Cat Nap Nightmare Every Night!

[lauralee014]

I have a 3.5 month old son who generally sleeps well for all naps except the catnap!  He will either not go down or will go down but wakes up screaming.  He wants to keep sleeping for a solid 1.5- 2 hours for the catnap...but this brings him way too close to bedtime.  If I do wake him after 40-50 minutes he can't stay awake for his next feed.  Any suggestions???  He's so miserable!

[*Natasha*]

If he will go down for bedtime no worries if he sleeps a little longer for the cat nap and it doesn't interfere with nights then let him be.
Have you tried giving the catnap in the stroller/bouncer/swing as this nap is only a short nap and will be the first nap to drop so it is ok for have it on other places rather than the cot.

[~Sara~]

Eww, yes, we have a grizzly bear on our hands, too, after the catnap (but he wakes up after 40 minutes each time).

I agree with the pp in that if he's still sleeping really well at night, let him do a longer catnap.  But, if you notice that he starts doing NWs, then cut back and put him to bed earlier.  Some LOs just need more sleep throughout their day!  Wish my DS would...

How are his nights?  If you would like, feel free to post your son's EASY routine...we can see if anything pops out.

[lauralee014]

Thanks for the help ladies.  Here what today looked like...

* Last night DF @ 10.  Woke @ 3:30 for feed & then right back to bed.
Woke @ 6:30 & played in crib
E- 7
A-7:15-7:30
S- 7:30-9
A- 9-10 play
E-10
A-10:10-10:30
S-10:30-12:15 (woke at 11, used PU/PD & went right back to sleep) but woke up cranky
A-12:15-12:30
E-12;30
A-12;45-1:30
S- 1:30-4

E- 4
A-4:15-4:40
S-4:40-5 or a little later
A-5-6:30 (grocery shopping & then bath) He was not cranky at all!
E-6:45- then bed

If you could give any suggestions please do.  He seems so tired that we can barely get to 1 1/2 hours of wake time.  He is especially tired in the mornings and that throws off the morning EASY.  Scared to tweak to a 4 hour routine.  Do you think he is ready since he's taking long naps already??

[~Sara~]

I'm so sorry to not have gotten back with you sooner on this!   How have things been the past couple of days?

Based upon the EAS routine you posted, have you tried to get him back to sleep at 6:30 (like until 7 or 7:30)?  It appears that it's not really his awake time, but an EW.  It looks like his first nap is basically acting like an extension of his night sleep, and I think if he can't stay awake longer than 1h in the morning, then this is something to really work on.  Does he always wake up at 6:30?  Has this been his normal wake time from day 1 (or did he shift to this at some point)?

Or, if you think he's really ready for a 6:30 wake up, you'll want to start getting him to stay awake longer after he's awake so that his first nap isn't UT which leads to an OT day by bedtime.

[lauralee014]

Thanks Sara.  You've given me some great suggestions and I really appreciate it!  Our whole family has been fighting the flu for the past few days including my lo, so his routine has been "off" to say the least!   He seems to be feeling a bit better today, so  I will try and get him back to sleep if he wakes early and extend his first wake time tomorrow.

[~Sara~]

Oh no...so sorry to hear that you're all under the weather.  It's the pits (Aaron and I both are getting over colds).  If it makes you feel better and takes some pressure off, when LOs aren't feeling well, they sometimes want to sleep more and/or need more mommy and daddy time to comfort them.

Aaron was unable to sleep laying down for a couple of days, so we would let him sleep on us for naps and some nights.

I just say that so that if the flu is making him sleepier or more "needy" for the next little bit, it's okay to APOP (accidental parenting on purpose) to see him through--understanding, though, that you might have to break the habit...I know Aaron is already getting a bit too comfortable falling asleep on me   Then once he's better, you can tackle other issues.

Here's hoping he feels well tomorrow