Fighting me at nap times

[Lu Lu]

Up until this week we were doing really well with DS's naps. He is 5 months next week and has 2 hrs A time. I was taking him up to bed about 5-10mins short of the end of the A time to change his nappy and wind down and then he would get sleepy after a couple of mins of holding him and maybe a bit of moaning. I put him down and he put himself to sleep.

Since Monday he has been fighting me and i don't know if it's OT/ UT or just because he has a few sniffles and so is feeling a bit off??

This morning, for example, I took him up after 1hr 50mins A time as he looked tired and he's just fought me for 25 minutes before finally taking the dummy and relaxing. I can then put him in his cot as usual and he puts himself to sleep but I can guarantee he will onyl sleep for 45 mins - so probably OT??

If he wakes up at around 10am he will want to sleep again at 12pm and will fight me again but will then probably sleep for a couple of hours.

I just don't understand what's going on with him.

[Tweakster]

HI there, could you post his routine?  He may be ready for an A increase.  45 mins can be developmental, or can be UT for some kids.  They are tired enough to get to sleep but really can't do more than 1 sleep cycle because they feel too rested.  If he's started fighting naps I would guess it is UT at his age.  However, if he's sick then you really just have to follow his cues and ride it out until he's feeling better.

Hugs!

[Lu Lu]

Hi Wendy. Thanks for your reply. His routine is so hit and miss lately but on a good day will be;

E: 7am
S: 9am
E: 9:45am (I feed him again when he wakes up as it's the only way he'll calm down)
S: 11:30am (earlier due to short am nap)
E: 2pm (ish. He often needs this long nap of 2-2.5hrs)
S: 4/ 4:30pm (in wrap as fights me so much in cot and varies depending on how long it takes to get DS1 from nursery)
Awake by 5pm
Bedtime routine starts 6:15pm - bath, bottle EBM 6:45pm
Try from 7pm to get him to sleep, often takes 30 mins - 1hr
E: Anytime between 1am and 3am he wakes and has another bottle
S: Has been taking 1-2 hrs at night to get him back to sleep and then sleep can be erratic for the rest of the night. Maybe sleeps again at 3am
Awake anytime between 6:30am and 7am.

[~Sara~]

I'd try adding 10-15 minutes onto his A times and see how that goes for a couple of days.  If he suddenly starts taking 30ish minute naps, then we know his previous A time was good for him and that the 45 min naps are probably developmental more than routine-based.

Wendy and I both had short nappers due to the developmental blip: it's a change that occurs in LO's sleep pattern.  When they reach the end of a sleep cycle and hit the light sleep phase, they wake up instead of transitioning to the next sleep cycle.  This normally resolves itself between 6-7 months old.

Have you tried wake to sleep or holding through the jolts?  If the routine-tweaking doesn't help, then these might give you a good shot at extending the naps.
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