How to extend 45 minute naps?

[Diana1981]

My son is one month old and is on a 3 hour easy. It has been working very good so far but the 45 minutes monster has arrived. He usually has a 1.15 A time and it takes me about 20 to 30 minutes to get him to sleep. Im starting to believe that his A time is probably too much for his age especially when people are all over him.

From now on Im going to start the windown at 1 hour and see how it goes, but if the short naps persist what should I do? I usually try the shh/pat but it doesnt work all the time, or if it does work it doesnt last for long (maybe 20 extra mins)

Should I pick him up for the shh/pat? or do it while he is lying on his crib? for how long should I try to put him back to bed?  maybe I should try the w2s?

During the day I see he takes 2 short naps (45 min) and then one longer nap (2 to 3 hours). He sleeps fine during the night. On rare occasions he wakes up for long periods.


Im confused.....and need to sleep

[creations]

Hi Diana, sounds like you're doing GREAT!
Your LO is really very very young, starting good habits at this age is brilliant, try not to get too hung up on getting the EASY perfect though.  Sleep training takes weeks, it isn't something that happens over night.

Could you record a day's EAS with the actual times?
eg
WU 7.00
E 7.15
A 1hr 15
S 8.15 - 9.00

How many hours at night is he getting?

With the shush/pat.  Begin in arms and continue in the cot.  You would preferably put down when very drowsy (nodding eyes) and continue to shush/pat.  If you can do this and your LO is calm and goes to sleep then do so.  If though your LO gets upset then you would pick up and sooth in arms using shush/pat, this is continued for as long as necessary to calm LO and get him to the point of nodding.  This is when you would put him back in the cot and continue to shush/pat in the cot.
Please note, this is not the same as the PU/PD method which is intended for older babies (often prop removal) has a timed length of pick up and can involve lots of crying.
You can continue shush/pat until he is asleep and 20 mins beyond to get him into deep sleep.  You might find you don't need to do this much though.  You can also try the w2s method for naps by beginning to shush/pat again at the 30 min mark and continue through the transition until you see his body relax.
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=223809.0
(naps, option 1)

Many mummies shush/pat in arms all the way to sleep at this age and try sleep training more seriously later on.  You could aim for one nap per day in the cot and the others in arms/pram/carrier etc especially as you are likely to want to start getting out and about soon too.
Be kind to yourself, you are doing a great job xx

[Diana1981]

Hi

This is EASY routine I try to follow each day

8:30 wake up and feed
9:00 activity (usually soft music, take a little a show it to him, change diaper or clothes, vitamins, etc)
9:30 windown for nap
10:00 asleep for 45 minutes to an 1.15 if Im able to extend it
11:15ish feed
11:45 activity (diaper change, etc)
12:15 windown for nap (we do the 4 S ritual)
12:30 asleep for 2 or 2,5 hours (I wake him up when its time for his feed but he usually falls asleep for another 25 minutes after he is done)
2:30 feed
3:00 activity
4:00 windown for nap
4:15 asleep for 45 minutes to an hour if able to extend it
5:15 feed
5:30 activity
7:00ish cluster feed followd by bath time, swaddled, lullaby and BT
9:00ish 2nd cluster feed
11:00 dream feed

This is the routine we had yesterday. Last night he started a growth spurt period and woke up every 2 hours to feed. he was sucking his fingers. Today I have been trying to change the routine to include more feedings. He had a morning nap of 45 minutes, 1 afternoon nap of 2,5 hours. right now he is asleep and probably just for 45 mins.



At night he sleeps for about 11 hours. Only wakes up to feed. He used to wake for an hour or so but that ended when I started easy.

TIA

[creations]

Hi Diana
Your LO is now moving into the time when they need a little less sleep than a new born.
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=85134.0
15 - 18 hrs of sleep in a 24hr period is a rough guide to their needs.
Your LO appears to be getting between 14.5 (based on 11hr night, 2 x 45 min naps and 1 2hr nap) and 15.5 hrs (based on 11hr night and 1 x 1.5hr, 1x 2.5hr, 1 x 45min naps).  So, there is room for more nap sleep and ideally you'd have the nap sleep more evenly spread (3 x 1.5hr plus a CN of 45min for example).  You're still doing pretty well though!
It could be that his sleep has gone a bit off based on his changing needs or the growth spurt.
It could be that a small tweak to your routine might help even things up.

How about trying a slightly shorter second A time after the first nap?  Limiting it to 1hr rather than 1hr 15.  This may reduce the long nap slightly, allowing him to wake for his 2.30 feed and stay awake for the next full A.  The third nap could then extend based on him having had a slightly shorter second nap because the third nap appears UT.

As a separate point, the first nap of 45 min looks UT but you already have him over his ideal A time there so I wouldn't really want to push that just yet.  I'm half wondering if he is keeping that nap short knowing that he is going to get such a long luxurious second nap - it's just a hunch.

Meanwhile, if you are in need of some sleep yourself, may I suggest during the first nap you do only what is vital in terms of laundry and bottle sterilising if needed, leave everything else.  During the second nap as soon as he has gone off to sleep go directly to your bed, lay there for the full 2 hrs even if you don't sleep.  Laying still in a dark room with your eyes closed can do wonders for your sense of well being, and if you do manage to sleep then even better.  Doing this for a couple of days can really make a difference to how you feel. xx

[Diana1981]

Hello again

Will definitely try to cut down his second A time and see what happens. I was just able to extend his late afternoon nap with w2s! Went in exactly at the 30 minute mark, moved him a little bit and his little body relax and went back to sleep for another 45 minutes!!!

About me not having enough sleep well Im not really the type of person who will nap during the day. Somedays I can and somedays I just cant do it, especially with DS1 who is during summer vacation right now. Thankfully my family lives in the same city and I have people who can help me out when I do need to take a break or a long nap! Even my DH takes care of the kids when he sees me falling asleep at breakfast.

Im going to tweak my routine and let you know how it goes!

[Diana1981]

Hi there

Naps today have been horrible!!! He woke up at 8 and BF. at 9 sharp I started the windown. Fell asleep for like 10 min. Put him in his crib and woke up. I tried shh pat and didn't work. I held him while shh pat. Didn't work at all. He just didn't want to sleep. I had to leave so I left him with my mum. By the time I got back around 10:45 he was still up.  but he was so relaxed, not crying at all. I fed him and sat with him and tried the windown again and he slept for 45 min. I forgot to do w2s which had worked so wonderfully last night.     I tried to shh pat didn't work. Right now is asleep in my bed. I had to rocked him to sleep although he wasn't angry at all. The only time he got angry was because he didn't want to be in his room, he wanted to be in my arms.
He is also going through a growth spurt which probably is causing all this mess

Well that's parenthood......

[creations]

Oh dear   Sorry to hear you had a rough day!

As horrible as it may have been you are STILL doing brilliantly for only 5weeks old.  Keep positive and tomorrow is a new day. xx