Am I doing Wake-to-sleep correctly???

[rozza]

Hi there,

I'm working really hard on extending LO's naps.  His schedule is almost exactly like the 4hr EASY in Tracy's book however he very rarely sleeps for 1.5hrs on his own.  He'll wake after 45 mins on the dot and sometimes I can resettle him but more often not. It's so nice when he does go the full 1.5hrs as he is so much happier in the day.  I've tried PU/PD but didnt have much luck, invariably we kept going till next feed and then had to give up with both of us exhausted.  I thought I'd give W2S a try after reading all the posts and watching him when he comes out of his slepp - he genuinely does try really hard to resettle himself but then gets frustrated.

So I've been trying w2s like this - after 30 mins I go in and gentle wake him, some times he opens his eyes, sometimes not but he always jerks out of his deep sleep and then i stay with him for 10 mins or so until i'm sure (i think) he is back in a deep sleep.  The problem is that I've been having varying success with this and cant see a pattern in when it works and when it doesnt.  Should I alsways make sure that he properly wakes up or is it enough to stir him?  SHould I stay in the room for longer or leave him to try and settle himself?  He doesnt cry when he wakes up but squeaks and fusses for 10 minutes or so if I leave him and then eventually gets annoyed and cries.

Has anyone had more luck with this than me?  I feel it's the right way to go as sometimes it does work but if he's to get used to sleeping through the 45 minute mark I guess I've got to try and get it more consistent or will that come with time?

Sorry for the ramble!!

Noahs Mum

[*Nicola*]

Just a thought ... have you tried using pat/shh to get him through the 45 minute mark?

[kohnheads]

Hello zewheeler,

I have used W2S during the night and I've always just stirred them slightly instead of making them wake fully.  I have found that if they wake fully then I'm right where I don't want to be with an awake baby fussing to get back to sleep.  Try just gently rubbing his arm until he stirs but doesn't wake.  Then leave the room and see if he can settle himself back to sleep.  If not, intervene and do shh/pat or PU/PD (whatever works for you). 

I've had the same problems with the short naps - have you tried extending his A time to see if that makes a difference?  I have twin boys and about 40% of the time they wake after 45 minutes but I'm usually able to get them to resettle by doing shh/pat.  They hate PU/PD and it just stimulates them and wakes them more.  Just a thought...

Good luck!

Lindsay

[rozza]

thanks Lindsay,

I'll definately stick with not waking him cimpletely - sh/pat works much better for us than pu/pd and things are getting better.  I'm not sure that extending A time is the issue as he's usually yawning/ rubbing his eyes by the time we've had some quiet time and he's in his cot.  The 45 minute wake up doesnt seem to depend on how tired he is as we go swimming on a Sat morning and even after that when he is proper worn out, it's still 45 mins and then re-settle!!

thanks for the advice and good luck with your lo too.

Zoe