Anything else I should try, and how long does it usually take?

[lotuselise]

I have a 9 week old DD who has pretty much been a catnapper all her short life, but lately naps are a pretty consistent 20-30 mins. She's only ever twice gone more than 40 mins on her own, and I've only managed to resettle her twice. I had been attempting to follow a routine by an Australian woman, but in her guide she suggests awake time to be 1 1/2 hours. I kept at this but really felt it was too much for my LO.

I've since come back here (been absent for a while  and once again this forum has provided me with amazing advice. I've decided she is definitely awake too long, and I'm probably overstimulating her, so there's 2 things I can change. The other is that the 20-30 mins waking is probably due to the jolting I read about in FAQ, so I'll be staying in with her for the first 20-30 mins to help settle her back. I did it for the first time this morning and she's now back asleep and has been asleep for over 1 hour, which is wonderful!

Do you think these are the best things to focus on for a 20-30 min catnapper, or are there some other things I could try too? Am I on the right track do you think?

My biggest issue is that I have a 2 1/2 year old who luckily today is in childcare, but will be home for the rest of the week so it's going to be really tough to dedicate the time to the baby with her around. How long should I expect it to take to get her sleeping longer, and any suggestions for what I can do to help my toddler understand and stay away while Mummy's settling bubs? She's pretty good at understanding reason and will respond well to reward.

Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated.   

[deb]

Wow, you're gonna have your hands full with the other one at home with you while sleep training. I'm not big on TV time for little ones, but if a video helps the sleep training, and there is nobody else to keep her occupied any other way, you gotta do what you gotta do. "Good at understanding" s awesome, but still, it's nice to not put them in a position where they'll end up bored at inopportune times. Been there, done that.

But yes, I'd go ahead and focus on working thru the jolt for sure. If regular swaddling is a no-go for your baby - it was for my second, for sure! - you can maybe try the Aussie swaddle; it didn't go over well with my #2, but worked a treat for #1, left her hands by her face and she learned to use the fabric over her hands to rub her cheeks to self-soothe. If your being there thru the jolt worked once, I'd say you're on to something for sure!