4 months old - short 1st nap, really long 2nd

[blondie91582]

Hi! For the past few days my LO has been napping only 45 mins in the morning (refusing to go back down when I try to extend) & then napping about two & a half hours for his next nap. He sometimes takes another CN after that or will skip it & have early BT. He's almost 4 1/2 months old, EBF & weighs almost 17 lbs. He isn't swaddled & doesn't use any props. He goes to sleep mostly on his own, with a little pressure or shh-pat sometimes. Here's what his past few days looked like:

Wake 715
E 745
S 920-1000 (wouldn't resettle)
E 1040
S 1145-1223 (I resettled) 102-200
E 200
S 352-430
E 500
E 600 (half feed)
S 717-815 (wanted to eat)
E 815
S 835-932 (I resettled) 937-1035 (I resettled) 1045-140
E 140
S 158-700 

Next day:

Wake 700
E 715 (couldn't wait)
S 902-950 (wouldn't resettle)
E 1015
S 1131-1240 (I resettled) 102-245
E 245
E 530
BT 609-736
E 736
S 757-859 (self-settled) 902-(DF 1100)-200
E 225
S 250-530 (I settled, but my husband woke him up getting ready for work; resettled)
S 625-720

The next day I decided to focus on the morning nap to try to make it longer & got an hour & 10 mins, but then he only slept 45 for the 2nd nap. I don't know if I have issues with our EASY (it's still a work in progress) or if that's just the way he likes to sleep during the day. I assume I need to tweak the routine a bit though, since he's not doing great at night either.

[amayzie]

t 4 months or so they do tend to start short napping- it can be a developmental thing. But you could try pushing that first A time up a little more and see if that helps you get a longer first nap? Just adding 10/15 mins might be enough. If it doesn't i'd not panic, if he's still getting a long nap in somewhere in the day then i'd say that's ok- i just liked it to be first as i knew that he'd 'banked' it!

[blondie91582]

So yesterday & today he had all short naps & seems totally exhausted. He's been waking every 2 or 3 hours at night too. I guess I'm just going to have to try to get better at reading him. I'm also going to call his ped & GI tomorrow to make sure his reflux meds are the correct dosage since he's grown.

If he does all short naps, should I just keep giving him a nap whenever he looks sleepy? He might just end up with 4 or 5 short naps then?

[amayzie]

I'm also going to call his ped & GI tomorrow to make sure his reflux meds are the correct dosage since he's grown.

Great idea- they jut can't nap if they are in pain- and they do need more meds/increased dose as they grow...

You can keep giving him a nap if he looks sleepy- reading his cues. I would suggest trying to increase the A time a little as the 4-5 nap situation is pretty awful!

[blondie91582]

Thanks! I spoke with his dr & they upped his meds a little. He's taking better naps already, but is still struggling at night. Maybe it'll even out after awhile

[amayzie]

Perfect! Bubba's in pain won't nap!