Increased activity but still under 35 min naps

[Sjbc1019]

Hi

I took the very helpful advice from a moderator on this board to increase the activity time for my 16 week old to 1hr45 to bed with sleep by 2 hr.  she is putting herself to sleep usually in just a couple of minutes and doesn't fight naps anymore.  However, she still only takes naps around 30 minutes.  Most times she is happy and alert but twice this weekend we were not able to extend a nap and so we played but after 30 mins she was a fussy mess and we put her to sleep where she slept for 30 minutes.  Can you help us figure out how to get longer naps? 

Also, a couple of times we have been driving and it is around 1 hr 30 and she has fallen asleep in the carseat.  We take her home and try to put her down in the crib but she wakes so she ends up having had a 5-10 minute nap.  She won't stay asleep then so she is up.  If she only slept 5-10 minutes do I keep her up for 1 hr 45?  Yesterday we put her down after an hour and she fell asleep but only for 20 mins so I assumed she was way overtired.   What should we do in this situation?  We are always home by 1 hr 45 but she falls asleep round 1 hr 30.

Thanks

[*Becky*]

I found this age soooo hard for naps. There is lots of developmental stuff going on so many lo's do short naps even with the right A times.
Do you have a dark room? Consistent wind down?

I would never have had any luck transferring mine to the cot from the car seat, they always woke up so tbh I would try to make sure you are in for a good 15 mins before the nap so you can do wind down. If you are out and about then maybe just leave her to nap in the car if it is necessary for you to be out (with you there of course)

If she sleeps 5-10 mins she needs a much shorter A time. As a general rule for a short nap you take off 30 mins of A time but tbh a 5-10 min nap is nothing so I would try again after about 30 mins or sooner if she seems fussy. At this age it can feel like you are tied to the house but it does get better!

We are always home by 1 hr 45 but she falls asleep round 1 hr 30.

See i would just come home earlier if you want to get a good nap or if not then accept that the nap is going to be a bust...like I said it does get easier.

Feel free to post your last 2 days routine and we can take a look.

[Sjbc1019]

Hi

We have dark room, sound machine, and routine.  Occasionally we are able to extend the naps so we will keep trying.

Another question- my LO typically wakes at 6:30 am.  We put her to bed around 6:30-7:30.  Should we make the bedtime 6:30 pm since she seems to always wake at 6:30 am which would give her a chance to get 12 hours sleep. 

Thanks

[Sjbc1019]

Sorry- forgot a couple more questions.

What if we miss a nap because we are out?  When do we put her down when we get home?

Since most of her naps are under 35 minutes is the 1 hr 45 the appropriate time?  If she takes a good nap I believe the moderator said to put her down at 1 hr 45 to fall asleep by 2 hours.  Even with her 35 min naps I have been putting her down at around 1hr45 and she falls asleep in less than 5 minutes.

Thanks

[*Becky*]

yes - working to a 12 hour day at this age is great 

If you miss a nap then it is likely she will be OT so harder to put down for a nap but yes you put her down when you get back or if she sleeps in the car or buggy then that is helpful.

If most of her naps are under 35 mins 1.45 is too much A time. 1.45-2 hours would be the A time you are aiming for with a good nap i.e. 1.5 - 2 hours. If she naps 35 mins I would aim for about 1-1.15 hour for the next A time (generally take 30 mins off the normal A time)

Hope that helps...

[*Becky*]

meant to say...if you are putting her down and she is sleeping well i.e. good naps then the A time is right but if not then I would cut back on the A time.

[Sjbc1019]

We were doing shorter awake time but with the suggestion of the other moderator we increased it which I think has helped.  When we tried to put her down at 1 hr 15 or so she screamed and fought her naps and we had even shorter naps.  Her first nap of the day I put her down for 1 hr 30 and the rest I usually do 1 hr45 give or take.  She goes to bed easily on her own so I feel like its the right awake time.  Please advise.

She usually wakes up happy and seems fine with 35 minute naps.  On occasion you know she should have napped longer so we will put her down earlier (sometimes as early as 30 mins) but this doesn't happen often.  Do you think she might just do short naps and the activity time is appropriate?  At night she usually wakes once or twice and sleeps 10-12 hours and is a very happy and alert baby.

[*Becky*]

Her A time is around 1.45/2 hours but if she short naps i.e. takes a nap of 30 mins she will not be able to manage that full A time of 1.45/2 hours so the next A time needs to be shorter....it is unlikely a mod would advise you to extend the A time after a short nap....does that make sense?

At this age lots of lo's do short naps, it is developmentally very common so it might just be where she is at for the moment. If she is happy and sleeping well at night then I would not worry too much.

[Sjbc1019]

So since she seems happy and is sleeping pretty well at night I can keep the 1 hr45 awake or use my judgement?

Thanks

[Sjbc1019]

Also- the mod said I was getting short naps because she was under tire and I do agree.  Her naps use to be 20-30 mins.  That is why the mod said to increase activity.

[*Becky*]

ok well you have to go with your gut feeling. If you feel she is still UT then push the A by 15 mins, I just wanted to warn you that keeping the A time the same with short naps 'can' cause OT and not produce a better nap.

It could be though that she needs a longer A time than the average lo so go with what feels right.

[Sjbc1019]

I am so confused about undertired and overtired.  The other week the 1 hr 45 was working great- LO was putting herself to sleep within minutes even though she was still taking 30 minute naps.  This past week has been hard and she has been crying more and having a harder time settling.  I can't tell if she is ut or ot.  Can you give some insight on signs/length of naps for ut and ot?  One moderator said my 16 week baby should be able to do 2 hours unless short nap then 1 hr45.  Then you said even shorter awake since her naps are short so I am so confused.  Thanks

[amayzie]

How is she when she wakes up from the naps? That's usually a good indication. Is she happy to play, or cranky? MOST babies will do a 45 min nap as an undertired nap- and wake up from this happy. Same with MOST babies doing a 30/35 minute nap as an Overtired nap and wake up cranky and needing more rest.

There are SOME babies though that will do a 30 minute nap as an undertired nap- not sure why- they just do. Again- you can tell by the way that they wake up. Cranky=overtired- you might be able to resettle from this; Happy=undertired- don't bother trying to resettle!

[Sjbc1019]

Most times she is happy but probably one nap ( out of her 4-5 a day) she is grumpy.  This weekend she was taking under 30 minute naps- we tried earlier and later times.  What do 20 something minute naps mean?

I am trying to extend her activity and put her down at 1 hr45 to sleep by 2 as she is 4 months 1 week tomorrow.   She did better this morning settling so we will see how long she naps.  We try to extend every nap but rarely are able to.  Is it easier to extend overtired or undertired nap?  She has never taken more than a 40 minute nap on her own but when we held her she could nap for over two hours and if we are able to extend she as napped for 2 hours.

Thanks

[*Becky*]

usually UT naps are very hard to resettle....20 mins here is discomfort.
Fingers crossed for the am nap. x