New to EASY with catnap problem - 3 mo DS

[babyRmommy]

Hello!  I am new to EASY and this forum.  My DS has been on EASY for 4 days now.  He is 13 weeks old and I have 3.5hr EASY for him right now although we still need to work the details out for it to run smoothly.  He is BF, and a healthy and large baby.  He is quite active (he likes to move A LOT when he is awake – throwing arms and legs around, etc. I would be exhausted if I where him) and alert, happy throughout the day.  We recently (it’s been couple days) weaned him from rocking him to sleep with PUPD (tried for 2 days) and he’s been doing amazing!  Now PUPD takes less than 10 minutes and I can see him self settle in about a week of it goes well.  He sleeps 7:30PM – 6:30AM or so with one night feeding (no dreamfeed). 

His intended EASY looks like this:

E   6:30 AM
A   
S   8:30 AM
E   10:00 AM
A   
S   12:00 PM
E   1:30 PM
A   
S   3:30 PM
E   5:00 PM
A   
E   7:00 PM
S   7:30 PM
E   Anywhere between 12 – 3 AM

Our issue is catnaps (like many other people who come here).  He’s been sleeping somewhere around 35-45 minute naps since he was approximately 3 weeks.  We get 1.5 naps once in a while, probably one in 2-3 weeks.  I’ve been doing nap logs and trying to analyze when he takes long naps but have not found any consistency.  He’s only recently been placed on EASY so maybe routine will help his nap lengths but I wanted to ask everyone’s opinion on our situation!  So his wake time is 2 hr.  We used to put him to nap after 1.5 hr and that worked really well in terms of him being able to falls asleep until he hit 3 months and he seemed really alert at 1.5 hr and resisted going down.  So we chanced to 2 hr and it is easier to put him to sleep.  Past days I have been PUPD him to nap and time ranges between 1 – 30 minutes, but mostly less than 15 minutes.  He sometimes wakes up alert and happy and talks to himself until I find that he is awake, or wakes up crying (sometime whimper and sometimes all out heartbroken cry).  If he was consistently waking up crying or smiling, I would know whether I should up or down his wake time but I am really confused.  Sometimes he goes back to sleep with soothing (Rocking before and now PUPD) but won’t do it if he wakes up alert and smiling.  When I try putting him back to sleep he gets annoyed and cries and I do PUPD but wont work and it’s time for E again so I feed him, etc.  I am considering uping A time but isn’t 2 hr already on the high side for his age?  Is he OT or UT or both, depending on the situation?  His takes crappy naps and it adds upto maybe somewhere between 2-4 hrs a day, and he usually still does not have trouble during the night sleep.  He sleeps anywhere between 9.5-11 hrs during the night (which I know is less than average) but he wakes up between 6:00 – 6:30 AM happy and talking babbling until I go to get him.  Catnaps ruin EASY routine – Should I even try to sooth him back to sleep if he wakes up happy and ready to play?  Or just A till E and then put him to sleep about 2 hrs (his usually A time) since premature waking?  If he wakes up happy he usually won’t be sleepy again by 30 minute mark which I think is when Tracy recommends going back down for nap. 

I want to try W2S soon but I am waiting to settle in the EASY first before we try something else.  Wanted get ladies’ thoughts and suggested solutions…  Am I obsessing too much?  Does he need longer naps (books say he does)?  Do you recommend EASA routine if I am not able to extend naps? 

[Colin Macs Mom]

bumping up the list for you

[Ima shel Alon]

Hi there and welcome to BW,
As you said I would recommend W2S, it might help you, and if not then we ca think again. Give it a few days though.
My LO also wakes up sometimes after a 40min nap and is ready to play, and I just take him out and play with him. Sometimes he plays happily till next E, sometimes he asks to sleep again, and basically I look at his cues, and not the clock (just got a feedback about it earlier today, so I am reassured
Our EASY sometimes looks like this EASAE, and he is happy. I know by now to recognise when he woke up because he had enough, and when he woke up because he finished a cycle and his sleep messed up.
Maybe it's a good idea if in your nap journal you write what kind of A time you did before each nap and see if any activity makes him OS, which can be sometimes the cause for short naps.
It sounds like you are doing great!
HTH,
Noa.

