30 minute naps and BT sleep for 11wo DD

[tinky]

Our 11 week old DD cannot seem to nap longer than 30 minutes.  I've held her and put her down after she's fallen asleep, I've done shh/pat with her on her side and stayed with her through the jolts, even at bedtime, she cannot seem to sleep longer than 30 minutes!  Her legs pull up and she wakes of crying.  I've tried to shh/pat her to get her back to sleep, but anything me or DH does seems to escalate her into full on crying mode.  The only exception to the 30 minute rule was her first nap, which I suspect was longer as an extension of the night sleep.

We are trying to keep her from BFing to sleep, and are on day 2.  Last night, we couldn't get her to sleep after 2 hours and the crying was so bad, I gave in and ended up BFing her to sleep and she slept for 4 hours. 

Here is our EAS for today:

Wake 5:35
E - 6:03
A - 6:20
S - 7:20
A - 8:10 (shh/pat)

E - 8:50
A - 9:04
S - 10:10
A - 10:40 (shh/pat)

E - 11:08
A - 11:33
S - 12:20-12:45 (shh/pat)
S - 1:05-1:37

E - 1:46
A - 2:06
S - 3:13-3:37 (shh/pat)
S - 4:05-4:48

E - 4:50
A - 5:10
S - 6:25-6:45

E - 7:08
Bedtime prep
S - 7:52-8:28

And here we are now, where she is crying inconsolably with DH.  Any help?

[jessmum46]

Hugs, the first few months can be really tough-going.

What I notice is that she has a pretty long day (over 14h - we usually aim for about 12h at this age) with some really long A times for her age. You probably know already but remember A time includes everything from eyes open to eyes closed including eating, and would typically be around 1h20-30 at 3 months old. And probably shorter after a short nap.  The long day and long A times may well be making her overtired which could be why she can't settle.

What happens if you just feed and put back down at 5.30am? I'd treat it like a night waking and aim to start the day nearer to 7am.

Is there anything else going on eg reflux or digestive issues which could be making her uncomfortable and leading to unsettled sleep?

[tinky]

Thanks, Katherine! We will try treating future EWs as night feedings and see if that helps.

DO gave us a surprising 8 hours last night! After posting, she continued screaming until 9:30, at which point I fed her, changed her, swaddled her, and left her in her crib while I went to grab something. Before I went back in, DR stopped me because she was not fidgeting or fussing. Sure enough, she dropped off to sleep!

Today, however, has been one short nap and fighting sleep. We try to be mindful of A times send start winding down at first sleep cue, but she won't fall asleep without a fight. I tried leaving her to settle on her own for the last nap and am currently am holding an OK sleeping baby who keeps jolting awake when I put her down (tried 5 or 6 times!)  Figure I'm going to APOP so she can catch up on sleep and try again next time, what do you think?

Btw, her A before sleeping in my arms was 2 hrs 24 min. There was just no settling her!

[jessmum46]

Great that you got 8h (though sorry it was after a big scream-fest) - you must feel good for the sleep?

Yes once LO is really overtired sometimes there's nothing to do but APOP and try again the next day.  I always used to work hardest at the earlier naps and if it had all gone to pot by mid afternoon I'd APOP (car, stroller, bouncy chair, sling - tried to vary it a bit) and start again the next morning. 

With sleep cues it is possible that by the time you're seeing fussing or yawning the sleep window is already closing.  Do you have a winddown routine?  What do you do/how long does it take? 

[tinky]

It's strange, you may have seen my other post but now I'm worried about her napping too much. She didn't get to bed until 1 am last night and slept until 6am, which I treated as a NW. I woke her at 9 and started the day. Since then, she has taken 2 two hour naps,both with 1 hr A time and just went down for a third nap with 1 hr A. She's gone down really easily for all three naps. I'm now worried that she's sleeping too much during the day and we will have another night time disaster like last night.

I tried extending her last A time but she kept yawning and tugging her ear, so I put her down for a nap. The first two naps, she settled herself down and fell asleep with no help, but this one she needed help. I suspect it's because she was approaching OK land as a result of me trying to keep her up.

I've started a more consistent wind down today which involves singing and sway dancing, swaddle, then holding her for a few minutes before putting her down. I'm also using new white noise. All of this seems to be working great, but like I said before, getting her to sleep last night was so hard, and I'm worried it'll happen again tonight.

[jessmum46]

I guess those long naps today were a catch up from a short broken night.  I wouldn't worry too much unless it becomes a pattern.  Good luck for tonight x

[tinky]

Thanks!  Let's hope she sleeps tonight, and doesn't fight us for hours on end!

[jessmum46]

How was it? X

[tinky]

A little bit of crying, not more than 40 minutes on and off.  We would calm her down, put her down, and she'd cry.  But 40 minutes is a heck of a lot better than the many hours of the night before.  And then just one night waking to eat!  She slept until 7am, and is actual in the middle of a really good nap now!

Day 5 of BW and it looks like it's working!!! 

[jessmum46]

Yay