A time help - please help before I go mad!!!

[jackman]

I think most people on the board say to give 2-3 days until you increase A times. Since my last post with you about A times, my DS is now up to 1hr 50min and has been like this for the last 2 days. I think I'm going to keep him here for a bit until I see more signs that he can go longer. So far increasing A times has helped with naps. He has been sleeping like a rock! He hasn't woken after 45 min and is sleeping anywhere from 1hr 30 min to 2hrs. I have also implemented Deb's suggestion of giving him a little snack after 1hr 30min which has seemed to help with the naps too.

BTW, I have also noticed that the sleepy cues are harder to read. Perhaps it is because our LOs are becoming more aware of their surroundings and don't want to miss anything? I would just keep trying 5-10 min at a time for a few days at a time and if it doesn't work scale back the next day.

[sianie]

Thanks, good advice!

DS seems to be on around 1hr 40 A time at the mo......you're right it does make a big difference to naps.

So is your DS having 2 or 3 naps a day? Does he sleep well when you're out & about? DS used to sleep like a log in his buggy/car but has now gone down the 45min nap route!    Much harder to re-settle him than when we're at home! 

[jackman]

I'm having the same prob when we are out and about, DS doesn't sleep well and is difficult to resettle at home. He is taking 3 naps and the third seems shorter than the first two.

[Seren mum]

Hi Sianie and Jackman

Hope you don't mind me jumping into this discussion as I'm facing similar issues with my 15week dd.  Just wanted to ask a few questions.  My dd sometimes sleeps longer than 2 hours for first nap of the day - one of you said that you don't let your lo sleep longer than 2 hours.  Should I wake my dd after two hour nap?  If so, what's the reason behind this?

Also wanted to know what you guys do when your naps are short and you can't resettle your lo?  Do you just get them up and start their A time from then?  ie (say they awake 1 hour early which is 1 hour before next feed time, do you just wait until their normal feed time, then feed them and then keep them up another 1/2 hour which means a total of 1 1/2 hours of A time from their first awake? hope that makes sense to you)

When you guys adjust A time, do you just keep them awake for say 5-10mins extra past when they start showing tired signs?  Like you, my dd's tired signs are quite hard to read, but she does start fussing at about 1 1/4 hours, but I'm trying to keep her up extra 10mins as trying to get to 1 1/2 A time.  I really hope this isn't going to lead to OT though but not sure how else to extend A time??

Just wanted to let you know that my dd didn't sleep longer that 45mins from about 6 weeks until the last two weeks.  I tried shush/pat and PU/PD, but neither worked.  What did seem to work was trying the extra feed just before naps, making her room much darker and also adjusting her A time. 

[sianie]

Hi there!

Happy for you to jump in!  Will try & answer your Q's best I can ,I'm sure Jackman will chip in too!

I don't let DS sleep for more than 2 hrs, theory behind this is that too much daytime sleep can rob nightime sleep so Tracy recommends naps of no more than 2hrs, tho of course you need to be your own judge on this i.e. if your LO hasn't had much sleep that day & i v. tired you could go over 2hrs.

When I can't settle DS, I get him up and start A time from then (although it will be shorter than normal A time as they will still be tired), so for example DS's usual A time at the mo is 1hr 40mins-ish, it might be an hr or so after a short nap. EASY then can become EASAE if that makes sense??

I would probably adjust A time 5 to 10 mins at a time & see how that goes, I've found even 5 mins can make a difference.

I've not founs ssh pat or PU/PD to work on extending naps.....HTTJ seems to work best for me along with getting A time right...easier said than done though!!

[Seren mum]

Thanks Sianie!  I understand about the max 2 hour nap now.

I guess I'm also doing a lot of EASAE too!  It's hard though if dd is doing short naps all day as you feel like you never get your routine on track at all and sometimes I am just feeding her and then she is due for a nap straight away! 

I'm going to try and adjust her A time 5 mins over the next few days.
Thanks for your advice.

[jackman]

I agree with all of Sianie's suggestions and explanations. Naps longer than 2 hrs will rob the night sleep (I've experienced it before).

If DS sleeps less than 1hr 30min, I use both shush pat and PU/PD. The other thing I have found that really helps is to cover my DS eyes with a cloth cap to shut out any stimulation. Otherwise, he will be awake and trying to get him back to sleep is impossible. I will try to extend DS' nap at least once or twice before I give up. Once DS is up, I maintain the E time (i.e. if last E time was 11am and DS wakes up early from nap, next E time is 2:30pm) and A time starts once he wakes. Sometimes DS will eat very close to S time and if this happens, I will at least keep him up 5 min so he still distinguishes a difference between E and A. Hope that is clear.

One last question Seren Mum, are you swaddling? I can't remember if Sianie swaddles her lo, but I do. I have found that this helps a TON!!!!

HTH

[Seren mum]

Thanks Jackman.  Yes, do swaddle and that does help a lot.

When you said that "Sometimes DS will eat very close to S time and if this happens, I will at least keep him up 5 min so he still distinguishes a difference between E and A. Hope that is clear. "  YEs, very clear.  This was my worry as some days when naps are short, I feel like it ends up that I feed her just before he naps.  But if I make sure it's not feeding to sleep then is this ok?

[jackman]

Exactly. Don't feed to sleep (at least that is what Tracy and the 'experts' online have stated). 

[sianie]

DS was swaddled early on but he sleeps on his tummy for naps due to his reflux so he is in a baby sleeping bag now.

Bit blurry today...DD woke up at 3am having been sick everywhere, bless her! This then woke DS up....DH is away on business so have now got 2 LO's with a sickness bug 

Hope you're having better days!

[jackman]

Sorry to hear Sianie. Sending you support.....

[Seren mum]

oh what a pain Sianie.  Hope the day goes better for you.

We're off on a 24 hour flight from NZ to UK on Saturday, so are a bit nervous!  hoping dd sleeps all the way! 

[sianie]

Thanks ladies 

Think DD has molars coming through as she was up again at 5.30am this morning 

Have a good trip Seren's Mum...UK is lovely this time of year (as long as it doesn't rain!!) 

[sianie]

Hi!

Just checking in....how are things going??

Our naps have been a bit hit & miss this week due to illness, teeth & having visitors. Hoping to get back on track a bit next week! 

DD still has molars coming through which is making her very grisly & unsettled at night....not great when DS still doesn't seem to do more than 4/5 hr stretches (tho he has just gone through a GS, so hoping this will start to improve!!). 

[jackman]

Hi Sianie! We just went through a GS too and the nights haven't been so successful in terms of sleep. Lots of NW similar to when I used to DF. I hope it is due to the GS, but at this point I'm not sure. Naps are also hit and miss for us. Perhaps that is just how things are??? How are you doing in terms of moving to a 4hr EASY? Seems that DS can tolerate almost 2 hours of A time, but can't go 4 hrs until E.

I still have days where I feel like a failure because things are never the same one day to the next. I'm soooo tired lately!!!