w2s works sometimes

[brenda2]

hi
i have a textbook 4 month old who has always taken really long naps - 1 1/2 to 2 hours no problem, and most of the time i was having to wake her up so she wouldn't sleep too long! 

now since we've been back from christmas holidays it seems everything is going haywire!  we have just switched from a 3 to a 4 hour EASY so the longer awake times may be to blame, but now she always wakes up on the 45 minute mark for her naps, and sometimes when we put her down for the evening as well.  and she is cranky when she wakes up! 

i have tried w2s and it works about half the time (but not sure if she would have slept through on her own anyway these times).  i go in after 25 minutes and gently rouse her until i get a moan or she moves her head around, i also try to replace the soother which sometimes works and sometimes not.  i've tried at the 30 minute mark but that seems to just wake her up completely.  usually she'll sleep for another 45 minutes from the time i do the w2s.

when she wakes up early and is still tired i do shh pat and that will work to put her back to sleep for another 45 minutes on the nose.  i'd like her to be able to sleep through on her own though.

i think she is overtired, but i don't know how to help her with this as she just keeps waking up which interrupts her sleep and adds to the OT problem!  i try to put her down when she looks tired and think i am good at reading her cues, but at the same time i am trying to stretch her awake time to the 2 hours to keep her on schedule.

sorry that was long
thanks!

[Colin Macs Mom]

Have you been doing W2S consistently, and not just here and there?

Perhaps she's not quite ready for a 4 hour EASY? Sometimes it works better to do a 3.5 for a little bit first.

[brenda2]

i have tried the w2s for every nap the past 2 or 3 days.  it works about half the time.  today she slept for almost 3 hours (i just let her go because i knew she was tired but then did wake her up in the end).

i don't think she is ready for the 4 hour EASY in terms of the awake time.  i looked at the 3.5 hour EASY but was confused because the awake time in the evening seems quite long.  i am trying for the 4 hour EASY but also following her cues.

could i be doing the w2s wrong?

thanks a lot!

[*Nicola*]

Have you seen the W2S sticky in the FAQ section of this forum? There is lots of advice and tips there from other mums.  Playing around with timings seems to help a lot.

We have been using it now for about 10 days and have lots of success    I think the only time it hasn't worked is when I have been in too late and she is already coming out of her deep sleep and getting restless. 

What might help is sitting in her room for one entire nap and noting the times when she gets restless.  Then you can aim to go in 10 mins before this time to rouse her.  Hopefully you will have more exact sense of the timings then and not be as likely to 'miss' the window.

Also, we have a white noise machine on and also the humdifier which seem to muffle out the noise of us going in to rouse her and also signify to her that it is still sleepy time, kwim?

  Good luck

[Colin Macs Mom]

Yes definitely - sometimes timing needs some adjusting.

[brenda2]

maybe i was stirring her too much...

we also have a rain noise machine going in the room which she loves.

i usually go in after 25 minutes and stir her which i said works about half the time, but i hadn't tried the pressure at the joints technique, so i'll give that a go and see what happens.  she's so clockwork, 45 minutes on the nose.

i'm surprised she's having trouble with this because she falls asleep so easily, most of the time with the soother but sometimes without, and she always spits it out after 2-3 minutes of sucking.

she was such a good napper...maybe it's developmental.  seems a lot of other people out there with 4 m.o. 45 minute nappers!

thanks for the suggestion, i hadn't read through the w2s thread.

[Colin Macs Mom]

Yep, the 45 minute nap monster tends to bite around 4 months    So keep at it and you'll do fine.