40 Minute napper who lies in cot awake for an hour

[sueg]

Hi,

My daughter is nearly 7 months old and is a 40 minute napper.  Her EASY looks like this:

Wake 6am
E - 6.30am
A - until 8am
S - 8am - 40 minutes
Wake up about 8.45
E - 10.30
A - until about 11.45-12pm
S - 12pm - for 40 minutes
E - 2.30pm
A - until about 3pm
S - about 3.15 - 4pm - 40 minutes
A - until 6pm including bath
E - 6 - 6.30pm
Bed - usually asleep by just after 6.30pm

What is driving me mental is that she only naps 40 minutes!!  I leave her in her cot when she wakes up and she lies there quite happily for up to an hour and a half just talking to herself and playing with her stuffed bunny.  Is there anything else I can try to extend her naps??

[lilac83]

Hi!

At 7 months old the average A time is 2.75-3 hours. My guess is she's ready to increase her awake time. A 40 minute nap is typically a UT nap and the fact that she then lays in her crib playing happily for so long indicates that she's rested. What does your LO do to show you that she's ready for a nap?

[sueg]

She usually gets grizzly and rubs her eyes.  She was a colic/reflux baby so barely slept at all and cried constantly until she was about 5 months, then she suddenly stopped crying all the time and  started putting herself to sleep.  Was a big relief for me!  So I guess I never got good at recognising tiredness over any of her other dramas when she was little.       

Will she be ok to be up for 2.75 - 3 hours even if she only naps 40 mins?  Also, in the mornings she is waking about 5am and I don't think she actually goes back to sleep, so she might already be getting about 3 hours?  It's hard to say, I leave her in her cot until 6.30 whether she's awake or not if she's not crying..   

[lilac83]

I would adjust her slowly. When you first see what you think is her tired cue, try moving her to a low key activity for 15 more minutes then start her wind down. Try that for 2-3 days and then extend some more if she's still taking UT naps. If her nap is only 40 minutes, then her next A time will be a bit shorter. Again, follow her cues and repeat what you did for the first nap. Once that first nap extends, her next A time will probably shoot up to around 3 hours.

Time in the dark in the crib isn't as stimulating as normal awake time. So, even if she's staying awake it probably doesn't count as full A time.

Let me know how it goes!

[AndyMummy]

Looking forward to hearing how it goes!  I've never heard of UT naps... my 6 month old is a catnapper and I always assume it was OT naps, so I was reducing A time right down to 90 minutes. 

How is it going?

[sueg]

We have had 3 naps of an hour and a half in the last two days!!  Something of a rarity in our house.  I stopped looking at the clock at all when it comes to naps and just put her down 15 minutes after her first grizzle.  Works lovely!  Except for yesterday afternoon when she refused to sleep at all from 2.30pm until she went to sleep at 7pm, that was not fun!!!  I think I missed the boat on that one, she was totally OT and my DH had to rock her to sleep.  Never mind.  Can't win all the time, I'd get bored!!

[lilac83]

Excellent job watching for those sleep cues!