Nap extension - will it help him do it on his own?

[carusojen]

My son is 15.5 weeks old and has been consistently cat napping since he was 9 weeks old. Up until last week he was having 5 short naps a day, but after his night sleep started regressing we've decided to invest the time in nap extensions.

He is swaddled, no pacifier. Falls asleep using shush/pat in the crib. Tried wake to sleep, but it doesn't work for him. If I go in at 25 minutes and hold his arms through the jolts, I've found he is able to stay asleep. If I leave before 60 minutes, he will only sleep an extra 5 minutes after I leave. But if I stay until 60 minutes, he will sleep an hour and a half or more!

So far it's been 4 days, we've cut out 1 nap and I can tell he is happier and more alert during his awake time, and able to stay up slightly longer, so I can see that if we keep it up we'll be down to 3 naps soon.

To me it feels worth it at this point to spend the 35 minutes cribside 3x a day (soon to be 2x a day once we drop a nap) because I can see how much is benefiting him. But I'm just curious how long I'm into this for. Will holding him through the transition eventually help him to do it on his own? Or can I expect to keep doing this for him for quite a while? I've read a lot of kids grow out of the cat napping naturally around 5-6 months... Is this likely to be faster for him if we get him used to these lengths of naps using this method? Or is it more a temporary per-nap solution until he grows out of it?

[newkidontheblock]

Hi there & welcome to BW
I did this exact same thing at 5 months. Before that we had a consistently long am nap followed by catnaps - nothing I did would extend them. We started by going into DD's room at 30 minutes & putting a hand on her to settle her back. This way she didn't really wake yk? But we also found that even if we did this for 10 or 20 minutes, she would wake the moment we left. So finally we committed to staying in there for the duration of the nap. After a while, we backed off and found that she slept through. I think her body had gotten used to the long nap so she slept longer.

Short naps at that age are so common and mainly developmental. They do have an easier time transitioning as they grow older. I agree with you that being in there for that much time is worth it to have a well-rested and happy baby. And it is better than fighting him to sleep. But I would also suggest that you keep experimenting with giving him space to see whether he will transition on his own. Maybe start with doing less and less.  Good luck:)

[carusojen]

Makes sense. I was thinking that after 2 weeks of doing this consistently I will sit by the crib without holding him to see if he makes it through the jolts on his own. That easy I'd he doesn't I will be right there to start shushing if needed.

[newkidontheblock]

Exactly. Remember to give him some space as he might see you and not do it on his own:) Hope it works