Help: 7 month old with terrible naps!

[Bu9902]

My 7 month old also has bad sleep habits, specifically bad nap habits.  I am hoping you can help.

He has always been a terrible napped. 30 min max naps and for months only in my arms or in a baby carrier. Around 3 months he added stroller to the limited list of where he would nap. Around 4 months I started to get some positive results with crib napping, but only the first nap. That is where we remain, though sometimes I get the odd late afternoon nap in the crib as well, but always short. He was swaddled initially, but he is really mobile, so I had to wean him of it by 5 months.
Here is our "schedule":

 5-5:30 am: wake up (occasionally he makes it till 6am, but not often. I use to take him into bed at this point and he would sleep till 6:30, but after months of no overall improvements with this I have stopped)

6:30: bottle (I use to make him wait till 7am hoping it would eventually lead to a longer sleep in. It didn't so I started feeding him earlier)

7:30: solids

8:00: nap (this is his best one as he goes down with minimal help from me. Sometime just letting him hold/claw at my hand for a bit. He is usually asleep by 8:30)

9ish: wakes up. I am trying to leave him in the crib for longer, but he does not go back to sleep. Eventually I give up and put him on his play mat around 9:30.

10am: we leave for an activity. Usually a mommy and me fitness class. He use to take another 30 min nap on the way there, but lately he resists this. I feed him right before class.

10:30: bottle

11-12:30: activity

12:30: class ends and we walk home. Often he takes a cat nap in the stroller for 30 min we get home between 1-1:30 and he plays on his mat. If he is still sleeping when I am close to home I keep walking. If he is really tired he will sleep for one hour I. The stroller, but not if I go into the house. I have tried to transition him into the crib but it fails.

2:30 bottle, the "goes down" for nap.

3: by now he is showing sleep signs for sure, but it can take up to an hour to get him to sleep. If after an hour I still can get him to sleep by letting him hold my hand or offering a blanket (I have been trying to offer an alternative to my hand), then I hold him for this nap as I am getting desperate at this point. In my arms he can sometimes sleep for an hour. Regardless of how this nap played out, he wakes up around 5pm lately, but angry that he is awake

5pm: solids

5:30-6:30: play. On his mat or in parents arms. At 6 he is getting fussy so we put him in the jolly jumper.

6:30: bath, story, bottle, bed

7: he is in bed. He usually falls asleep with minimum introvert ion. We give hima soother and sometimes our hand. He lets the soother fall out when he is asleep, or spits it out and falls asleep on his own. Usually asleep by 7:30, though this week it has been more like 8pm.


Last piece of detail (hoping detail will = advice that works) - he is extremely active. I always have gotten comments on his activity. He use to sit in his bouncy chair a kick his feet endlessly, now he is on his tummy moving and rolling. Also, our rule with putting him down is we let him fuss alone, but when it become a full cry we go to him.

Hope you can help!



 

[katie80]

Hi there, (((hugs))) it can be really difficult to have a short napper.  How are his nights, does he sleep through to the morning when you put him down?  Would you say he's an independent sleeper, i.e. can fall to sleep on his own without your assistance?  Does he have a history of reflux or anything else to cause him discomfort?

I think part of the issue is that he might need you to sort of 'set' his body clock.  It seems like he naps at different times for differing amounts during the day, which can be normal, but by this age, you really want to be aiming for 2 solid naps (usually around 1.5-2hr each) and about a 12-13hr day.  Here are some sample routines for his age to take a look at... chronological EASY samples, 7-9 months

What do you think?

[Bu9902]

He usually sleeps through the night, but wakes early, anytime between 5:00-5:50am. So he gets barley 10 hours at night. (Though he has been an under sleeper from the beginning. He used to get only 9hrs total in a 24 hr cycle when he was smaller, he handled that ok in the early months though lately he seems more fussy, like he would really like to get more sleep).

He typically falls asleep on his own at night, though we sometimes go up to give him a soother or let him touch our hand. This week he is having a really hard time, so it has been more challenging then usual. He also typically falls asleep on his own for his 8 am nap, or with the same minimal help (not this week though). For all other naps, no he is not independent. He is VERY dependant in fact. I have to hold his while he goes to sleep or get him to sleep in the stroller. I try leaving him in the crib to get him to settle himself, but give up after an hour of fussing, playing, then fussing more. He takes a long time to go to sleep.

