45 min nap

[tatie82]

Hi
I have been having trouble with my LO's naps both morning and afternoon naps are normally 45 mins long. If i am holding her and she has her dummy they can be extended to 1.5-2hrs. I did put a post on about PU/PD earlier this week but i think she may be a bit young for that at the moment and i'm not 100% sure on the technique. I have been doing my own version of the shush pat technique to get her to drop off. I hold her in a cradle position making shushing noises and rubbing her head. I'm now worried that this may become a prop or will it be like the shush pat technique and i will slowly be able to stop this?

Over the last few days i have started putting her in her cot for a naps which has resulted in her only having 45 min naps in the morning and afternoon and then a catnap at teatime for 45 mins. By the time the catnap has come around she is so overtired this its difficult to get her to sleep.

We don't have a problem at night sleeps 8pm - 8am (roughly) and doesn't need her dummy. I think we have a good bedtime routine. bath, pj's on, story, feed and then bed (put in her cot drowsy). Again over the last few days i have started a nap routine which is take upstairs, put in grobag and then story.

Does anyone have any suggestions about how i can extend these naps without having to hold her. I have been looking at the wake to sleep method which i think may work as i think this does have something to do with her sleep cycle.

i am wanting to get rid of her dummy (so if anyone has any advise i would really appreciate it) but i want to get her naps sorted first.

here is a average day
WU 7.45am
E - 7.55am
A - until 9.30/10am
S - 10 - 10.45am (i can sometimes get her back to sleep until about 11.30/11.45)
A - until 12pm if i can't get her back to sleep
E - 12pm
A - until 1.30/2pm this depends how much sleep she has in the morning
S - 1.30/2pm - 2.15/2.45pm (i can always get her back to sleep if i'm holding her for this nap and she will sleep until 3.30/4)
E - 4pm
A - until 5.30/6.30pm all depends how much sleep she has had during the day
S - Catnap until 6/7.15pm (normally between 30-45 mins)
A- start of bedtime routine
7.15pm Bath
7.30pm PJ's on & story
E - 7.40/7.45pm
S - 8/8.15pm
E - Dream feed 11.30pm/12am

i would love any help.
 

[creations]

Hi there and welcome to BW forums
Sorry to see you didn't get a reply to your PUPD thread yet, we usually aim to respond to all posts at the 24hr mark but sometimes posts can be missed, especially when we are all busy mums.

I've alerted fellow moderators to your threads so hopefully you will have some support very soon. I'm unable to stay and help out right now as I have my little boy to collect from school.
Hang in there, you will get support

[tatie82]

Thanks I totally understand & I think this site is great I've already got loads of advice from other posts. 

[deb]

Seen this? How Tracy Helped Josie and her Family Get Past 45-Min. Naps!

[tatie82]

Thanks for the above link. It's helped a bit

The morning nap I went in to try to soothe her before she woke up but I'm afraid just as I went in the jerking started & she woke up. I did try to soothe her back to sleep but after 20 mins she just got more worked up. So I decided to get her up.

The afternoon was a little better. I took her up & played with her a bit in her room before we started the routine which I think helped a bit. She dropped off fairly easily which is a big improvement. I then went up after 35 mins to stir & soothe her & I thought it had worked but I think I might have done it a bit early because she did wake up. I couldn't soothe her in the cot but when I got her out she did settle & I was able to put her back inher cot drowsy & she slept for another hour which is great.

I just have a few queries.
1 is it ok to get her out of her cot & settle her or should I leave her in her cot.
2 I've read that the wind down should be 20 mins should this be 20 mins before the nap is due or start it when I see the 1st sleep signs.
3 I use a heartbeat noise when I start the sleep routine would this be classed as a prop? Should I put this on when u go up to soothe her at the 40-45mins mark.
4 when I start to soothe her (I use stroking her head) how long should I do this for.

Sorry for rambling o just really want to get better at this.

[tatie82]

Ok so had a really bad day today.
Only had a 30 min nap this morning then every time I tried to settle her & the put her in her cot she started crying & getting worked up. Then this afternoon she did 40 mins but the jerking work her up even though I started to stir her before the jerking started. Don't know if I'm doing this right. Tried for about 35 mins to settle her with no luck so got her up. Then 0.5yrs after been up she fell asleep laying on the sofa. Bad I know but I was just relived she was asleep even if it was only for 20.
By the time my hubby got home I was in tears cos I feel like I've coursed this through AP & now I'm failing at trying to fix it. Just been a bad day.

[deb]

Sounds very OT if she's short-napping that much. Canyou try to get her maybe 60-80- minute A times and then let her try a nap? Even if she gives you 45 minutes, if you can get 5-6 of those in a day and then "reboot" you might have better luck.

Also, if she's upset going horizontal, reflux might be an issue; had I known what to look for, that would - SHOULD! - have been a sign for me of the severity of my DD's reflux.

[tatie82]

I'll try shortening her A times tomorrow & see if that helps would that mean that I need to change her feed times as well currently feeding every 4hrs.
Should I start the wind down at 60-80 mins or should she be settled in her cot by that time.
My hubby is home tomorrow so hopefully that will help.
I don't think it's reflux as she doesn't normally mind been horizontal.
I do think it's the jerking that's waking her so thonk I need to try to do something about that. Thanks for your support

[deb]

Will she tolerate a swaddle? That might help with the jolting.

Can you try for the first A time just staying in her room and playing with her there, watching her cues to see when she starts to get tired, and see if you can stretch it maybe 10 minutes past that super-low-key and put her down drowsy if not all the way asleep for now. When I did that with J, I turned off her overhead light around an hour and then I put on some soft music and just held her in dim light (we had a small IKEA light on her wall that was barely more than night-light strength for when we went in at night), and when she couldn't hold her eyes open any more, I held her for an extra minute or two and in she went.