short naps due to short "A" time

[jilll]

HI.  My lo is 5 months old.  She is now sleeping good at night - about 11 to 12 hours in total, with one night feed.  But when she gets up in the morning, she is only up an hour, and then is cranky, rubbing her eyes, and ready to go for a nap.  Since she has only been up 1 hour, she only sleeps 30 min to 45 min.  And then this cycle continues throughout the day.  How do I extend her "A" time?  If I try to keep her up, I am afraid that she will get overtired and imposible to deal with.  Any suggestions? 

[Mashi]

I'd love to hear responses for this - I am thinking this is what is causing my LOs short naps as well. Same age.  I'm terrified to make that first A time longer for fear it will lead to an OT spell that I can't break.

[jilll]

So I kept her up for 2 hours this afternoon, as she wasn't showing any signs of being tired, but she still only had a 30 min nap.  I hoped that it was going to be longer.

[deckchariot]

Can you post your EASY routine for us to have a look at?  I suspect going from 1 hr to 2 hr all in one day was a bit much for her to handle.  When you want to increase A times, gradual is best - just 10 -15 min every 3 days.  And it often takes a few days to see any change in naps as a result. 

hth
michelle

[jilll]

This is yesterday's EASY or EASASY:
  E - 7:00am
  A
  S - 7:45-8:30am
  A 
  S - 9:40-10:20am

  E - 10:45am
  A
  S - 12:00-12:30pm
  A
  S - 1:50-2:20pm

  E - 2:30pm
  A
  S - 3:15-4:00pm

  E - 4:20pm eat cereal
  A
  S - 4:45-5:30pm

  E - 5:35pm
  A - bath
  S- 6:30pm until 3:15 in the morning, then night feed, and awake at 7:00am

[Mashi]

Your EASY looks very similar to mine!

I've been trying to stretch the morning A time by even 10 minutes and he just can't do it!

[deckchariot]

jilll - it looks to me like that first A time is definitely too short.  A 45 min nap often indicates undertired, and with an A time of only 45 min, I'm certain she's undertired.  45 min is what a newborn would typically be doing.  At 5 mos, 2  - 2.25 hrs is more typical.  It looks like you're trying to at least feed on a 4 hr EASY, so that works best with 2 hrs of A time.  Is it possible that what you're seeing as tired cues are really "I'm bored" cues?  At 5 mos, your lo is much more aware of and interested in the world around her, and may just want a change of scenery.

I would definitely work on extending that A time - start with the first one of the day and just add 10 - 15 min every 3 days.  You want to keep that extra time really low key - even think of it as an extended winddown time.  Then, if her nap is short, you'll want to keep the next  A time a bit short as well (since she won't be as well rested to handle a longer A time).  You want to be moving towards 2ish hrs of A time, keeping in mind that the first A time of the day may remain a bit shorter.  Does that make sense?

hth
michelle

[jilll]

yes, I will definately try this.  Thanks for the advice!

[deckchariot]

let me know how you get on!

[jilll]

So far, our naps aren't getting any longer.  However, she has been sleeping longer at night.  Last night she slept 11 hours straight (from 6:00pm to 5:00am), and then had a bottle, and slept for 2 more hours.  Then we had about 4 30 min naps today in total - she did not want to go down to sleep.  I don't know if it is because she had 13 hours total during the night.  Anyways, I will keep trying.

[deckchariot]

what does your EASY look like now that you're trying to extend her A time?  Are you shortening the  A time after a short nap?  Hang in there!!!