« previous next »
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Wake to Sleep Success! Now sleeping past that 45-minute mark!  (Read 1001 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline sfelts

  • New & Learning The Ropes!
  • *
  • Showing Appreciation 0
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 4
    • Location: Florida
Wake to Sleep Success! Now sleeping past that 45-minute mark!
« on: November 18, 2009, 18:47:58 pm »
I just found out about wake-to-sleep last week when I was scouring the message boards, desperate for help.  My almost-4-month-old could never last longer than 45 minutes per nap, regardless of how I tinkered with his A time.  But WTS has been a godsend.  I'm doing it a little differently than suggested.  It didn't work for us when I tried to do it preemptively, so now I wait until I hear him transitioning.  About 40 minutes into the nap, I find something to do just outside his room (fold laundry, etc.), and I listen closely to the monitor.  The second that I hear him stir, I go in and gently rub his head.  If he opens his eyes, I put my hand over them before he has time to really focus.  And for 4 out of the 5 times I've tried it, he's fallen right back to sleep.  His 45 minute naps are now lasting 1.5 - 2 hours, which makes all the difference in the world in his mood for the rest of the day. 

So now when I hear his first stirrings, I calmly react and know how to ease him back to sleep.  In the past when I heard him stir, I started racing around like a crazy woman, trying to get those last few things done that I needed to do before my active little boy was up again.  I can't believe I've found something that works, and I'm so thankful for Tracy's books and this website.  We first-time parents need all the help and support we can get.

Susan
Logged

Offline fellsfeline

  • New & Learning The Ropes
  • *
  • Showing Appreciation 0
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 42
    • Location: New Hampshire, USA
Re: Wake to Sleep Success! Now sleeping past that 45-minute mark!
« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2009, 19:03:19 pm »
Well said!  i am still working on the wake to sleep method but i may try your approach!
Logged
<img src="http://lilypie.com/pic/2009/11/17/0Iwn.jpg" width="60" height="80" border="0" alt="Lilypie - Personal picture" /><img src="http://lb1f.lilypie.com/xFzZm5.png" width="400" height="80" border="0" alt="Lilypie First Birthday tickers" />

Offline suzannebowie

  • New, But Posting Steadily!
  • **
  • Showing Appreciation 0
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 60
  • Adjusting to life with three!
    • Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Re: Wake to Sleep Success! Now sleeping past that 45-minute mark!
« Reply #2 on: November 18, 2009, 23:51:09 pm »
I second that!

That is so good to hear! Im also struggling with 45 min naps at the moment and have had no luck with wts but im definitely going to try your method!!

Thanks for the tip and glad to hear all is going well with you and your lo!

Suzy x
Logged

Offline *Jo*

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 148
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 7314
  • 3 wee monkeys and a Mamma
    • Location:
Re: Wake to Sleep Success! Now sleeping past that 45-minute mark!
« Reply #3 on: November 19, 2009, 00:57:03 am »
aww look at all these lovely new babies!!!! good to hear it is working for you! As mothers we learn to know what suits our babes best and looks like you found what suits yours!! :)
Logged




Offline sfelts

  • New & Learning The Ropes!
  • *
  • Showing Appreciation 0
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 4
    • Location: Florida
Re: Wake to Sleep Success! Now sleeping past that 45-minute mark!
« Reply #4 on: November 21, 2009, 13:42:06 pm »
Hey, everyone!  Just wanted to tell you one other thing.  It seems that the couple of times that this hasn't worked for us, it's simply been because I tried to rush out of the room.  If I just resign myself to being in there for a good 10-15 minutes, we've been successful every time.  So now I leave a book or a magazine nearby, and things are good.  If I don't have something to distract me, that 10 minutes seems to drag on forever, and all I can think about is how my back hurts, my feet hurt, etc.  And that I'm too old for this :-)

HTH!
Logged

Offline ~Sara~

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 264
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 9268
    • Location: Houston, Texas
Re: Wake to Sleep Success! Now sleeping past that 45-minute mark!
« Reply #5 on: November 21, 2009, 16:17:52 pm »
Yay!!  Congrats on getting those long naps :)  I bet your LO loves getting them, too!  Thanks for posting your success with extending naps...I think many moms will get a lot of encouragement from this.
Logged
*formerly tersaseda*

 



Offline LittleTacker

  • New & Learning The Ropes
  • *
  • Showing Appreciation 0
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 32
    • Location: Beijing, China
Re: Wake to Sleep Success! Now sleeping past that 45-minute mark!
« Reply #6 on: November 23, 2009, 00:38:36 am »
Post cruising...
sfelts, quick question about your last post. You said you were in the room for 10-15min.

Was that whole time spent rubbing LO's head and covering his eyes?
Did your LO ever wake fully enough to start crying? If so, did you continue the rubbing or just get him up?

My 12wo LO sleeps for exactly 34min and I'm doing everything I can to help him extend. Traditional W2S isn't working so I'm going to try your technique.

Cheers,
Bec
Logged
Taking it one day at a time.

Offline sfelts

  • New & Learning The Ropes!
  • *
  • Showing Appreciation 0
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 4
    • Location: Florida
Re: Wake to Sleep Success! Now sleeping past that 45-minute mark!
« Reply #7 on: November 23, 2009, 01:26:47 am »
Bec, yes, I rub his head and shield his eyes for 10-15 minutes after he starts to stir, and that seems to be long enough for him to transition into the next phase.  When I tried to hurry out before that, he was always wide awake 5 minutes later.

Once he starts crying, there's no turning back so I just get him up.  He's really not done napping at that point, but there's no other choice.  We normally play for a while, he gets sleepy once again, and I put him back down for a while (varies from 20-40 minutes).  I know that an interrupted nap isn't ideal, but it's better than nothing.

I hope this helps.  It doesn't work every time for me, but I'm thrilled that I've found anything that works at all.  The days can get very long when you have a tired baby, can't they?  Good luck, and let me know how it goes.
Susan
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »