How will naps lengthen out?

[cuckoochick]

The 45 minute nap monster struck us at 6 weeks and since then longer naps have been rare. However, some of DD's naps are now 50 minutes or an hour long while others are still bang on 45 minutes. Is this signs of her naps lengthening? At what age do naps start to lengthen? Her first nap of the day us always 45 minutes regardless of A time (i've driven myself mad trying different times) so it's the second nap which can make or break our day as if I shorten her next A after a short nap then get a 45 minute nap that sometimes leaves us with well over an hour before the next E and then our EASY runs away with us.

I find it very hard to extend her naps (has only worked a couple of times) but I've found that if she makes it through the first sleep cycle, she easily makes it through the next and will therefore nap for 2 hrs or more if I let her. Is there any reason to this? I have read the links ib HTTJ and w2s and not had much success with HTTJ. When you do w2s how much should they stir? When I tried it before I don't think I woke her enough as was so worried I'd end up with 30 minute nap!!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

[cuckoochick]

Well DD just loves to prove me wrong as first nap was 1hr. I heard her stirring at 45 minutes then she settled herself back down but has obviously jolted awake now and is lying in her cot. Sometimes she will lie there happily for 15 minutes while I am wishing her to settle back to sleep before she will cry out.

[Tweakster]

Hi there, napping is a skill and it's a steep learning curve for them.  As they come into that more alert, seeing the world and figuring out their place in it kind of phase, they sometimes have trouble with napping.  Their sleep starts to be more adult-like and they move between sleep phases.  As a newborn they are in REM sleep almost all the time.  So transitioning is a new thing to them and they have to learn how to get past it.

That said, there can be a lot of reasons for short naps and the first thing we look at is routine.  Is your LO on the 3 hr EASY?  What does her day normally look like?

[cuckoochick]

Thanks for your reply. I'm constantly adjusting A times after short naps to try to avoid OT so think it's just a developmental thing. Going to give w2s a try I think. My DD seems to handle OT very well. She'd definitely stay awake a lot longer than I will let her.

[rachelusc]

I am interested to see how this turns out for you.  My DS is almost 12 weeks and we are experiencing the exact same situation.  I am almost starting to feel like I messed with his sleep too early by trying to get him on EASY right from the start!  I sometimes end up giving him 5 or even 6 naps a day to make up for the short naps!  He wakes up and is will not cry or fuss if I am in the room with him, so trying to do sshh/pat doesn't really work.  He just smiles at me!  Plus I have a 21 month old, so 45 minutes of trying to extend naps is impossible!  Please keep us posted on how this goes!

[rachelusc]

Is your DD still having short naps?  If so, is she having a feed around 4am?  I did a lot of reading around this site and found that this may contribute to OT in the AMs, leading to the short nap cycle.  (see the story about Josie's family under FAQ) Apparently babies do not get back into deep sleep after this feed, so they start the day OT.  Today I snuck into DS's room at the 38 minute mark and HTTJ and covered his eyes, and we ended up with a 2 hour nap!   I did the same for the next two naps after such a great AM nap, and during the second nap he didn't even flinch at the 45 minute mark.  He was much more pleasant during the evening too!  Now we'll see how he sleeps tonight...I think it takes a few days to break the cycle, and it is also recommended to drop the NF.  (Don't know that this will work for us, as DS doesn't care to eat much).  Hope this helps. 

[cuckoochick]

Well, funny you should say about 4am feeds as this is often what happens. DD fed this morning at around 4am and then was tossing and turning for ages before we got up. First nap has been disastrous as she will just not stay asleep. In cases of 4am feed shall I just make first A shorter than normal. Today she yawned earlier than she usually does (usually 1hr 10mins) but today was 50 mins which I took as a bored cue so changed to a different low-level activity as I knew she would soon be getting tired. So maybe I should have put her down earlier.

Her cues have been getting trickier to read so have been working closer to A times than just cues.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention although not sure what I can really do if she's hungry at 4am. Haven't got around to w2s as we've had other issues going on. *sigh*

[rachelusc]

I think once the 45 minute naps are established, you could drive yourself mad trying to adjust A times...especially trying to follow the cues!  One morning my DS actually yawned in his crib while I was reaching in to pick him up from a nap!  If I were you, I might try the short A once and see if it helps, then try some different technique.  I spent the weekend sneaking in to HTTJ and yesterday DS actually had a bit longer naps.  After looking at the subject lines on the nap board, I'm starting to think this may be something they just have to outgrow.  Good luck!

[cuckoochick]

Yep, I'm beginning to think they must be normal and to stop driving myself crazy about them!