30 min nap nightmare!

[TM82]

My LO is 16 weeks old. He was on 3 hour easy at 6 weeks with 3 x 1 1/2 hour naps plus catnap. It changed overnight when he suddenly could only stay asleep for 30 mins. I've tried to resettle him when he wakes but it always fails. He cries when waking 50% of the time, sometimes for 40 mins until I feel I have no choice but to feed him 'early'. He will settle in his cot for first nap, but others can involve 30-40 mins of crying just to get a 30 min nap so I've resorted to getting in the car or putting him in the pram when he starts showing signs of tiredness as he then usually settles within 5 mins with very little crying. I know this is wrong but I don't know how else to survive the days on my own. He was down to one night waking but this has gone to 3+ over the last 2 weeks so he can't catch up on sleep at all at night. If I try not to feed him (bf), it can take over an hour to get him down again so I give in as he will then settle within 20 mins. One of our crazy days might look like this:
Wake 6.15
E 6.45/7
A
S 8.30-9
A
E 9.30/10
A
S 10.50-11.20 
A
E 12.30/1
A
S 1.30/2
A
S 3-3.30
E 4
A
Bath,pjs etc
E 6
Bed 6.30 down by 7.15pm

I know it's a mess. Any advice gratefully received. My gorgeous boy is exhausted, as am I.

[*Kara*]

Welcome!

Just a quick look but I suspect he is in an OT spiral hun... his first A time is too long.  He is just 4 months old so his A time should be in the range of 1 hr 45 - 2 hrs... I am seeing 2 hrs 15.  I would try putting him down at the 1 hr 45 min mark and see if he settles on his own.  It's likely that the NWing is related to the OT over the course of the day.

Also, there is a MASSIVE growth spurt at the 4 month mark... if he settles with a feed, do it for now until we can rule out the GS as the cause of the night feeding.

Re: the feeding times - I see a 3hr EASY still - he should be ready to head towards a 3.5/4 hr EASY now.  Note that some EBF babies never make it to 4 hrly feeds until after solids are established

Hope this helps

[TM82]

Thank you for your advice. Definitely an OT spiral as has been going on for such a long time now. Have been working on getting him down earlier first thing in the morning, but still only 30 mins at the moment.

Today he did his 30 mins, settling himself fairly easily but then couldn't be resettled to extend the nap. After trying for 30 mins I got him up but he lasted 15 mins before getting cranky again, so it was back to bed and he's now just finished his second 30 mins. Still messy, but at least it means I can start working towards a more consistent 3.5 hour eating pattern like you suggested instead of him crashing due to tiredness on an 'early' feed.

I've been putting him to bed earlier, by 6.10pm for the last 3 nights and he's gone to sleep independently within 5-15 mins, which is something to celebrate. Down to 2 NWs but he's now started waking earlier - anytime between 5.15 and 6. Not sure how to tackle this as I haven't been able to resettle him to sleep. Is this also just an OT issue which will only sort itself once his naps extend?? Seems I get him more sleep at the start of the night, only to lose it again first thing in the morning.

[*Kara*]

putting him to bed earlier, by 6.10pm for the last 3 nights and he's gone to sleep independently within 5-15 mins, which is something to celebrate. Down to 2 NWs but he's now started waking earlier - anytime between 5.15 and 6

I would get him up to start the day - very few babies will sleep 12 hours at night... anything over 10.5 is actually acceptable.  If you aren't liking the start time, you just have to shift the entire day out to get a later bedtime and corresponding later wake time.

I would hold your A time for the morning for a bit longer and see if that nap lengthens... I wonder if your attempting to get him back to sleep when he wakes is actually skewing his first A time a touch as he isn't doing a typical A time of activity - some of it is spent trying to go back to sleep

Hope this helps