5 month old - having trouble finding right A time, getting short naps

[NewMum79]

Hi,

I have a 5mo DD and Erin has recently been helping me on the night wakings board and identified that I probably needed to tweak our EASY and push the A times. NW aren't terrible and we have some good nights but I think Erin is right in that our EASY needs looking at as we are getting some short naps so here I am.

Our EASY looks something like this (exact times depend on wake up time) and DD is EBF apart from df:

Wake up 07.15
E 07.30
A currently putting in cot at 2hr 15 mark, keeping last 15-30 mins low key
S 09.30 - 10.30 (always sleeps the full hour and wakes babbling)
E 11.00 (milk followed by solids)
A was doing same A time but Erin thought might be too long after short nap so trying 2hr
S 12.30 - 13.45/14.00 (always wakes at 30 or 45 minute mark and needs help to resettle)
E 14.30
A
S 16.15 - 16.45 (catnap in car or buggy)
E 18.00 (split feed either side of bath, sometimes solids after this feed)
A bath and bedtime routine
E 18.30 (second half of milk feed)
S 19.00
E dreamfeed around 22.00/22.30 (bottle)
S
E 04.00 (small feed somewhere between 04.00 and 05.00)

My concern is the short naps as DD can be quite grumpy by bedtime and I wonder if they are somehow contributing to the NW (although NW is always around 02.30am).

I follow the same routine for morning and lunchtime naps (close curtains, sleeping bag, wind down lullaby music) and sometimes DD will put herself to sleep and sometimes (usually if OT) she needs a bit of shush pat but generally goes down within 5-10 minutes.

I am aware of the 3-2 transition but don't think she is quite ready yet, probably because she is short napping on the first 2 naps as much as anything!

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks!

[amayzie]

Hi hon! It looks like she needs that A time to be crept up some more at the start of the day. If you try pushing the A time up to closer to 2 hours 30 or so and see how the nap goes to start? If the first nap stretches out a little she may be able manage a longer A time after that. The 3-2 transition is a 'process' - you don't just start a day and decide a nap has to go!! You look at the signs and start moving towards that at around 6 months. Some bubs are before this and some are after. My guy was done and dusted the 3-2 by 6 months, others just starting it at that time. Have a read of this:

All about the 3-2 transition- 5/6 months

[NewMum79]

Thanks for the advice. So the last couple of days I have pushed the A time to 2hr15 before I put DD in her cot so she drops off to sleep around 2hr20 and I have been getting 1.5 hr morning nap with no help needed  and 1.5 hr lunchtime nap with a bit of shush pat needed at the 45 minute mark (I think today was at 40mins). DD wakes up mid nap happy but goes back to sleep with the shush pat in 10 mins or so. I am doing the same 2hr15 A time between the first and second nap, do I need to change it to avoid the mid nap wake up?

I understand that the 3-2 transition is a process and I think we have started as now that we are getting better naps I have noticed that the late afternoon catnap is reducing from 30 to nearer 20 minutes which is just enough to get through to BT at 7.

[NewMum79]

Now I am really confused. This morning DD woke early 06.40, I kept her up until just before 09.00 so she had A time of 2hr20. She was really fussing, rubbing her eyes and cranky before she went down for her nap and crashed out straight away but she has now woken at the 1hr15 mark and won't be resettled (although I didn't try very hard as I want her up at 10.30 anyway). Is this still UT? Do I need to push the A time more? I'm not sure I can cope with how miserable she will be prior to her nap!

[amayzie]

Keep the A time there for another day or 2 (or 3) to give her a chance to get used to it- then see if you need to increase it more. a nap of 1h 15 can still be UT, or a developmental thing.