He does not have a history of reflux and is bottle fed on a a schedule, so hunger is likely not an issue although after looking at so e of the sample schedules I am wondering if I should be getting him the bottle faster rather than waiting for a set breakfast time...

I agree, I'd love to set his clock, but I really don't know how. Every day naps get away from me. Since he takes forever to fall asleep, then only sleeps for a short time I always end up just doing a dance where I rush to get him to sleep whenever it seems like he is tired. So you are right, he ends up sleeping at different times on different days. I don't know how to get ahead of that. Please help!

Also, in addition to the short naps I have the issue that he wants to be held for naps. I can get him to sleep longer when I hold him, but I keep that particular problem going. I try to hold back thinking he is so tired he WILL sleep if he is in the crib long enough, but he proves me wrong. He ends up so tired he is beside himself and needs to be held to calm, or I hold him anyway (or take him in the stroller) because it is later in the day and I need him to get some sleep. Where do I start in addressing these issues?

[katie80]

Hi, sorry it took me awhile to get back to this.

In order to set his sleep rhythms, you need to stick with a plan/routine for at least a week or two, which might mean you need to miss out on some outings.  Do you think if you fed him at the EW he might go back to sleep? I'd be prepared to use a bit of AP here and there to see if we can't set him a little bit.

If not, I'd work for something like this... (I've left out E/A for simplicity's sake)
Wake 5:30 am
Nap 1 8:30-10:00 am (do whatever you can to resettle him and let him sleep up to 2hr)
Nap 1 1:00-2:30 pm (again, resettle him however you can and let him sleep up to 2 hr)
BT 6/6:30 pm

If you can get him to nap for longer, obviously the 2nd nap would start more like 1:30 and BT might be able to be pushed back too. I'd aim for this for a good week and see if you can't set him a bit and then you could start pushing the day out so he's doing a 9 am and 1:30/2 pm nap with a better BT and wake-up.

I'd try to get him to sleep independently, but then do whatever you need to to resettle. Once you get him sleeping at consistent times, you can fully work on independent sleep.

What do you think?

[Bu9902]

When he is tired at 8am, do I hold him off till 8:30 or put him in his crib?
Also, if he is not able to nap for longer during the first nap what do I do when he then gets tired before 1pm? Do I hold him off? Also, should I allow a 5pm cat nap if he does not nap enough with the two other naps? Or push through till bed?
Thanks for your help.

[katie80]

When he is tired at 8am, do I hold him off till 8:30 or put him in his crib?

I'd work on getting him as close to 8:30 as possible (this being the time you want him asleep, not to just be putting him in the crib; so you can start your wind down around 8:10-15).  If he's just not going to make it, then put him down 15-20min earlier, but work on getting there. 

Also, if he is not able to nap for longer during the first nap what do I do when he then gets tired before 1pm? Do I hold him off?

Same thing, try to get him as close as possible, but you may have to pull back by 30min or so.  The key is to try to get him sleeping at the set times as much as you can, but obviously if he short naps in the morning, you need to pull back a little, so he's not really OT by the next time he sleeps.

Also, should I allow a 5pm cat nap if he does not nap enough with the two other naps? Or push through till bed?

Yes, you can offer a CN to get to BT if needed, but if he does 2 short naps earlier, the CN would come earlier than 5pm as well.  Keeping in mind a 12-13hr (max) day, you want him to ideally get more night sleep, so sometimes CNs don't help that.  But, seeing as he wakes so early, you can probably fit one in. 

[Bu9902]

Thank you sooooo much. It feels great to have a plan. Lately I had been feeling like every day I was panicking and doing something different.
I started today, putting him in the crib first then holding him when he wakes up. After reading other posts I am also putting more effort into the wind down.
Thanks again, fingers crossed.........

[katie80]

You're welcome! It's always nice to feel like you have a plan.

FX here too... keep us posted!

[Bu9902]

We have been doing operation 'set the clock' for six days now and we are defiantly on the right track. He is napping consistently at 8am and 1pm. I still have to hold him, but the initial period in the crib is getting longer (yesterday he did an hour on his own, today almost the same). The biggest thing is he seems happier in the evening and is going down much faster at bed time. I think we still have a lot of work to do, but I feel confident we are heading in the right direction. Thanks so much! I have told other moms with older, short napping (and inconsistent) babies about this approach as well.

[katie80]

Good update!  Thanks for sharing!