IS there any hope that 40 minute naps will lenghthen naturally?

[suzanasam]

Hi everyone...
I am so sick and tired of 40 minute naps!!
I can extend them a little bit by intervention using Pu/pdown, but for every nap I have to do this. and it's driving me crazy!!!
w2S doesn't work so well but maybe i'm it doing wrong.
Is there any hope??

[tanyanz]

Hi

Sorry to hear you are battling 40min naps, can I suggest you post some more detail, as then you should get some good help.

LO's age, snap shot of your EASY, waking up grumpy or happy, etc...

I know with my LO getting the A time right can be a big part of the equation. 

Keep at it, you are doing a great job, each day you get through is one less nap day! 

[shinysarah]

I would also add that sometimes they simply start doing it themselves when they're ready...My DS1 didn't know how to nap but DS2 was much better naturally.

[mokey_cat]

What age is you LO?  DD1 short napped from 9 weeks to 5 months (it drove me crazy!!) then she started lengthening them naturally.  But I had to get the right A time!!  Too short and it would be a 40 min UT nap and too long we would get a 30 min OT nap.  Another thing that helped was introducing white noise - have you tried that?

[suzanasam]

Hello Ladies,
My DS is 15 weeks, on a 3 hour EASY. He has  been a 40 minute napper since 6 weeks old, and last week, I decided to do Pu/Pd and we are on day 8 doing this method. He quickly learned to doze off in the crib by himself without me rocking him to sleep anymore (yipeee!!). The problem is he cannot stay asleep for 1.5 hours. Also, his gets into light sleep early morning from 4-7am and during that time for about every hour I have to do pu/pd, and he gets progressively cranky.
And I do have white noise on but mostly in the beginning of his naps, and not so much at night. I guess I may have a problem with the amount of A time, but it's so hard to be anal about it, and he's so sleepy 1 hr from awake time

Anyhow, a sample EASY for him is:

A: anytime from 6.20-7
E: anytime from 6.50-7.10 depending on when he woke up
A
S:8:10-8.45. then PU/PD, some shh, words of comfort, touching his chest for the next 40 minutes. Can't seem to get into deep sleep for the next cycle
E 9.50
A
S:11.10-11.45, then same as above
A.12 35
E. 12.50
A
S anytime between 1.50-2.10 till 2.30 or2.50, then the same battle till 3.40
E: 4
A
S (CN) 4.50-530
A
E 6
A
S 7 or 7.10
DF 10.30
 
In the process of eliminating his 1.40am wake up. Thanks for your replies!

[suzanasam]

Another question.
At what point do you start transitioning to 3.5 or 4 hr EASY?
My son will be 4 on Dec 15 and he weighs about 12 pounds. Thanks!

[alicia+3]

I have a friend with a one year old who STILL does 40 minute naps so I wouldnt leave it and hope it will get better.
PU/PD is for older babies from what I have read. My my LO if I pick him up he wakes up even more. Have you tried shhh/pat and stroking his forehead whilst holding his legs down? I would hover outside his room from about 30 mins waiting for him to stir and then would go in there and try and help him back to sleep without waking fully.

[mokey_cat]

Do you swaddle?  Have you tried helping him get through the 40 minute jolts.  When my DD short napped, I would go in to her room at around 35 minutes and shhpat her when she started to stir until she was back inher deep sleep phase.  It really helped avoid OT for us so was worth it for a few weeks until she learned to transition between sleep phases herself.

I would also try shortening those A times a bit, especially if he is not sleeping well during the day to avoid OT.  At 3 months, most babies can manage 1hour 20-30 minutes.  For my DD, the first A time was alsways short, so you could try putting him down for a nap after 1hour 30 A time.  If you are unable to extend a nap, I would have a relatively low key A time and try for another nap after a short A time to avoid OT.

But i would give helping him through the jolts a go if you have not already.

[bluegreenorange]

Mokey_cat and others that went in early to Shh/pat; did you ever have a problem with your baby seeing you and waking up more?  Mine gives me this look like "Oh, what are you doing here?" and rather than falling back to sleep he still wakes up.  Because of that it seemed that going in early was not successful for us.  But I want it to work.

