch of A time is often the one right before bed, so it could be she isn't tired yet.  As far as it working for a couple of days, I don't know about that one.    Blame it on a growth spurt, that's what I always do! 

And EXCELLENT job at having a great BW babe!  Welcome to the boards! 

[VeroniqueD]

Thanks for the welcome. My LO just got immunized and so we are trying to get back on course. I will go ahead a reduce her catnap gradually. Thanks for the advice!!!

[grantsmom]

Sorry to bother you, especially since I do not have any help for you? Do you have any helpful suggestions on how to transition my LO from the family bed to the crib? He is 10.5 weeks old and has started taking naps in the crib this week. He will sleep in the crib for the first sleep cycle (40 min) but cannot transition to the next cycle. He is not quite an independent sleep due to accidental parenting. I have to use shh/pat to get him to sleep in the crib. At night, I can put him to sleep in the crib after our bedtime ritual. He will sleep for the first 40 minutes and then wake up. I have not had any success helping him get past that point and end out bringing him to the bed. If he sleeps in our bed, he transitions into the next sleep cycle.

[VeroniqueD]

I would stop the reactive co-sleeping, either co-sleep or don't. If your baby cries for a long period and you then take him into your crib he might begin to associate crying with co-sleeping. He might think that if he cries long enough you will take him into your bed. You have to be firm, once you decide he should be in his crib at night you should not take him back into your bed. It sounds like he is having trouble staying asleep, i would only tackle one issue at a time (if it's to overwhelming). If you can continue to co-sleep during the night but make him nap in his crib during the day, i made sure my daughter could put herself back to sleep during naps before i tried putting her to sleep in her crib at night. She cried alot but i can actually say that she is now getting to much sleep, and has noticed. 
Hope that helps and good luck!

[grantsmom]

Thanks for the suggestion. My mom gets here today, so I am hoping that will help. My DH tends to sleep through everything and has to be at work early in the mornings.

[VeroniqueD]

You can try wake to sleep, personally i have not tried that so i can't tell you about my results. You can try shh/pat when he is coming out of his first sleep cycle and see if that helps him transition into the second one, however that could backfire.

[nursekat]

Great advice, vero!!  Grantsmom, it definitely sounds like he is having trouble transitioning sleep cycles.  My best advice would be to post a new thread, either here under General Sleep or under Naps and post your routine, your wind-down ritual, where you are as far as transitioning to crib, etc. and you will get a lot more individual attention with a new thread. 

HTH!

Let us know how the catnap issue goes, vero!  Good luck!

[VeroniqueD]

Thanks!!! Knowledge is power. I wish i could say i knew all this before i read Tracy's book. lol The catnaps are going great she transitioned beautifully to a much shorter nap - 45 minutes to an hour the max and she no longer cries when i put her down in the evening for bed. For a short moment i could not read her cues to well but I'm back on track now. However i think a new dilemma is brewing. She has been waking at night, not because she is hungry but because she used to poop and wanted her diaper changed (she would go right back to sleep after the change). She no longer poops in the middle of the night but still gets up for the interaction with me. I will have to try wake to sleep.....

[nursekat]

Yes, if it's the same time every night then it could be a habitual waking, which W2S is perfect for.  Good luck!  Glad to hear things are going better!