Short Naps What Can I do??

[aleini]

Well my baby is 4 months old and I started her on the Easy schedule last week.  She started off great and during nap time she falls right to sleep than always wakes up after 30minutes.  I do PU/PD and would last about 20-25min and she would go right back to sleep.  This week.  I feel like she is getting worse instead of improving on nap time.  When she starts to cry after she has been naping for 30min I walk in and she starts smiling and I can't even do the PU/PD.  I normally leave the room until she cries agian.  After a long time she will go back to sleep.  How can I get her to sleep longer without having to fight with her to go back to sleep. She does great at night time and here is our schedule:

7am- Wake up and gets bottle and rice cereal
7:30am-9am-Activity
9am- Nap Time
11am- Bottle and baby food
11:30-1:00pm- Activity
1pm-Nap Time
3pm-Bottle
3:30-5:00pm- Activity
5:00- Cat Nap (She needs this one.  Only 30 min)
5:30-7pm-Activity
7pm-Bottle/baby food
7:30pm-Bed Time (She falls right to sleep and doesn't wake up until 7am)
11pm-Dream feed

[anna*]

Hi and welcome to the BW boards!!

30 minute naps are often a sign of overtiredness, does she wake up crying and unhappy? Does she respond to shh-pat? You could try going in to her at 25 mins, and start to shh-pat so that she might get past that 30 mins point. 4 months is still kind of young for PUPD, I would only use it if she really won't respond to shh-pat.

Perhaps tomorrow you could try shortening the first A time so that she goes for her first nap at 8.45 instead of 9, and see if that helps.

anna
x

[kittylitterish80]

I have the same prob, my lo only naps for 35 minutes exactly! This makes it near impossible
To stay on the easy routine as when bottle time comes around he has been up for quite a while and is obviously tired and usually conks out during his bottle. I have found (through the help of a particularly messy nappy) that a midday bath before he is due his second nap magically extends the nap to 1 hour 40 minutes! Not a solution for every nap I know, but at least it gives him one good nap during the day. I had tried everything I could think of previous to this to extend naps.. Making sure he is not over-stimulated, Shh/pat, getting in before 35 minutes to place my hand on him, leaving him to settle himself etc but nothing has worked so far apart from the bath. Do u think this would mean he is not stimulated enough during activity time?

[anna*]

Hi Kittylitterish, how old is your LO? Usually 30ish mins naps can mean overtiredness, what is your routine like?

anna
x

[aleini]

I'll try putting her down at 8:45am and see how that works out.  Thanks.  I do the shh/pat but doesn't really work unless she has cried for a while.  She seems to know that I'm going to come in when she cries then stops and smiles when I'm there.  Once she cries for a while she will go back to sleep.  On average we spend 30 min after her first 30min putting her back to sleep.  She will sleep the rest of the time and is happy.