Having difficulty with Wake to Sleep

[babynat]

I am on Day 5 of my mission in W2S.  The difficulty that I am having, if you can believe it, is that I cannot stir my LO from her sleep.  I go in at the 20 minute mark (after she has been sleeping 20 minutes) and do everything short of waking her that I can, but she doesn't stir.  I stroke her cheek, lightly blow on her, move her ear, comb her hair - nothing can stir her.  So, she is continuing to wake after 45 min.  Luckily, I am able to get her back to sleep, either by shh/pat with paci or sometimes I have to pick her up and hold her for a little while.  I know that is AP, but I read somewhere about extending naps that you have to do what you can to encourage long naps. 

I would appreciate any suggestions!  (I don't seem to have this problem of stirring her at night)

[Caroline-Charlies Mummy]

Erm, that's a difficult one - don't often get complaints that you can't wake them up

Can you (very gently) turn her over, either from one side to another, or move her leg or something - maybe you're not making enough noise or doing enough to get her to come up from deep sleep.

One thing that did occur to me - perhaps you're going in to early? Perhaps she's still in very deep sleep, maybe leave it another 5/10 minutes. I'd only go in after 20 mins if she's having 30 minute naps - if she's waking on 45 mins, perhaps go in at 30/35 minutes and you will have more luck.

HTH

[babynat]

Thanks so much.  I think I must be going in too early.  Her naps have been 45 min.  I'll keep trying.  I appreciate your help!

Heather

[babynat]

Charlies Mummy,

Can you tell me how I will know if I have been successful with W2S?  Other than the obvious - she won't wake up after 45 min - is she supposed to not wake if I have timed it correctly with the stir for that particular nap?  I'm just wondering if I should keep trying or give up.  It has been 6 days now and I've done it pretty much every nap, sometimes 20 min, sometimes 30 min in to her nap.  I have noticed her waking earlier now and I'm hoping that I didn't turn her 45 min. naps into 30 min naps.

Thanks in advance.
Heather

[Caroline-Charlies Mummy]

Hello Heather, unfortunately, I am no w2s expert, I just know the basics, so I'll refer you to our w2s thread in FAQs section (https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64168.0). This bit answers your question, I think:

Now, how long to I use this method for?

I found, in the beginning, you will be doing this method for most naps, except for the late afternoon cat nap, and you will be quite hands on.The purpose of using this method, is to support an infant who doesn't know how to enter the next sleep phase. It's a tool to help their bodies get used to having more sleep. Most infants, when given the opportunity, will master self soothing and falling asleep independently, by 6 months of age. It's a learning process. So, first, help your infant learn how to fall asleep independently and use the wake to sleep to help them get past the 45 min. hump. Once you are confident that your little one can fall asleep independently, then concentrate on getting past the 45 min. mark independently, by weaning the wake to sleep method. You can do this either by lightening the hand pressure, or instead of patting, just placing your hands.. or just holding back and seeing what happens. Give your little one a chance to see if he can do it on his own.

This is a method that takes time.. it's not a miracle cure. For many infants (under 6 months) getting out of the short napping cycle, is a matter of maturity, developing self soothing abilities and mastering falling asleep independently. Remember, newborns and young infants (under 5 months) need support in relaxing and making the transition to sleep. Tracy goes into great detail about this in her sleep interview and her third book.

Lastly, what works for one baby, may not work for another. Every child is different! I always recommend doing a strategy for 3 weeks, before you switch over to a new one. I have noticed that most short napping infants start to take longer naps around 6 months of age. So keeping this in perspective.. know that for most infants, it's a matter of time, maturity, development and opportunities to practice.

If you haven't already, I'd recommend you give it a read

[babynat]

Thanks.  I have read that and will continue to try I guess.  One more thing, is it normal for a baby to sometimes be able to fall asleep independently and sometimes need AP?  My frustration is bringing me to tears.

[KathrynK]

Hi Heather
in answer to your last question, my dd has been able to fall asleep independently from a very early age. The only time she struggles is when she is overtired. And I mean she always struggles when she is overtired. I would guess then that this might be the case with your lo; the only answer is to do everything you can to prevent the o/t in the first place!