Author Topic: 45 min naps/ 2h NW's - several factors???  (Read 1194 times)

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Offline landscapelinz

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45 min naps/ 2h NW's - several factors???
« on: September 17, 2015, 17:12:17 pm »
Hi all

Can I just say what a fantastic resource this is. You helped me two years ago with my daughter and her 45 min naps / frequent NW and here I am again!

In view of my experience with my daughter, as soon as my son started with 45 min naps and 2 hourly NWs, I thought I would be able to resolve easily by pushing his A times but alas have had no luck so far so would be REALLY grateful for a second opinion to help me diagnose what the problem is. There are also a few other factors involved with my son and so not sure if these are also contributory factors – in which case some advice on what to target first would be brilliant!

Here are some basic facts to help:

My boy is 12 weeks old. He has probably been 45min napping for at least 3 weeks. He has always been a bit disturbed at night but the 2 hour NWs are also well established now. I couldn’t say whether they tally with the 45 min naps starting. I would hope I would have made the connection but possibly not!

I use a paci with my boy when he is settling for naps and for bedime. I don’t use it any other time during the night unless it is exceptional. He will suck it for anything from a few mins to 20 mins before spitting it out and I leave it out. I think he is starting to show signs of being a bit less interested in it and am hoping he will just naturally stop using it but any advice on this generally would be great as wonder if this reliance is contributing.

I have tried extending his A times. I am at a typical 1h30 pushing through to 1h45 A times. He seems set on 45 minutes S times though. Sometimes he will wake and just lie quietly for 15 mins and I have left him hoping he will re-settle but inevitably he will eventually start to shout to get up. I have tried sneaking in to give him his paci and he will lie quietly for a few mins and then shout to get up. I am conscious that I have not really pushed this re-settling strategy as found this really painful with my daughter and was hoping that extending his A time would sort it but as this has yet to work it is for this reason I am seeking help to see what I should target first as no doubt anything I try from here on is bound to be a bit painful! I haven’t tried pushing him beyond 1h 45 as he is showing signs of being really OT by this point but again, I haven’t pushed this strategy for fear that I am targeting the wrong thing.

He is BF and I always feed as soon as he wakes so I am conscious that because of his short A and S times, he is pretty much on a 2.15 to 2.30 EASY schedule and am presuming this too short for a 3 month old and may also be contributing to the NW?

He used to be in a swaddle but he would get so cross trying to get out of it in the night that I have swapped to a sleeping bag, especially now that he is 12 weeks and much less jerky. He seems equally persistent in his 45 min naps whether he in sleeping bag or swaddle. At least he seems a bit less angry!

So a typical day schedule is get up at 7am, be fed, be up roughly around 1h30  (or maybe 1h45 by the time he closes his eyes) and then settle him with a paci and in his sleeping bag. He normally settles peacefully and quickly because of his paci and with a bit of eyebrow stroking (an excellent tip I received from a stranger – pass it on!). If I push his A times then he cries more and I need to keep visiting him to put in his paci until he settles. He still normally then only does 45 mins or if really OT will do 30 mins. He sleeps for 45 mins and then the cycle repeats throughout the day which results in 5 sets of 45 min naps until around 7pm which is bedtime. Bedtime is usually fairly peaceful. He will sometimes wake after 45 mins but I will feed him in his room and settle him straight back down. Sometimes the paci required. I tell myself I am cluster feeding rather than feeding to settle!

He will then usually sleep through the evening without stirring until around 10.30pm but this can be as late as 1.30am. He will then wake every 2 hours until around 4am when he then is usually a little harder to settle (lies in bed grumbling and I sometimes have to give his his paci). This can take a few mins to an hour but after this he will usually sleep through until 7am. (i.e. sleeping for around 3 hours).

We still share a room so when he wakes he lies and grunts and snorts and grumbles rather than crying. The first wake after bedtime he is smacking his lips with hunger. There is less of this if any with the other wake times. He went through a phase of being really bad, waking every 1.5h – 2h and sometimes he will wake up an hour after a feed. If I am conscious enough to realise the time I will try his paci but there have been times when I just feed him in auto pilot and sit there in the dark trying to remember how many times he has been up that night and what time the last one was. The paci sometimes works but if it is not fairly immediate then I will feed him as do not want to risk him actually being hungry. Another reason why I am seeking advice and reassurance.

Any advice most gratefully received – am so sorry to go on at such length!

