Stuck on 30min naps

[lisa1234]

I hope someone can help my dd is exhausting!

DD is 5months and was napping fine most of the time and now all I can get is 30minute naps, no matter how long or short her A time was, she naps for 30mins, wakes up really
Happy most of the time but after an hour is exhausted and screams her head off.

Her old routine was roughly

7am Wake and eat 8oz bottle
9am Sleep
10am wake
11am 8oz
12 sleep
2pm wake
3pm 8oz
4.30pm nap
5pm wake
6.45pm 8oz and bed

I don't know how to get her back on track and I don't know if I should be
Putting her to sleep everytime she's tired (ie every 1hour and a half) or
Forcing her to stay awake until her proper
Nap time. I've tried both and she literally wakes
Up at 30mins on the dot.
Ive tried driving her in the car and she stirs
After 30mins and stays what looks like asleep but the second I stop the car she Wales
Up, so can't be in a very deep sleep.

Hope someone can help!

Thanks

[*Kara*]

Hello and welcome

Her A times are low for her age and this could well be the reason for the short napping.  30 min naps are generally OT but can be UT when baby needs a big increase in A times...

here is a link with info on age appropriate A times:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64158.0

I would start by pushing her as best you can in the morning and aim to get her to 2.25 hrs over the next couple of weeks, do increases of 15 mins every few days until her naps are longer.  If she short naps, reduce her next A time to 1 hr 45 - 2 hrs to keep OT at bay.

Once baby is about 4-5 months old, tired signs are no longer reliable... baby will act tired by yawning, being fussy etc for a huge range of reasons

Hope this helps  Kx