Can't get beyond 20-30 min naps at 8 months HELP!!!!

[helenfinnandben]

Hiya - I posted the other day and tried some of the things suggested (notable extending A time before the morning nap) but I still can't get him to sleep for longer than 20-30 mins. I then have to go in and do controlled crying to get him back off for another 20-30 mins (can take up to an hour before he goes back off) and it;s driving me demented! He wakes up crying so is clearly still tired so why won't he sleep longer?!!!!!!!!

He's sleeping better at night now - from about 7.45-5.30 then feeding and going back for 1-1 1/2hrs.

Today he woke at 5.30 fed back in bed by 5.45 and slept till 7.30. Breakfast at 8am, feed at 10am and a square of toast. Put him down at 10.45 then he woke 20 mins later crying and is still at it at 11.45

Does anyone have any other ideas what i can do to help him sleep?!! I've tried wake to sleep before and it did work occassionally but when he's only having 20 min naps when do i go it to disturb him? 10 mins seesm too soon and 15 mins too late!
ARGH!

[helenfinnandben]

He is getting some teeth and does have a cold and is learning to crawl, but this is his normal pattern regardless of any milestones and other factors! He can settle himself at the beginning of the nap - we put his music on and he goes off to sleep fine. When he wakes early from the nap the trouble starts!

[katakow2]

I'm certainly no expert, but I can definitely sympathize.. we're going through short naps and EW's over here too

It sounds to me like your lo might need to catch up on sleep if he's waking so early from naps.
And I have nothing to go on but personal experience here, but MAYBE he needs less A time in the AM because his sleep is so broken... if he's waking at 5-something and then back down until 7-something.  My thought would be that he's not as well-rested as a lo might be waking up from a whole night's worth of sleep?  I know that my ds is definitely ready for a nap sooner if he's had an EW and gone back down for a bit (although he goes back down for half hour at best) than if he's STTN. 
Although, you have to be so careful here because you don't want that nap to become an extention of his night sleep.

Maybe if you post your new EASY, we can see how much total sleep he's getting.  Has he always needed more or less than average amounts of sleep?

I know how frustrating it can be.  I can't count how many times I've thought about cc or cio, but it's just not fair to our lo's and it's super confusing to them.  This may be part of the problem as well? 

I know it's easy for me to say.  But, trust me, I'm struggling with a lot of the same things (read my MANY posts!).  In the past, it has been helpful (and less frustrating) to pick a PLAN, post it (for feedback) and go with it CONSISTENTLY for at least a week.  And then tweak what's not working...    ?