Author Topic: 6 month old only has 30 minute naps! Time for a transition?  (Read 1278 times)

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Offline DS Morris

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Up until my DD was 4 months she had 2 naps about 2-2.5 hours long each and maybe a catnap (between colic/reflux and having to collect my DS from nursery, she was usually unsettled in the evenings).  At 4 months she started sleeping only for 30 minutes at a time (sometimes longer if I do W2S which was always hit or miss) so I was having to put her down for naps 4 times a day.  She was showing signs of teething so I blamed that for the sudden change but now 2 months on (and still no teeth) she seems otherwise fine and still the 30 minute naps have persisted. 

We started PU/PD just over a week ago to start teaching her to fall asleep independently and to lengthen naps but have had little success so far.  After 30-45 minutes of PU/PD just to get her to fall asleep she would still wake after 30 minutes and getting her back to sleep with PU/PD has been near impossible.  After a while she would just lose interest in sleeping (not even crying) and find something to amuse herself even if it’s looking at the patterns on the sheet.  I thought I needed advice on PU/PD but having read some of the other posts, I’m wondering if I should have made the 3-2 transition weeks ago.  Here’s why:

1.   Even though she’s only having 30 minute naps, she almost always wakes happy.  Does that means she’s UT?  Usually she has 2 hours A time.
2.   Her mornings are starting earlier and earlier even though her bedtime hasn’t changed from 7pm.  I used to have to wake her at 7am, then she started waking at 6am and over the last few days, 5am.
3.   My DH usually takes my DS to nursery but since he had to be at work extra early the last couple days, I’ve been taking my DS which, coupled with the new wake up time of 5am, meant that DD has been having 3 hours of A time instead of 2 yet she wasn’t fussy and went off down for her nap much easier. Because I anticipated that she would be OT I used W2S and she napped for 1hr 20 minutes.  I did the same today and she only had 25 minutes but maybe that was because I might have awakened her too much.

So I guess my question is, am I right in thinking we might have a scheduling problem more so than a sleep problem?  Also, should I continue with 3 hours of A time since she seemed to tolerate that? Or maybe the fact that we were out kept her amused so I should probably start with 2.5 hours of A time? 

Any advice would be lovely.




Offline Kellyjs

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Re: 6 month old only has 30 minute naps! Time for a transition?
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2015, 18:48:05 pm »
Hi hun, yep I'm thinking more A time is needed. I feel your pain. I had a chronic 45 mind napper until she hit the 2-1. With help from people on here, I managed to get her sleeping. Like you, w2s was my best friend during this time!

Average A times- BOOKMARK ME!

If you see in this link 3hrs A is more what we would expect at 6mo. Some can do more or less, so it's only an average.

Another sign of needed more A time is the EW. Again, we had that too. It's like they use the first nap to catch up on lost sleep as it's too early and they self regulate their A time.

How do you feel? Dyt she could cope with a straight jump to 3hrs? If you do, I would hold it for at least a week and see if she settles into it and use your magic (w2s)  ;). You may find that's all she'll need A time wise, or else she'll get used to it and need another slight increase. You'll know what the short naps come back  ::)

The most common way people do it is to add 15mins, hold for 3 days and increase again. However, as your DD's A times are so low for her age, she may handle more of a jump? Wdyt?

Let me know? Also it'll be really helpful for you to keep a log of the days so we can see if a pattern is emerging and if we need to tweak one A time more than another for example. It is around now they start changing up what they can handle during the day wrt A times. Does all my rambling make any sense?  :P x






Offline DS Morris

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Re: 6 month old only has 30 minute naps! Time for a transition?
« Reply #2 on: June 26, 2015, 14:53:47 pm »
Hi Kellyjs,

Many thanks for your reply.  It all makes sense. The link to the average A times is very helpful.

DD woke at 5am again this morning but she was rubbing her eyes and looking tired so I put her back to bed after only 1.5 hours of A time.  She slept for 1 hr 40 minutes without W2S or anything, something she hasn’t done in at least a couple weeks but I think she was just catching up from the EW and catnaps over the last couple days as opposed to needing shorter A times. 

After a good first nap, I was hoping for 3 hours A time before her second nap but she only managed 2hrs 20mins but woke after 30 minutes as usual.  I did manage to get her off again with some APOP (because my 2 year old is at home today and couldn’t be left unattended for too long) and she slept another 1hr 15mins (big surprise there!). 

She’s having what would most definitely be a catnap now but day has been very unusual for us.  Just when I thought I had her figured out, she changes on me.  Should I assume she’s just OT and catching up?  Tomorrow I’ll aim to increase her A time in 15 minute increments if she doesn’t seem able to handle the jump to 3 hours straightaway. 

I’ll let you know how it goes.  Thanks again x



Offline Kellyjs

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Re: 6 month old only has 30 minute naps! Time for a transition?
« Reply #3 on: June 26, 2015, 15:27:10 pm »
Does look like she just crashed didn't she? Well done you for reading her so well.

Hopefully with her back on track, you can look at increasing the A times again. Sometimes these bubbas just like to throw a spanner in the works  ;). All being well, it was just a little  OT and hopefully she's not coming down with something. Good luck tonight and tomorrow, let me know how it goes x