What to do when you simply can't break the 45 min barrier??

[deb]

Probably will, if that's any consolation.  

[ZacsMumme]

Probably will, if that's any consolation.

Agreed!

[Erin M]

I'd say your A time might be a touch too short - have you tried extending it gently?  My ds is right around the age of yours and just this week I've gotten a few naps longer than 45 minutes (1.5 hours - 2 perfect sleep cycles LOL, there's another barrier to overcome.  It's coincided with him finally being able to push to the 2 hour mark and a touch beyond.

[LettiesMum]

Hello all

Not been on in a while, we went on holiday and then DS was really poorly for a week but he's fighting fit and I'm determined to crack this nap thing.

He's gone past the 40min mark twice - the first time was before e got ill and he did just shy of 2hrs. The second was this week when I tried w2s and he woke at 50 instead.

It's driving me mad if .I'm honest, he's such q happy, placid baby that he doesn't cry so pupd isn't an option, he just wakes and lies there then after a while he will start chatting away to himself. If I apop he goes straight back to sleep so obviously needs the sleep.

I've pushed his A time to 2.5hrs but now he's taken to waking after 30 mins...

Thankfully he's still sleeping well at night but I need my life back

(written whilst apop'ing him on the bed as he gets distracted by the sounds etc downstairs now)

[Ambinsi]

Sorry to jump in here...I have no idea if this is true but someone once told me (or I read it somewhere) that the 45 min nap thing is a stage that many babies go through and a lot of times its a developmental thing. I struggled with it with my DD for what seemed like an eternity. I drove myself nuts messing with A times, etc. and when I finally just threw my hands up and gave up, she started to sleep longer, slowly but surely. It also got better when she dropped the third nap.

If you can mess with her EASY and get improvement, great!!! I'm just saying even when you are at your wits end, it might get better on its own with time. It did for me. (That said, I'm dreading this with my DS who is 2 months old and starting to settle into a routine.)

[ZacsMumme]

.I have no idea if this is true but someone once told me (or I read it somewhere) that the 45 min nap thing is a stage that many babies go through and a lot of times its a developmental thing.

Yup, to some extent a lot of short napping between 3-6months is developmental. We can tweak and help them to get through the sleep cycles, but sometimes you just have to roll with it until they outgrow it but offering more naps and watching cues.

[LettiesMum]

Thanks ladies...only a few more weeks to go before he's 6 months!

[ZacsMumme]

Zac came right about 6.5 so it may not happen on the day...but it will happen

[LettiesMum]

I know it will...he threw me some hope yesterday when he woke at 40 and I popped his dummy in and he went off again so he had 2hrs in his cot and it was bliss. And then he sttn last night. Today hasn't been so good but tomorrow is another day

[ZacsMumme]

Great day yesterday! And yes, you may have some good and bad ones while he is short napping....just remember it will pass!

[shazam791]

I have the same issue. My baby will NOT nap past 45 minutes. He is not overstimulated as far as I know and I do the 15-20 minute winddown.

I am following the 4 hour easy exactly as it is written by Tracey, but not giving the dream feed. He sleeps through the night without it, and my doctor recommended against it. He takes (4) 7 ounce bottles a day at 5 months. I have no trouble getting him to fall asleep swaddled and with no paci or other props. I can get him back to sleep with shush pat, but the second half of his nap is very disturbed sleep, he tosses his head back and forth and constantly awakes, so I stand there patting or holding my hand on him for 20 minutes before I leave.

So how can I get him to nap past 45 minutes if he can clearly fall asleep with no prop and sleep through the night?? Totally confused and frustrated. I have been doing the PU/PD and BW techniques for 2 months, and it is supposed to only take 3 days!!

[ZacsMumme]

45min naps are in part developmental between 3-6 months and some LOs just dont transition till ~6months. You can try to help them but really at the end of the day some just dont budge!

Have you tried W2S/HTTJ? Shazam791 feel free to start a new thread with your specific issue and post your EASY and that way you will get lots of eyes and support for your specific needs

[LettiesMum]

I am definitely agreeing with it being a developmental thing, I have made the mistake of comparing DS with DD who had great naps from 4months with pupd and ssh pat but she was a complete dummy addict whereas DS isn't in the slightest.

Shazam - I'd just do whatever you can to keep ot at bay and just wait for them to grow out of it.

I've noticed that the middle A time for us is the shortest, not sure why but think its because we generally go for a walk after his bottle and it tires him out, I'm lucky to get 90mins out of him some days which is handy as he gets a nap before the school run...he's a good boy really!

[LettiesMum]

Arggggh why is he now only doing 30 mins?

[Kymmi13]

Hi.  Just wanted to chime in with my own experience.  My LO was a 30-45min napper for the longest time.  I did everything I thought possible to try to get her to nap longer. 

I checked my sleep logs and saw that around 5months of age she gradually started to increase her naps.  There would be a nap here and there (once every 3-4 days) that would be an hour or 1.5.  It wasn't until she learned to roll onto her stomach that she was getting to sleep longer.  Once she learned to roll and then roll back (about 6 months of age), she was able to get more comfortable and sleep longer.  She is now 10 months and it is rare that she has a 30/45 min nap.  When she does, it's just one nap that is short and she makes up for it in her next nap.  She has been sttn since 4 months of age.

So, hang in there...it WILL get better.  I was out of my mind in misery and crying all the time because she definitely needed more sleep and I didn't know how to provide that.  In the end, TIME was all that really helped.

Sending you hugs and hope.    Tomorrow is just one day closer to the end of short naps!