10-week-old and 45-min naps

[lucyjane]

Hello everyone. This is my first time posting and I'm hoping you can give me some advice.

Katie is 10.5 weeks old and I'm having a nightmare trying to extend her naps. She's like clockwork, waking after 45-mins regardless of how much A time she has had. She's obviously not well rested after this time as she wakes crying, and the only way to console her is generally with a BF, which means we're stuck in a 2.5hr EASY routine.

She's a pretty chilled out baby generally, but the naps are a problem. I have a five-year-old son, too, so both Katie's morning and afternoon naps are in the pram on the school run, meaning I only get one 45-min nap in her crib each day. Not ideal, especially as I work from home and use her sleep times to work. It also means she's desperately overtired by late afternoon, and will often fall asleep around 5.30pm, which is too close to bedtime for my liking.

She has reflux but is doing well on ranitidine.

I've tried W2S and shh/pat when she wakes. Neither seems to work. She'll go back to sleep in my arms but not in her crib.

Our routine is more or less this:

7am E
7.20am A
8.45am S

9.30am E
9.50am A
11.30am S (until 12.15pm)

12.45pm E
1pm A
2.45pm S (in pram)
3.30pm awake (in pram on the way home from school until about 4pm)

4pm E
4.20pm A
6pm bath
6.30pm A
7pm S (bedtime)

Night feeds at 11pm and 3am (ish)

Can anyone advise? It would make such a difference to me if she'd have even one nap of 1.5hrs.

Thanks,

L x

[Shiv52]

Some info for you:

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64158.msg476652

1 month 60 mins-hour and 15
2 months 1 hour and 15 - 20 mins
3 months 1 hour and 20 - 30 mins

Her A times are quite long for 10 weeks and that often leads to the short naps and OT crying.  Can you reduce the first A time or are you tied with school run?  Also after a 45 minute nap you'd need to cut the next A time back.  So aim for a nap after 1 hour or so after wakening.

Is the reflux totally under control?  Wakening at 45 minutes is often reflux related as LOs are disturbed by the reflux as they come into the light cycle of sleep and they can't resettle well at all. 

{{{hugs}}} 

[lucyjane]

Thanks so much for your advice. I suspect that her reflux meds may need increasing as she's gained weight, so have booked a doctor's appt for Friday. I hope that might help - fingers crossed! I am, unfortunately, tied to the times of her morning and afternoon naps because of the school run, but will take your advice and try reducing the A time after her short first nap and see what happens. If she were OT, though, would she not struggle to settle at the start of her nap? She always goes down like a dream - a couple of grizzles then snuggles up and falls asleep by herself - and I'd have thought that if she were OT she'd be more difficult. Or maybe not! DS would only nap on me at this age so Katie is miles better, but it would be great to crack the short naps.

L x

[Shiv52]

I'm thinking it could be the reflux too if she goes down so easily.  Is her crib elevated?  Do you hold her upright after feeds for 15/20 mins?

Amazing she's so independent at sleeping at such a young age! 

How many days did you try W2S for?  What time did you try to rouse her a bit at? 

[lucyjane]

Yep, I have her mattress raised with a rolled towel underneath, and try to keep her upright after a feed. DS was a horrendous refluxer so I think I know every trick in the book there!

When I tried W2S I was rousing her after about 35 minutes, but she would still do the jolting awake thing at 45 minutes. Perhaps I wasn't rousing her enough? I did manage to get her back to sleep at one of today's naps; I picked her up and cuddled her for a couple of minutes, then put her back in her crib and sat stroking her head for 10 minutes until she was still again, and she then slept for another 40mins, which was great. I'll continue with that, I think, as it seemed to work well.

The other thing I should add is that when she wakes she almost always grunts and strains and passes wind. I'm not sure though whether that's what's waking her, or whether it's simply that when she wakes and starts to move it pushes the wind out. I'm sure that one way or another, her waking is connected to her tummy troubles, so I shall keep everything firmly crossed that an increase in meds will improve her napping.

Thanks again for all your help,

L x

[Shiv52]

That was great you were able to extend the nap. 

My DD2 was tortured with wind for the first few months and would wake at 45 minutes and not settle until i lifted her and then she would generally pass wind and then was able to settle back to sleep.  So I'd say it is very likely given that you are having reflux issues than the wind could be waking her. 

Am hoping an increase in meds helps but if not that you will get more successes at extending the naps!  What you did today sounds like a good plan. 

[roseola]

Holding thru the jolt (HTTJ) really worked for us to extend naps past 45 min. Are  you familiar with it?

[lucyjane]

Re: HTTJ, is that where you literally hold them still until they finish jolting? I haven't given that a proper try yet, no. How do you actually do it?

Managed to extend her a little bit this morning by stroking her head but only got another 20mins from her. She's now fallen asleep on me while BF so obviously still tired.

L x

[Shiv52]

Awh shes still so little too so don't worry about the odd nap like that.

HTTJ is where you literally as you say hold them throug the sleep transition.  I have never used it but lots of mums find it works.  If it is wind or reflux waking her though then it won't work.  Maybe see what doctor says tomorrow and then you can consider it.  There is a sticky here somewhere about it and i cant find it but when i do I'll post it here for you so you can have a look.

Great you were able to extend!