[marie:)]

hi im also having a similar problem.. my LO is 11 weeks old and is a great sleeper at nite sleeping from 8/9 until 5/7am but nap times are a different story. i put her down after between an hour and an hour and a half of awake time..usually but not always she goes 2 sleep with little fussing but after 30-40 mins she wakens...she starts 2 cry a bit and wen i go in shes either smiling at me r crying and i give her the dummy and she closes her eyes and i leave the room again...within 5 mins shes crying again and so i go in and do the same thing again and this could b repeated 2-3 times or 10 times by which time its time 4 er nxt feed and the whole thing starts again...

i dont know wat i shud b doin wen she wakens shud i keep giving the dummy or try sumthing else? by the middle of the afternoon she is overtired and impossible 2 get 2 sleep then and i just dont know wat 2 do for the best plz help!

[Ima shel Alon]

Hi Marie,
Do you watch for her tired cues?
Did you try pat/shh to put her to sleep or to put her back to sleep instead of the paci?

[marie:)]

thanx 4 ur reply... yea i watch 4 her sleep cues as soon as she starts rubbing her eyes i put her down and she usually goes 2 sleep great its just getting her 2 stay asleep thats the problem itried pat/shh but it doesnt seem 2 help i was going 2 try w2s but i didnt know if she was too youg 2 try that?

[Ima shel Alon]

I don't think she is too young for W2S, give it a go, but take like a week to try it out and know if it works for you.
You could also try just shh, or just pat, maybe she'll fancy one more. My LO can't stand pat, but loves the shh.
Good luck and let us know how you're doing.

[babysadie]

babyRmommy:

My issue is EXACTLY the same as yours. I've got a 12 week little girl, also very large for her age. I've been doing EASY for five days (I knew I had to do something when she was only sleeping for 1hr in the day and getting SO overtired all she did was cry ) and it's been going well, but after her first morning nap all her naps are about 45mins. Sometimes she wakes up totally alert and sometimes she's crying. I've been trying to put her back down but she just starts to cry until she exhausts herself, which is usually time for her to feed.

Since we've started EASY I've noticed that she takes only 10mins to eat. I was assuming that it was because she's such a big girl...But now I am worried this poor sleep is due to improper eating. The thing is she rarely cries from hunger, just sucks her first and I stick my nipple in her mouth!

I was also thinking maybe she doesn't get enough activity time, since sometimes she'll yawn only 40minutes after she's woken up, but if I wait longer to get her send to bed I'm met with lots of crying and an overtired baby

What do you think?

[Ima shel Alon]

babysadie,
what happens when you put her on time for nap, i.e when you just see the yawn?

[babyRmommy]

Thanks everyone for responses! 

I do keep a nap log and keep track of how long the nap was, prior A time, time since feed, sleepy cues, activity type, etc.  I havent found much pattern yet but it's only been four days so I will see what happens.

I've actually had some success in extending his naps yesterday and day before!  We've been using PUPD since last Friday and have seen lots of progress in his ability to put himselfto sleep.  I tried before putting my hands on DS at the moment of jolt and try to keep him asleep, but havent worked.  I figured since he is a bit better at settling down I can give that a try.  So one day I went in at 30 minute mark waited for that jolt and the moment he stirred I put my arm over his body (hand on his chest) and another hand blocking his eyes for stimulation.  He calmed down right away and had serious of jolts and a little of mantra cry but eventually went back to sleep!  And he slept 1.5 hr more after that!

Yesterday first nap, I did the same but he woke during the jolt despite my hands so I did PUPD twice and he was off to dreamland again - slept 1 more hr.  Second nap, did the same, he woke during the jolt again and was crying out loud so I was going over to turn off my movement monitor but noticed that he was calming down.  So instead of PUPD, I just patshush (very gentle sound and light pat on his chest, he hates being propped up on his side) for 5 minutes and he slept another 1.75 hr!!!

