20 week old cries when I near his room for nap

[Chloevalentine]

Ok so when my lo is ready for a nap I pick him up and walk Arouvd with him And sing a lullabye to calm him then I proceed to walk upstairs to his room. He will start to cry as soon as I do so! It's crazy. As if he knows he's going for a nap and doesn't want to. Any suggestions?

[Layla]

Is he maybe not tired enough or overtired? How long is he awake for before you put him down for a nap? Some babies will do this as a way of letting out some energy before they fall asleep. Is it a mantra cry? My dd3 also starts to winge when i enter her room but as soon as i lay her down and leave, she stops and goes to sleep.

[Chloevalentine]

 I'm just following he's typical schedule. He goes down for his first nap 2 hrs after he wakes. And he usually will cry a little before he passes out but this is different.
He's 20 weeks old. When do u start to increase wake time?
I feel so bad that he gets so upset before a nap.

[Layla]

Yes, I would say adding more A may be needed. Usually the morning A is the shorter one and for some the harder one to extend. I used to take my LO out of the house when extending A's. At 20 weeks (around 5 months), we were actually working on dropping the catnap... you can start working towards 2.5hrs A but not all at once, especially if he's sensitive. I would say, try adding 10 mins every couple of days to see if that helps. How many naps is he taking at the moment and how long does he sleep for?

[Chloevalentine]

The first nap he takes 2 hrs after waking and usually sleeps about 2 hrs sometimes less hour and half. So that's usually Arouvd 9-11. Then the second nap is usually 2 and 1/2 hours after he wakes so 130 for 30 mins and then the next is around 430 for 30 min ( this one is hard to get him to take) them bed Around 7-730. He will sleep until 630-7 am.

[Chloevalentine]

The passed few days he's also waking up earlier. I hear him awake in his crib at 6-610 am when he usually gets up at 7-715. Last night he took a 30 min nap from 355-425 and I fed him at 7 and he was asleep by 720. The night before I fed him at 645 and he was asleep by 7  and is still waking up earlier.

[Chloevalentine]

... He fell asleep while we were listening to music this morning at 810 which was exactly 2 hrs from when I heard him awake cooing in crib

[Chloevalentine]

... And he's awake 1 hr 20 min nap. Is it normal for it to vary so much every day? One day it's 2 hrs one day it's 30 min or 1 he 20 min?  For a while every day was 2 hrs.

[Layla]

Hi, yes, it is normal for things to vary - I actually found before we went down to 2 naps (around 5-5.5months), things went to pot and we were doing some shocking 30 min naps one day and then nice long naps the next and then finally we settle of decent naps. As I mentioned earlier, I found taking my dd out of the house a great way to distract her... Also, try not to have him awake for too long before bedtime - 3hrs is probably too long for him, and sometimes that can lead to earlier wake ups.

He's growing and his sleep needs will change with that. I used to find letting my dd have a 2 hr nap (when we went to 2 naps) actually affected her ability to sleep longer in the afternoon so I would wake her 1.5hrs into the nap....1.5hr nap is restorative enough and if he has a short sleep cycle (40mins as opposed to 45mins), then 1hr 20mins could be his nap.

How was he when he woke? In good spirits?

Fingers crossed for a decent afternoon nap!

[Chloevalentine]

He ended up falling back asleep before I got into the room. I had to wake him around 1025!  I just see that his patterns are changing. His first feed is at 7 then the 11 bottle he's not really in the mood for i feel like. So is the 2.5 hours in between naps good? Should I extend awake time? How can I get him to take one longer nap instead or 2 30 min catnaps ? If he takes a 30 min nap at 430 he's awake by 5 and then in bed by 7 is that ok? Sometimes he doesn't take a nap that late and he's up about 3 hours until bed? Could he be wanting less feeds?

[Layla]

Be careful letting him have too long of a morning nap because that can reinforce the early wake ups. Think of the morning nap as extension of night sleep, so a morning nap too close to wake up time or if too long can cause early wake ups too. Just see how you go tomorrow morning.

2.5hrs is about average between naps. I found my dd was able to take a longer afternoon nap when I limited her morning nap to just 1.5hrs AND when I stretched her afternoon A to 3 hrs (which was when we dropped the catnap). However if you feel that this is too much for him for now, don't push and you can try again in a few weeks. If he is awake by 5 and is in bed by 7pm, that would be fine, in my opinion. 3 hrs before bedtime is probably a bit too long of a stretch for him. Our feeds at 5 months were around 4hrs apart and we cluster fed in the evening.

[Chloevalentine]

Ok so if he's up by 7 at 9 he will go down for first nap or should I try to push that to 2.5 hrs. That night not work for the first nap though but I'll try. Then I'll stir him to wake at 1 hr 30 min and then down for next nsp at 130. Maybe he'll sleep an hour and then would nap again at 530? That would be too late. Yikes this isn't going to work. How would I get just two naps from him?
Ps in the morning I sometimes hear him awake at 630 just cooing etc do I don't take him out of crib until 7 but technically isn't he been up since 630 making the 9 am 2.5 hrs after waking ?

[Layla]

Ok, so if he is only used to 2hrs A time in the morning, you don't push to 2.5hrs right away. You push slowly and add 10-15mins every couple of days.

At 5 months, the ideal routine is 2 long naps (1.5hrs) and a catnap and your day would look something like this:

7am - wake
9.30-11 - morning nap
1.30-3 - afternoon nap
5.30-6 - catnap
8pm - bedtime

He will be sleeping 3.5hrs at night and 11hrs at night, which is about right

When he is able to stretch to 3 hrs A time, he will then be on 2 naps and his day will look something like this:
7am - wake
10-11.30 - morning nap
2.30-4 - afternoon nap
7pm - bedtime (earlier bedtime because there is no more catnap)

So, if you hear him at 6.30am and his morning nap is at 9am, then you wouldn't need to stretch him in the morning and you just have to work on the afternoon A. If his afternoon A is only 2hrs at the moment (sorry can't remember what it is) and you're getting a short nap and he's waking up happy, then perhaps he needs more A. Or if its already at 2.5hrs A time, he may need even more A or he may need a shorter morning nap. I did both... stretched A to 3 hrs and made sure morning nap wasn't longer than 1.5hrs. Unfortunately there is no right or wrong answer, it is about working with your baby and seeing what works best. You can try not letting him sleep more than 1.5hrs and keeping his afternoon A at 2.5hrs to see if he will sleep longer in the pm. Try something for 3-4 days before seeing if its working or not.

Here is a link to the 3-2 nap transition, which will explain what he will probably be going through over the next couple of months.
All about the 3-2 transition- 5/6 months

[Chloevalentine]

Thank you so much !! Im going to try to extend wake times today I'm sure he can handle at least the afternoon. What if I extend a time to 3 hrs and still get the usual 30 min catnap ? Do I still increase next a time to 3 hrs? I winder if he can do the 1.5 hr nap because he will sleep past his 4 had feed. Guess I need to try and see. Thank you again

[Layla]

That link is only to explain the next big transition. Be careful stretching him too much - at 5 months, although some start the transition, most are still on 3 naps and as I mentioned earlier, if his first nap is good and the rest are not so good but his nights are not affected, it is something you may have to ride out and when he is able to handle 3hrs A time, his afternoon nap might improve too.

How did you go this morning with wake up time and morning nap?