3.5 mt old crying in his sleep at 45 min mark

[carolina_bug]

My 3.5 mt old DS is still waking at the 45 min mar for his naps and starting with fussing, then crying.  This started at the beginning of August and is still happening.  I tried going in to comfort him only to realize that he was still asleep.  If I tried to pick him up, it would only make him angrier.  I tried shhh/pat, but that would only calm him for 5-10 min, and then it would start again.  He is still swaddled, so I'm thinking that he may be done with that??

Here is his EASY:

Awake at 7

E   7-7:20
A   7:20-8:30 (wind down starts at around 8:20 and he goes right to sleep)
S   8:30-10:00 (Wakes at 45 min mark and fusses/cries on and off until 10:00)

E   10-10:20
A   10:20-11:30  (wind down starts at around 8:20 and he goes right to sleep)
S   11:30-1:00   (wakes at the 45 min mark and fusses/cries on and off until 1:00)

E   1:00-1:20
A   1:20-2:30  (wind down starts at around 8:20 and he goes right to sleep)
S   2:30-4:00  (wakes at the 45 min mark and fusses/cries on and off until 4:00)

E   4:00-4:20
A   4:20-5:30
S   5:30-6:15

A time from 6:16- 7:00 (bath and wind down for the night)

E at 7 and then is asleep by 7:30-8:00

DF at 10:00

I've tried extending his A time thinking that he's UT, but he still gets cranky around the 1.5 min mark.  When I tried extending it, the same thing happened.  Has anyone else experienced this???

[jessmum46]

Hi there,

45 minute naps are extremely common around this age - due in part to LOs changing the way they sleep and having to learn to transition through sleep cycles.  Have you had a read of this? Teaching Sleep to Babies of 3-5 months (and the 45 min nap) 

Your EASY looks great!  How are his nights?  If he stirs at 45 mins I would leave him to it unless he is doing an "I need you" cry.  If he's just fussing/mantra crying or making noises in his sleep that's fine - he's working out how to extend the sleep himself   If he needs you there are a few strategies you can try - How do I address habitual wakings? (wake-to-sleep and other methods)

HTH x

[carolina_bug]

Thanks so much for the tips.  At this point, I'm letting him mantra cry and he's doing it on/off after the 45 min mark, but waking up happy after 1.5 hours.  I guess that's working for now.  How long does this stage usually last?  He's been doing this for over 6 weeks now.

[jessmum46]

It can go on a while.........  If your naps start to shorten or you start getting more of the 45 min naps where he wakes fully and doesn't resettle, that might be a sign he's ready for a bit more A time.  Over the next few weeks you'll probably be looking to move towards a 4h EASY and for that he'll need about 2h A time.  You do it slowly in small steps so he doesn't get OT.  This might help you when you start heading in that direction - 3-4hr EASY Transition – In 5 Minute Increments

[carolina_bug]

I've been thinking that it's about time to start the 5 min increments to transition to the 4 hour routine.  Thanks.