I didnt have the same luck this morning, but he is down again for second nap and will try see if it works out!!

[Ima shel Alon]

Wow, that's great!
Don't mind this morning, sometimes there are harder times, but if in general things are better, that's awsome.
I would, however, be careful with the PU/PD, as it's recommended for older babies, from months old. Earlier than that they loss a lot of calories being picked up and put down again and again, but if you need to pick him up just twice, I think it's fine.
Good for you!

[babyRmommy]

No luck on the second nap either today
But both naps he woke up happy and alert and stayed happy till next E.  He is down for third nap now and woke up at 30 minute, patted back to sleep, woke up at 1 hr (due to noise, not sleep cycle I think..), patted back to sleep.  He's been sleeping 2 hr and 20 minutes in total so definitely making up for cat naps this morning! 

Even after catnaps, I find that DS does not get sleepy prior to his usual A time (2hr - 2hr15min).  Is this normal? 

Great to know about the calories!  I will pay attention to that. I usually have to pick up maybe 3-4 times at max each session, if not less, but definitely good to know!  Thank you thank you!

[babyRmommy]

While I have you ladies here... I got another question...

I follow 4S rituals that the book suggests.  Everything goes smoothly except for the "Sitting" part for us.  He definitely looks sleepy and yawns/rub eyes when we start the naptime routine but once I swaddle him and hold him upright, he either 1) acts wide awake looking around and his body is all stiff rather than relaxed, or 2) gets annoyed and starts kicking. I tried sitting in rocking chair for a bit as well but same thing.  I cannot seem to get him in that relaxed state so he can drift off to sleep right away.  

If I just put him in the crib, he will usually "talk", look around for 10-15 minutes during which I am applying pressure on his chest and shushing and then yawns/gets fussy/ and I probably do couple times of PUPD (or just gentle pat/shush if lucky) to calm him down and he drifts off to the dreamland.  Is this normal?  How do you get get your LO's relaxed and sleepy so that they are ready to go to sleep?!!?!?  I need ideas....

Our current naptime routine is:
Read book
Close drapes
Put on ocean waves sound
Change diaper humming lullaby
Swaddle
Sitting
Sleep

Also at what point would you leave your baby to drift off on his own? Now I gently pat/shush with my hands on his chest until he actually falls asleep..

[Ima shel Alon]

Even after catnaps, I find that DS does not get sleepy prior to his usual A time (2hr - 2hr15min).  Is this normal? 

Some babies are less sleppy than others. If he is happy and you see that the cat naps don't effect his NW and his eating habbits then I think you are fine. It does take time though, to know if your baby is a baby who needs less sleep than others, or has sleeping difficulties and needs some help from you.
I am happy to hear his third nap was good. No day like the other, isn't it so?

[Ima shel Alon]

Every baby is different and you ned to find out what works for your son.
If I would sitting for one second in a rocking chair with my LO instead of putting him right away for a nap, I can forget about it. I know how my day will look like then
But this is us, with a super spirited, touchy baby.
It might be that your routine is too long for him or that there is something in it that he doesn't really like. I had to drop the swaddle, he was too big for that, he is a very big baby, and then I realzed he can sleep also good without it. I am not saying that you shouldn't swaddle, that works for so many LO's.
Personally, I would change a nappy during A time, at the peak of A time I do it maybe 10 minutes after he finishes eating. This could be something that stimulates him a bit. You could also try and swaddle before reading a book and closing the drapes.
Did you try to just put him down and leave him be? It works for some babies, all goes down to their temperament I guess.
The ''talking'' you mentioned might be a self soothing sort of way, if he brings himself to sleep that way, that's great. If he does that and needs a bit of help after 15 minutes then I think it's also fine.
I don't know for how long you are doing the pat/shh - a few days, a few weeks? If you just started then it's ok to wait till he falls asleep, but within time you try to shorten the tme you are with him, so he become independent, and not turning the pat/shh to a prop.
HTH, lots of luck today! (Don't know where you are, but here it's morning )