Morning vs Afternoon naps....why so different??

[jay2yay]

My LO's naps are great in the morning, usually between 1.5-2 hours on a good day. But on that same good day, his afternoon naps stink!! Why would that be?

I hardly put any toys in front of him yet because he's sooo sensitive to OS. And he's pretty much only up for about 40 minutes at a time. Any longer and it takes forever to get him to settle. His A time usually consists of a diaper change, me talking to him, tummy time, or him sitting in a bouncy (with no toys) looking outside....that's pretty much it. Would there be any other reason for bad afternoon naps?

Also, it's hard to "cat nap" when it takes him 20 minutes to fall asleep sometimes? I know that's average but is it still considered a rested cat nap?

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

At this age the short naps are pretty common.  The morning nap also tends to be the first good nap, with the afternoon one following later.  Is this a change for him or has he been like this for a while?  I'm going to guess it's developmental but it's hard to say 100%.  Do you want to post an EASY for us to have a look? 

[jay2yay]

sure, thanks!

I'm fairly new to EASY so I'm still working out the kinks....esp around the cluster feedings. But here's what the last few days have been like.

Note: My LO only eats for 6-8 minutes on average.

E: 7:20
A: 7:20-8:00 (40 min)
S: 8:00-10:20 (2 hr 20 min)

E: 10:20
A: 10:20-11:00 (40 min)
S: 11:00-1:20 (2 hr 20 min) (sometimes I have to intervene during this nap, but only once or twice and it's no big deal)

E: 1:25
A: 1:20-2:00 (40 min)
S: 2:00-3:55 (1 hr 55 min) (this nap is usually when things start to get cranky. Just lots of re-shushing, having to cover eyes two or three times, or re-swaddling.

Note: I did order the Miracle Blanket because I'm tired of re-swaddling! So, hopefully this won't be an issue and possibly improve his naps. Once his arms get out, it's all over! 

E: 3:55
A: 3:55-4:40 (45 min)
S: 4:40-5:30 (catnap)  (this nap is usually bad)

E: 5:30 (first cluster feed)
A: 5:30-6:10 (40 min)
S: 6:10-7:30 (1 hr 20 min) (this nap is also usually not good)

E: 7:00 (2nd cluster feed)
A: 7:00-7:45 (Bath)
S: 7:45-11:00

DF: 11:00

The DF hasn't "kicked in" yet so he's still waking at 2 and 5 approximately.


I realize that one of his afternoon naps is kinda long.....but I don't know how else to work with that. His "A" times are fairly short for his age, but he can't seem to handle much longer and it leaves "extra" time in the afternoon. I also feel like I have to start the cluster feeds earlier, 5 or 5:30 because when I tried 6 and 8, he wouldn't take the DF at 11 (probably b/c he's not hungry enough).  Sometimes, I just feel like doing away with the cluster feeds and just feeding him every 3 hours! 

Another note: sometimes well after 20 minutes into his nap, I'll catch him just staring into dreamland. I usually cover his eyes and shush him if he lays there for 10 minutes and doesn't seem to be falling back asleep. Is this normal or is he doing this because he's not tired? He sure seems tired because when I cover his eyes and shush, he falls right back asleep.


Thanks for any input and I'm sorry this is long!!!

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

So first off, he's still pretty young to expect him to do a perfect EASY.   We'll give him some slack on that!  I actually think what you're seeing is pretty normal.  The fact that you're getting 2 good naps in the morning is fantastic.  The day does tend to fall apart with LOs this young as it goes on.

I don't think it's an issue at all to still feed every 3 hours if that would work better for him.  It might be worth giving that a try for a few days to see if it smooths things out a bit.

Hopefully the MB will help.  We LOVED that thing!  I just got a couple of Woombies to try with this new LO, since I know a bunch of people who absolutely loved those and there's no way they can get out like they can as they get bigger with the MB.  If the MB isn't the answer for you, you might think of trying the Woombie.

The other thing I see is, maybe you can cut out one of the CN toward the end of the day and just move BT up to 6:45 or 7?  Could you do that?  It almost looks like that would fit him better.  That might also mean he's hungrier for the DF and might solve your issue about the extra time in the afternoon. 

2 NW at this age is great.   He'll likely be doing that for a while still, even with the DF, just so you know, especially if you're BFing (don't know if you are?).

Doesn't sound like the waking thing is UT, although it certainly could be.  Is his room really dark?  Do you have white noise on?

Does any of that help?

[jay2yay]

Wow, thank you so much. It's amazing what a fresh pair of eyes can see!! (Of course experienced eyes help as well  ) I am going to target his BT for 6:45. This seems to work out perfectly as you said. And I guess it'll just have to be trial and error as far as if I add a 2nd feeding for a cluster feed or just stick to the DF. For now, I'm going to focus on the DF and see how that goes for a few days.

Good note on the Woombie, wish I could have seen that before the MB! Oh well...I can always get the woombie once my LO is a bit bigger....$25 is hardly a bad price for such a priceless thing as my son's sleep!

As far as the waking...the room is usually dark, but not really dark. We're "weening" him into his crib this week and his room will be much darker. And yes, I do use white noise.

And I do believe my son rocks! I know that things could be much worse and I'm blessed he's responded to BW so well. He wouldn't be the baby he is if it weren't for BW 

Thank you again for taking the time to look over my routine and giving me your suggestions!

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Sounds like a plan to me!  Let me know how it's going along. 

And I do believe my son rocks! I know that things could be much worse and I'm blessed he's responded to BW so well. He wouldn't be the baby he is if it weren't for BW

BW is no doubt the best!!   Saved my sanity once and I'm sure it will again very soon!