Short naps : UT vs. OT

[mom2elise]

Have been reading some of the posts, and I'm confused   is a 20 min nap UT or OT, compared to a 45 min nap?  I'm a FTM, and my DD just turned 4 months.    She's always done either 20 or 45 min naps.... sleeps well at night (usually just one or two NF, and goes right back down.   Just can't get the hang of the naps.   Will sleep 90 mins or longer if I hold her.   What should I do when she wakes from a 20 or 45 min nap... just get her up (she's usually happy and babbling but not hungry.    Usually, she's not hungry enough to eat, so we do a sort of AEAS....although often it turns into AES.   Any advice would be appreciated!

[ZacsMumme]

It does sound like UT if she is waking babbling etc. the 20 min ones are just a light sleep catnap. How long is her A times? They may need increasing..

[mom2elise]

So, I've been trying to extend her naps.  DD is now 4 months 3weeks.   Her A is 2 hours now, and I've been going in at 30 min to wait or the jolt.   I have to let her suck my pinky finger (she doesn't take a soother) for 10-20 min, and then she's good or another 30 min or so.  This only works for the morning 9am nap.   Not as much success with nap 2 and nap 3 is supposed to be short anyways, right?   

She always needs my help to fall asleep.   Swaddle, and cuddles, put in crib, then sucks pinky for 15 min.   I end up spending her whole nap besides her crib.

Question:  how long do I keep trying to extend her naps?   Eventually she'll learn to not need my finger when she comes out of that first REM, right?   I was going to try for a week or so, and then let her try one nap without my help?   

[ZacsMumme]

Developmetntally short naps usually come right on their own around 6 months. However....you do have a bit of a prop with your pinky. Do you think you could work on teaching her to suck her own thumb at nap and BT? This means if/when she stirs in the nap or night she can resettle herself without needing your finger?

Great you are shaving a bit of success in extending. Yes the last nap is a CN

[mom2elise]

Hmmm.  My problem with letting her suck her own fingers is that she is completely swaddled still.  Arms down, with a Velcro swaddle.  She seems to like it.   The few times that I tried a looser swaddle or one arm out, she's woken herself up.   

This morning, only needed 5 min of pinky to fall asleep, but again, woke at 40 min.  I'm holding her for the last 40 min of this nap because I need her to be well rested.  Yesterday, She only has 2. 40 min naps, and ended up waking 3 times at night, which she hasn't done in ages.   I guess I'm APOP for today, just to get her  caught up on sleep.

[ZacsMumme]

ventually she'll learn to not need my finger when she comes out of that first REM, right?

well maybe she may get more dependent on it...She will start to extend her naps with time I suspect, most LOs do after ~6 months of age. However as I meantioned before you may find she starts to wake more in the night as she rouses and needs the pinky to get back to sleep. KWIM?

If its working then for sure keep doing it, but you may find that this does start to become a prop and she starts waking mid nap and through the night needing your pinky to get back to sleep. At this stage you can work on weaning the swaddle and seeing if she can suck her own fingers.