just her "biorhythm" or need to do PU/PD?

[amy123]

Hi there!  Hoping someone can shed some light for me on all of this!

My dd is almost 6 months old.  She is a 30-40 min. napper.  Used to be 4-5 naps/day (EASAS...) but now she's really starting to fight the second a.m. nap and sometimes just having 1 afternoon nap, too, even though they're so short.  She generally goes down pretty easily for her first nap, about 1.5-1.75 hrs after getting up, and she seems to wake up cheerful from the nap, but then I catch her yawning, rubbing eyes, pulling ears sometimes immediately and sometimes up to 1 1/2 hrs later.  I have tried putting her back to bed immediately, but she fights it and doesn't sleep, so after about 30-45 minutes of trying, I get her back up.  (I have a 3 y.o. son too so can't spend ALL day just putting the baby to bed!)  I also tried keeping her up until the next sleep time, or close to it, but by then she seems so exhausted it just doesn't seem good for her.

Today, she woke at 7:15 a.m. and was back down at 8:45.  Up at 9:15.  Played until 10:15-ish.  In crib by about 10:20.  Coo/play for a while.  Then fuss for a while.  Then escalate and cry.  I went in and out and shush/pat, PU/PD, etc. until asleep at 10:45.  She was due to eat at 11:15, but now it's 11:25 and she's just starting to stir/fuss.   

I don't know if I should keep her on this EASAS type routine (is 40 min napping her "biorhythm" since she wakes up happy from the first nap?) or should I do PU/PD immediately at her first waking and try to force her onto a normal EASY routine? 

She usually sleeps 12 hrs at night w/ a few wakings early on (quick shush/pat back to sleep) and then 2 or so night wakings w/ one df and sometimes a feed at 4-5 a.m.

Thanks for any help!  Both kids calling for help now!   
Amy 

[KathrynK]

Hi Amy
I think the problem is that she's not tired enough to sleep. At around this age many babies stop giving us such clear-cut tired cues, and in fact yawning and eye- rubbing becomes a classic sign of boredom, rather than tiredness. I think she is trying to tell you not necessarily that she needs a nap, but that she needs a change of scenery. I have been clock- watching to manage dd's naps now since she was about 5 months old and stopped giving me tired cues,
Although she is only having short naps, at her age my dd could comfortably handle 1.5 -1.75 hours A time, which it seems your dd is doing from waking to first nap. I would try putting her down a little later for the 2nd nap. You might need to juggling her eating times a little bit.
Have a read of the thread in the FAQs section on how to beat the 45 min nap- there are some good tips on techniques to extend naps which you may find useful. (although I appreciate this might be tricky with a toddler too!)
hope this helps
kathryn

[amy123]

Stacy and Kathryn,
Thanks so much for the feedback!  What you're saying makes so much sense... and I hadn't thought of yawning/eye-rubbing as a sign of boredom instead of being tired, but I'm sure it's exactly true!!   I had tried the nap extending techniques for a few weeks and was just frustrated b/c it wasn't working.  Thought I must be doing it wrong.  Apparently, in my quest to do this "perfectly" I have forgotten to trust my instincts and follow common sense:  she's just not TIRED!   Tomorrow I will definitelyl try to extend her awake time a bit.  I really appreciate you taking the time to respond.  Cheers!
Amy