Should I just give up and accept 45min naps?

[dannabanana]

wow, and i thought my baby is the only short napper on earth    gotta love this forum!
my LO is very much the same. he used to be able to fall asleep on his own, after just resting in bed for a while. he always seemed to have short naps, though was able to have some longer ones once in a while (not too often though).
by now he needs my help to fall asleep and wont sleep for more than 45min. often he'd wake up happy. when he wakes up crying i try to put him back to sleep, most often unsuccessfully.
This morning i actually tried to wake him up in order for him to sleep longer, just like the BW told me to do. but of course i plain woke him up...
not sure yet if i should give up on trying and never ever have a moment to myself, or if maybe i should offer an extra nap, though i'm not sure when because he's so active!
good luck to all of us.

[MMK529]

Thanks for the good advice.  I have pretty much only been trying to extend the naps where she wakes up crying, because when she wakes up happy she just coos and smiles at me, and there is really no point.  I like the idea of the time limit.  I will try that too.  My LO isn't STTN yet, but we're getting there.  I'm in the middle of weaning the breast as a prop too.  All sorts of fun sleep issues at my house!

[alleeoo]

Hi guys

Well after a terrible weekend we are currently 1 hour and fourty five minutes into his first nap! I can't believe it!!

After trying to extend the A times with not much success (longest nap time over the weekend was an hour and a half but with a wake up after 45 mins, all others 45 mins or less!) my husband and I have decided to bite the bullet and go cold turkey on the dummy and the swaddle. On sunday night we did pu/pd for an hour when he woke after 45mins and three other times in the night. Last night he woke at 4am only and was asleep again within 30 mins. Hooray! He went down for his nap after 1h 45min A time and still snoozing. It was a difficult choice as he has been sleeping so well at night recently with the swaddle: we decided to wean as he is showing signs of finding his thumb but doesn't seem to 'get' that it can pacify him at nap time- he would suck happily when awake but ignore it when tired. We were also worried about him rolling over and getting stuck on his tummy. Having tried to go without the swaddle at naps we realsied the dummy would have to go too- in, out, in, out, in back to front, crying etc the whole process was winding him up even more!

Having typed this and answered the phone it is now 1h 55min! I'll have to wake him up in 5! I'm so used to the fourty five minute nap that I had planned to nip to the shops by now, looks like I'm taking my lunch guests out!

Fingers crossed it isn't a one off! And good luck to everyone else, keep me posted!

[alleeoo]

I also meant to say thanks for the advice about getting him up if he seems happy and really focus on putting him back to sleep if he is crying... having 'permission' to accept that he takes short naps is making it easier for us to chill out and try new things.. Thanks

[MMK529]

Congratulations!  We're still working on it, but I think we're making progress

[Dree]

Congratulations 

 Sofia did eventually outgrow the 45 min naps but I just learned to live with it while it lasted. Now she takes a 1.5 to 2hr nap after lunch. I NEVER EVER thought it would happen to us. It just goes to show that patience goes a long way. Now, I am experiencing the joys of toddlerhood and tantrums.  Not to mention the joys of toilet training...

Dree 

[brenda2]

   hope it continues!!  good work and way to go with cold turkey weaning!  we weaned the dummy and it was the best thing i ever did.  she slept so much better without it.  remember they do have a setback at 5 days or so, so don't get discouraged.  really it takes about 2 weeks to get completely over it and by then he'll have forgotten all about it.  so try to keep at it even if it gets tough again.

hugs

[alleeoo]

Thanks! I never really liked the dummy either and I'm sure it's the right decision for us. After the two hour nap yesterday we had two fourty five minuters but I'm sure he was OS as we had baby rhyme time at 11am then a friend of mine for lunch. Overnight went really well, back to sttn with no pu/pd at all!! Although we didn't sleep well as we were convinced we would hear from him at some point!!

I'm expecting some regression with the nw and really really hope that yesterdays 2 hour nap wasn't just a fluke. It's so hard to live in the moment isn't it? I'm always worrying about the next nap...

[MMK529]

Congrats!  I have a hard time falling asleep too because I think she's going to wake at any minute.  I think you're making great progress and that there may be more 2 hour naps in your future!