Author Topic: Please help! 3-2 transition for 6mo old doing 30 min naps..  (Read 789 times)

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Offline Cathykamara

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Please help! 3-2 transition for 6mo old doing 30 min naps..
« on: January 10, 2015, 09:03:51 am »
Hello
My lg is 7 months old but almost 6 months corrected age as she was premature (so I assume has always had sleep needs of a baby of her due date rather than birth date). I think she's also a high needs sleeper. Until 2 weeks ago her day looked like this:
7.30 WU
9 Sleep
10 WU
11.30/45 Sleep
2.25 WU
4ish Sleep
4.30ish WU
6.30-7pm sleep
STTN

She then suddenly started protesting at the catnap, sleeping only 10 minutes and getting very tired before BT. Then the 5am wakings came..she also shuffles round in cot
Around 9pm and between 3-4am. Then all other naps went to 45 minutes. From reading threads on here she needs to transition to a bigger a time for her age. She's just so tired all the time!
I've been trying to do this slowly (eg 2 hrs A time in morning) but she still wakes after 35-40 mins.
My question is how to handle nap times during transition when she's still catnapping??

Many thanks
Cathy

Many thanks
Cathy

Offline newkidontheblock

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Re: Please help! 3-2 transition for 6mo old doing 30 min naps..
« Reply #1 on: January 10, 2015, 09:36:53 am »
Hi Cathy. You are absolutely right. Her A times are those of a much younger baby. Most babies at 7 months are doing anywhere between 2.5 to 3.5, some even more. It will be difficult to suddenly push to a higher A time as you could end up with a horribly OT baby if you push too fast. A great way to extend the time is to keep everything very low key. Maybe just hold her and walk around/sing etc, so it is relaxing and not too stimulating.

 Although she may be showing the sleepy signs, that doesn't necessarily mean that she is tired enough for a nice long nap. So basically, she is going to sleep undertired and is refreshed after a short nap. It is better to also watch the clock for a while instead of only going by cues.

I do feel that with the right A time, she will make it past the 45 minute mark. But if not, there are other methods you could use. Read up on them in the link below

All about the 3-2 transition- 5/6 months
How do I address habitual wakings? (wake-to-sleep and other methods)

HTH!






Offline Cathykamara

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Re: Please help! 3-2 transition for 6mo old doing 30 min naps..
« Reply #2 on: January 10, 2015, 09:43:41 am »
Thanks for the reply newkidontheblock!

I'm increasing A times by 15-30 mins if I feel I can but she's still doing short naps inbetween. Do I just persevere even though it's making her more tired? how do I know how long next A time should be if she's only slept 30 mins at previous nap ? (If I go by tired signs I only have to wait 30 mins of a time before she's yawning! )

Thank you!!

Offline newkidontheblock

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Re: Please help! 3-2 transition for 6mo old doing 30 min naps..
« Reply #3 on: January 10, 2015, 09:49:31 am »
You have to be a bit consistent. Increase by 10-15 minutes and hold for a few days. Then increase a little more. Basically, give her body some time to adjust. She is used to going to sleep at certain times and so expects it then. Try not to let her nap inbetween. As I said, walk around, do songs/ rhymes..very low key stuff so as to not tire her too much. After a short nap, you can decrease A time by 15-20 minutes. I feel that you will have to experiment a bit with A times to find what suits her since she seems to have high sleep needs






Offline Cathykamara

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Re: Please help! 3-2 transition for 6mo old doing 30 min naps..
« Reply #4 on: January 10, 2015, 11:43:00 am »
Thank you. Will try :)