Questions about transitioning to 4 hour EASY

[mom2twocuties]

I am thinking that my 15 week old DS is ready to start transitioning to at least a 3.5 hour EASY routine, but I am not sure how to start doing this for several reasons. First of all, he has been short napping for weeks and for the last week and a half to 2 weeks has been resisting/screaming if I try and extend his naps at all. He typically takes a 1.5 hour first nap but then only naps for 45 minutes for each nap after that. I am thinking that if I got him down to 3 naps a day, he might actually take two 1.5 hour naps and an evening catnap which would be more sleep than he currently gets in a day. He wakes up from his naps cranky and still tired (except for the first nap) so I think he needs longer naps. I am not sure how to transition to 3 naps when he takes such short naps and then is ready to nap again about an hour after he wakes up. Also, I think he is ready to extend his feeding times a little but it is hard for me to tell because he has gotten SO distracted while eating lately, even when in a darkened, quiet room. To make matters more complicated, he has also started waking up at least 3 times a night (used to be just once or twice to feed) because he has learned to roll (while swaddled) and wakes up when he gets "stuck" against the crib slats. Initially, I thought he was hungry, and he will eat each time but only one feeding is a true "hunger" feeding. The others are just "using Mom as a pacifier" feedings so he can go back to sleep. He does not fall asleep independently, and we are working on this using the shush-pat method. Any advice on making this transition, or whether we should make this transition yet, would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Ima shel Alon]

Could you post your day in an EASY format? He sounds OT to me and is probably ready for some more A.
Have a look here: Average A times and "Is my baby ready to increase A time?"
When you will get to the right A that will give you good naps - 1.5-2h long - then that would be your cycle. For each baby it's different, some do 3.5h cycles, some 3:45, 3:50, so you'd need to try some things out to see what works for him.
You can read more about the transition here: Time to Transition - 3hr, 3.5hr or 4hr EASY

I assume that the NW are due to a not suitable A during the day and that should go away once your A and naps are longer. How does that pat/shh working for you?

[mom2twocuties]

Right now his EASY looks something like this:

E-7ish
A-7-8:30
S-8:45 until 10ish
E-10
A-10-11:30
S-11:45 usually only 45 minute nap despite attempts to extend it
E-1
A-1-2 (usually he starts getting exhausted about this time due to previous short nap and crying while nap trying to be extended)
S-2 usually only 45 minute nap despite attempts to extend it
E-4
A-4-4:45 (usually he starts getting exhausted about this time due to previous short nap and crying while nap trying to be extended)
S-5 for 45 minute catnap
E-between 6:30 and 7
A-7-7:30
S-to bed, usually asleep by 8

Right now his NW are around 10:45, 2, 4, and 6. He is only hungry for usually 1 or 2 of the wakings but has always rolled up against the crib slats and doesn't know how to roll back the other way. I am sure he is OT especially now that he is waking up so much at night, but when I have tried to increase his A times, especially after his short naps, he just melts down and continues to take short naps. He doesn't do great with the pat/shh especially at night. I never had to use it at night before because the only time he would wake up is when he was hungry, so he gets REALLY upset at night. During the day, we use it to get him to sleep and it is getting better as it now takes less than 30 minutes to get him to nap as opposed to the hour it used to take when we were his props. I am pretty sure his NW are developmental not due to unsuitable A time, but I don't know how to tell. I will read the articles recommended. Thanks.

[Ima shel Alon]

He sounds OT to me

I meant UT, of course...

From looking at your A he is UT. I know that you think he is OT but that is because from the middle of the day on he is, because he didn't have a restorative sleep in the morning to keep him going.
When you increase A you do it slowly so there is usually no problem with OT. Sure, you might get a couple of days of OT naps (30-35min), but that should pass soon enough.
You up the A by 10-15min every 3-4 days and during those days you'd need to be consistent with the A, so perhaps try and start on the weekend when you have help around to keep him awake, deal with OT perhaps and help settling. You would also need to try and stay at home for those days.
IMO his NW are not developmental, he is simply not getting enough awake time during the day. Most babies his age are doing aroun 1:45-2h A time, so he should be doing better once he is on an higher A.

[mom2twocuties]

Thanks for the advice. When he does take short naps as we are adjusting his schedule, would I still try and keep a longer A time or put him down sooner since he didn't get the restorative sleep? His A time in the morning is always shorter because I have been watching his tired clues and he seems to only be able to go a shorter time before a nap. As the day progresses, he seems to be able to handle longer A times (when he actually gets a decent nap, that is). Is that normal?

[Ima shel Alon]

Yes, it's normal, my DS was the same.
I do think that you can up the first A a little bit to get a 1.5h nap out of him.
With shortening the A or leaving it the same, it changes form baby to baby. Some babies (like mine was) need a full A even after a short nap and some need their A shortened by 10-15min, you'd just need to try and see what works better for your LO.