Thanks so much
x

Offline lauradj

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Re: 45 min naps/ 2h NW's - several factors???
« Reply #1 on: September 19, 2015, 18:24:27 pm »
TBH, it sounds like you're just in the thick of the 45 mins nap phase, which, as you know, passes with time.  DS2 went through it and while I did attempt to resettle, I simply didn't have same amount of time to resettle as I did with DS1.  I think I went in a couple of times, and if he didn't fall back asleep, it was up and at 'em time because DS1 was waiting to play!  The phase passed and now he's back to sleeping for 1.5-2hrs.
Have you considered trying the DF?  I just noticed that you mentioned DS wakes at 10:30pm from hunger.  If you were able to head this off with a DF at 10pm, that might set you up for a better night.  What do you think?


Offline landscapelinz

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Re: 45 min naps/ 2h NW's - several factors???
« Reply #2 on: September 22, 2015, 14:02:40 pm »
Hi there - thanks so much for this.

So the infuriating 45 min nap is a phase do you think? Oh I do hope so! If so, how long do you think it lasts? I managed to get DD out of it by pushing the A times but as you say, when you have two then the second born has to fit in a bit more. We currently keep bouncing between the UT 45 min nap and the OT 30 min nap and its driving me crazy (and probably isnt that much fun for DS).  The only respite we get is when I put him in the sling. He will then do 2.5 h if I let him!

I also seem to recall that there is a change in sleeping patterns at 4 months - when their sleep cycles mature to be more in tune with an adults? I am secretly hoping it will magically resolve then! Any memories of this?

As for the DF - good idea. Am always a little scared of the DF in case I wake him up too much and he struggles to settle but it is that feed which sets off the 2 hour NW until around 4 and then he will sometimes give me a reprieve and put in a 3 hour sleep until morning. I will give it a whirl and report back.

Thanks again for your time

x

Offline lauradj

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Re: 45 min naps/ 2h NW's - several factors???
« Reply #3 on: September 24, 2015, 03:33:28 am »
You can do it!!  Just remember to do it sometime between 10-11pm, no later, or else it messes with their sleep pattern. 
I found, and still generally do, that DS2 simply does not nap as long when we're out and about.  Recently he's starting napping for an hour instead of 20-30mins!  :o So that's an improvement.  Basically, we are up and out of the house by 9am every day, and DS2 is either in the Ergo or in the stroller and he naps there for the morning.  If he's in the Ergo he tends to nap longer but I have more freedom to play with DS1 if DS2 is in his stroller.  The morning nap is a bit of a joke but then he naps with DS1 mid-day so I get a genuine break for 1.5-2hrs.  It is worth it!!  Embrace the sling/baby carrier/whatever method you need to  :D


Offline lauradj

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Re: 45 min naps/ 2h NW's - several factors???
« Reply #4 on: September 24, 2015, 03:35:03 am »
I also seem to recall that there is a change in sleeping patterns at 4 months - when their sleep cycles mature to be more in tune with an adults? I am secretly hoping it will magically resolve then! Any memories of this?
DS2 did STTN at 4 months, otherwise, it wasn't until he was 5.5-6 months that he started staying awake longer.


Offline landscapelinz

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Re: 45 min naps/ 2h NW's - several factors???
« Reply #5 on: October 04, 2015, 08:51:18 am »
Thanks so much for this - sorry for the delay in reporting back. we were on holiday so of course everything goes out of the window! My boy spent loads of time in the sling so had lots of long naps...and lots of 2 hourly NW's! sometimes shortening to 1 hourly. There seemed to be no pattern which would tally with nap quality.

I didnt get chance to try the DF as he has started waking around 10pm naturally. It was difficult to get in there first when on holiday but I am going to give this a go now we are back. things are all out of sink at the moment. Because of his short naps at home he is on a 2.5 h EASY at best and he is refusing to feed so I am clearly encouraging snacking which turns into ad hoc feeding and general confusion. Think I need to reboot and start afresh! Am thinking of prioritising a minimum of a 3 hour feed cycle whatever his sleep pattern but then this takes him out of the EASY routine which is what I am such a big fan of - I think it helps him know whats coming and keeps him content.

Ah well, tomorrow is another day! I think you are right, we just need to do the best for the family (i.e. both children) in these early days and that means doing the best you can. The boy likes the sling and his 45 min naps and I am learning to live with less sleep!! Lets just hope that at 4 months he miraculously starts to STTN!! (yeah right!)

xx

Offline lauradj

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Re: 45 min naps/ 2h NW's - several factors???
« Reply #6 on: October 09, 2015, 21:10:05 pm »
It can happen!  If my reflux baby can STTN at 4 months, yours definitely could.  Fingers crossed for you!