15 WO suddenly down to 45 min naps

[aralmasri]

My 15 wo DS has shifted to 45 min or hour naps for for naps from the second morning nap up through his final cluster feed.  Morning nap takes a lot of resettling to get him to that 2 hour point, as well.  He's breast fed and been on EASY since birth and still copes well with the schedule, with the exception of the nap durations. 

He does show signs of being tired at about 90 minutes of being awake.  Gradually trying to extend the awake time more, but he gets very very grouchy when we do this.  Initially we could resettle him, now he's just wide awake.  I am trying to keep his feeding schedule on track at 3 hours, so we are adding in extra activity time which basically makes everything go haywire.  It's driving my nanny, husband and I crazy.  We just want to do what's right for him! 

Right now we are doing to the following schedule:

EA: 6am-7:30/7:45
S: 7:45 - 9:45

EA: 9:45 - 11:15ish
S: 11:15- 12:15
A:12:15 - 1pm

E:1pm - 1:15
A: 1:15 - 2
S: 2 - 2:45
A: 2:45 - 3:30

E: 3:30 - 3:45
A: 3:45 - 4:15
S: 4:15 - 5
A: 5:00 - 5:45

E: 5:45 - 6
A: 6:00 - 6:45
S: 7-8

E:8 (he stays asleep for this)
S:8:30

DF: between 10 and 11:30
Sleeps through till morning.

He seems to be very happy--no grouchiness or seeming overtiredness.  But perhaps we are making him cronically UT?  Would love some direction, feeling very out to sea at the moment!!

[Papaya]

Hi hun, sorry we missed this until now. Welcome to the boards!

The average awake time for this age is around 1hr45, and some LOs can do a little more, so I do think he is probably UT. What times do you have to settle the morning nap at? Are there any signs of discomfort?

After a long morning nap, I would increase the next A to 1hr45 - keep that last 15/20 mins nice and low-key to stretch the time out. Hold for 3 days, and if naps are still short, try increasing to 2 hours. As A times (and hopefully nap lengths ) increase, you'll be heading for a 3.5hr or 4hr EASY.

Short naps are also developmental at this age - it's common for LOs to have trouble transitioning from one sleep cycle to the next. Getting the A times right will help, but if he's still doing short naps you could try wake to sleep or holding through the jolts: How do I address habitual wakings? (wake-to-sleep and other methods)

If you do get a short nap, you will probably need to shorten the next A time a little to avoid OT for the next nap - so you may end up with a series of short naps and short A times, and something like EASAE(A)S. If a feed is due just before he needs another nap, just have a very short A time (nappy change etc) in between.

xx

[aralmasri]

Thank you sincerely for this!  I went back to the 3 hour EASY in desperation--i was starting to think the routine wasn't feeling enough like a routine.  It worked like a charm for 2 naps a day, so I am thinking the 3.5 hour EASY should do the trick.  Didn't know there was one!!

Thanks a million.  These forums are my saving grace!

[Papaya]

Glad to help! Here's a link about the 3-3.5-4hr transition which you might find helpful as well

Time to Transition - 3hr, 3.5hr or 4hr EASY