Hello Ladies,
I desperately need your opinion on this.
My 18 week old DS has been having 30 minute naps since he was 3 months old. First, it was just some of his naps, now all naps are 30 mins.
I've tried different A times, low-key wind downs, and have had some luck extending the naps by helping him "transition" using shush/pat (more like shush/hold for us). But for the past week, DS just wakes up, sometimes with an ear-piercing wail, and nothing will get him back to sleep.
During the wind-down routine, I used to use a swing to get him drowsy, but thanks to some really good advice here
Pre-Nap Wind-Down Routine Help, I don't use the swing anymore, and now I can put him down fully awake in his crib, and after some thumb-sucking and mantra cries, he falls asleep.
However, since recently he doesn't stay asleep for longer than 30 minutes, I've been transferring him from his crib to swing when he wakes up. This way he falls back asleep and he sleeps for 1h30 to 2 hours.
Should I continue on like this? I know it's a major prop, but I am prioritizing getting some sleep in the boy, and hoping to establish a routine, where his body will become accustomed to the 3 large naps a day (even though they all finish in the swing). One day *sigh* he will no longer wake up at 30 min and he will just have 3 naps in the crib?
Or is it better to wean the swing even though his sleep will only be 30 min per nap? This way, my EASY routine will be out the window, he will probably need more than 3 naps, but I will not be using a prop. Perhaps his body will take longer naps when ready?
Today, I did PU/PD after he woke at 30 min, and it was absolutely horrible. Felt like controlled CIO anyway, he was so wound up and fell asleep from exhaustion after 40 minutes of it. Would rather not do this, since I don't know how it's supposed to extend naps.
Please let me know what you think.