30 min naps (5 month old)

[Mommyswan]

We've been doing EASY and PU/PD for a little over a week now.  The change has been incredible!  She's sleeping 12 hours at night with 2-3 wake ups (was sleeping 8 hrs with 8 wake ups) and is napping in her crib (was napping anywhere but the crib).  So I'm really thrilled with our progress.  But the one thing I've had no success with is extending 30 min naps.  I've tried going in her room at 20 minutes, I've tried PU/PD, we've added white noise to help her through, I've tried giving her her paci back, I've extended her A time, shortened her A time, nothing is working.  So I'm at the point now where I'm thinking I just need to accept the short naps.  The issue though is that she's on a 3 hour EASY because of these naps.  And even with the 3 hr easy, it's actually EASA (I take the Y out because I'm not finding much Y time in the 30 minutes lol).  I'd like to move her to 4 hours, but that's impossible, she needs the 3 naps, plus catnap to make it through the day.  She does wake up content.  I wouldn't say she's happy, but she isn't crying when she wakes up either.

Any ideas for things I haven't tried?  Should I just accept the short naps and hope she grows out of them?  Is this the same issue as the 45 min naps I read so much about, or is it likely something else?

[mamatolevi]

Hi there! Sorry things are a bit rough right now, we'll work through it! First of all, congrats on the great night sleep! It helps a lot when mommy is refreshed in the morning.
 

I've tried going in her room at 20 minutes, I've tried PU/PD, we've added white noise to help her through, I've tried giving her her paci back, I've extended her A time, shortened her A time, nothing is working.

My first question is about consistency - for how long are you trying each approach? A time tweaks can take a few days to work. Have you tries W2S or HTTJ?  http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64168.0
Could you post your routine in EAS format so we can get a closer look?
Try not to worry, and don't give up! You are doing a great job and we're here to help you along the way
xoxo
Nikki

[Mia's Mommy]

To your comment about "accepting short naps"...

Before reading BW, I was not aware of baby's sleep cycles and that it's very common that babies wake up 45-45 mins. Since I didn't know that, I just thought Mia's naps were over, so I'd pick her up and went about our day. After 15-20 mins, I could tell she would get tired and fussy, and didn't understand why since she just got done with a nap. After all those weeks of me getting her out of her crib after short naps, I think it really hindered her ability to self-soothe and continue napping.

I can completely sympathize with you. Sometimes I think it was less stressful to unknowingly accept the short naps. But, I can see how the difference in Mia's moods after short naps and long ones and in the long run, I'm going to continue to work on getting her to nap longer. And it's ALOT of work!!! I cry too, get discouraged, and plain exhausted but I try to remember our end goal is a well rested baby equals a happy baby.

I'm trying W2S right now. I find that it's been working just one nap of the day, but some days it doesn't work at all. And when it doesn't work, I'm doing ssh/pat. Mia is swaddled so I don't pat, I gently rub her chest while I ssh and I do not continue to ssh 5-10 mins past the jolts. It seems more distracting for her. So after she closes her eyes and looks serene, I stop rubbing, slow down on the ssh, and leave the room. Thankfully, Mia can make it thru the jolts on her own. BUT, it's alot of work and takes alot of commitment. In the end though, a happy baby is so worth all the sacrifice!!!