Short naps again!!!

[ENMS]

Hi!

I wrote a few weeks back for short naps for my DD.  She is now 16 weeks old and although things had slightly improved for a while, she's back to only doing short naps (when I started sleep training I was able to get a longer nap out of her maybe once every 2 days... now she's hasn't taken a long nap for approximately 3 weeks).

I try to have her on EASY but it doesn't work anymore because of the short naps and the eating every 3 hours.  Here's a sample routine:

Wake up around 7:15

E: 7:30-7:50
A: 7:50-8:30
S: 8:30-9:15

A: 9:15-10:30
E: 10:30-10:50

S: 10:55-11:35
A: 11:35-13:00
E: 13:00-13:20
S: 13:25-13:55

A: 13:55-15:15
S: 15:15-15:45
E: 15:45-16:05

A: 16:05-17:15
S: 17:15-17:35
E: 17:35-17:45

A: 17:45-19:00
E: 19:00-19:20

S: 20:00

For her first nap, she has been starting to show tired signs after 1 hour of being awake (used to be 1:15-1:20 before) so I am really confused.  I have tried putting her down right away, within 5 mins, 10 mins, etc. and it does not seem to help at all.  She always does 40-45 mins for her first 2 naps, then 30 mins and then for the last nap, 20 mins.  Also, since Sunday I have been having a lot of trouble getting her to fall asleep whereas before it used to take less than 5 minutes.  She doesn't fall asleep on her own totally, I have to help her get really relaxed in my arms with some white noise and then when she starts falling asleep I put her down in her crib. 

She has been STTN since she was 6 weeks old and sleeps approximately 11 hours although I know she is awake for a few minutes 2-3 times per night since I hear her babbling.

Please let me know what I am doing wrong!!!!

Thanks...

[lilac83]

Hi

It looks to me like her first nap is UT and then as the day progresses she gets OT due to the short naps. Right around 4mos, most LO's are ready to transition to a 4hr EASY. This means she would have 2hrs A time and a 1.5-2hr nap twice a day with a 30/45min nap to get her to bedtime.

You mentioned that she seems tired about 1hr after waking, have you tried changing activities to see if she's bored? She's still a bit on the young side, but as LO's get older tired cues can become less reliable. The other thing that could be happening with her is that she's gotten used to that A time so now she's tired out of habit. She'll fall asleep but she won't sleep well because she's really not all that tired.

Try bumping up that first A time by about 10min every 3 days and see if that starts putting a bit more structure to her naps.

[ENMS]

I've tried pushing back the naps a few times but I would likely end up with just a 30 minute nap which I assumed to be OT.   If that happens again, should I stick to that A time for 2-3 days and see if it improves? I always just returned to the shorter A time because when she starts with 30 minute nap in the morning usually the day is kind of difficult and I wanted to avoid that.  But maybe I should stick to it for a few days to have her get used to it?

I was actually just thinking this morning that I'm having a lot of trouble reading her cues to put her down for her naps.  It seems to have changed and I think sometimes I think she's ok but then she ends up being OT. 

Thanks for your help!!

[lilac83]

Sometimes it does take a few days for the LO to get used to the new A times. It sounds like perhaps she's a Touchy baby in regards to A time? If 10min is too much you can do just 5min at a time and see how she does.

[ENMS]

Yesterday was a disaster so today I decided I would not put her down before 1h45 of A time for her first nap.  She did fall asleep so much more easily that in the past few days so hopefully that's a good sign.  She just went down 15 minutes ago and I am crossing my fingers that it will be for longer than usual.

Thank you so much for the great advice!!! :-)

xxxx

[ENMS]

Well, she only slept for 30 mins.  But I'll persevere with this A time for a couple of days before giving in.  Hopefully it'll work!!!

[lilac83]

That's good that she fell asleep easier! Are you able to resettle her at all after a short nap? Doing that will help her get used to the longer A time faster since she won't get OT. Good luck for the next few days, I hope everything settles into place!