[suzanasam]

I did PU/PD and on day 2, I saw massive improvements.  Shh/patt ceased too work for past month and I guess I know my baby enough to know he can handle Pu/Pd and showing signs of settling by himself, and I gave him lots of cuddles too in the day during A time. I have since stopped rocking him. But he wakes up at 30/40 min mark and his eyes just pop open and cannot resettle.

I also swaddle, and LO is so wriggly that his arms escape and awake him. So I am forever searching for a new swaddling method.
I will try better A time, but less or short, he still wakes up half way thru his nap.

[carolina_bug]

Hi all.  My LO was a cat napper as well, but grew out of it naturally.  I tried doing the wake to sleep, didn't work, but it may for you.

I think a big thing is getting the A time right.  I think monkey_cat has experienced the same thing I have.  If A time is too short, 40 min nap, if it's too long, she's OT and only sleeps about 30 min.  It's all trial and error!

If your LO is wriggling out of the swaddle every time, then it may be time to get him hands free!  I found that once my LO was out, she was able to suck her hand and soothe herself.  We had a couple of rough days/nights because she wasn't used to it, but after those two days, she was much happier with her arms out.

I found that after about 4 mts, the shhh/pat method had the opposite effect and made her angry. 

As for your baby "seeing you and waking up more" bluegreenorange:  the trick is to not make eye contact.  If you make eye contact, this engages them and causes stimulation, which will make them more alert.  I've read so many books I can't remember where I read this, but I wrote it down and it made total sense.  Go in to reassure your LO that you are there, and do the shh/pat if that works for your LO, but don't make eye contact.

Hope this helps!  **hugs!**

[tanyanz]

Hi

Definitely agree getting A time right is a major part of the battle, it is hard work, but really worth it.
If he is waking up crying then I would say he is still tired & needs to some more sleep.  If he is trying to resettle but struggles then likely he is OT, due to too long up.  At this age, short naps tend to by LO's nature or because of OT/OS.

What are his sleepy cues & what point does he show these?  Eg. yawns at 1hr 10min from morning wake up.

If you put him down on his sleepy cues, does he take 40mins & wake happy or unhappy?  Are you able to extend the nap often or rarely?
If he wakes happy, does he stay that way or does he wake grumpy & stay that way?  Trying to work out if he is a short napper by nature.

At 15wks we where doing 1hr 25mins of A time, so in bed at the 1hr 15min mark from wake up, 10 mins to settle. 
Swaddling & white noise can really help LO to stay asleep so long as the A time is right.
Holding thru the jolts can also be very effective at this age too, but again only if A time is right.

Hope things improve soon.

[mokey_cat]

I think if you have tried different A times and none are working, then it could be a case of riding these short naps out until he learns to transition himself  .  It is a developmental stage that a lot of LOs go through and my DD started taking longer (unassisted) naps at around 4.5 months and napped really well at 5 months so you are not too far from it. 

Have you tried a miracle blanket for swaddling?  It stopped my DD escaping!!

It did not matter what A times DD did during these months, she would still short nap but it made a difference to how easy it was to extend.  If she was UT, she would wake and look at me and smile and there was no chance I could get her back to sleep but if she was more tired I could shhpat her back to sleep.  Then when she 'learned' to nap longer at 4.5 months, the A times were crucial to get a long nap out of her.

Bluegreenorange - I tried to cover DDs eyes with my hand so she could not see me but if she did make eye contact she would not go back to sleep.  Do you have black out blinds?  We eventually got them snd it really helped.  I found that she would only really do this if she was UT though so maybe if you tried a slightly longer A time, it might help 

[bluegreenorange]

Oh this all makes so much sense but is so overwhelming!!!  i have noticed that some naps are easier to extend... now I'm going to have to think about the A times before them.

... waiting for 5 months.

[mokey_cat]

Oh this all makes so much sense but is so overwhelming!!!  i have noticed that some naps are easier to extend... now I'm going to have to think about the A times before them.

Oh I know its so much to think about.  I am really hoping DD2 is not a chronic short napper because I really have not got time to be extending naps this time round with my 2yo running riot    To give you some light at the end of the tunnel - my DD1 is the BEST napper/sleeper now.  Every day she still sleeps 2 hours which I have to wake her from.  From 7 months until 15 months she napped twice at the same time every day without fail then happily dropped to 1 nap and still naps the same times as she did at 15 months  .  So all these napping issues are just phases and they will get better I promise