Nap help please!?! Giving me Anxiety :-(

[AMSxx8]

I hope someone can help me - I'm not even sure if i have a problem!

My DD is 3 months and 1 week. We used to swaddle and she would follow EASY perfectly almost down to the minute, she is/was a very textbook baby.

We have now started putting her down for naps in her big cot and started at about 11 weeks - we did transitional swaddling for the week to no swaddle and this went fine, few hit or miss naps here or there, but not terrible.

Now all of a sudden things have gone haywire! - She goes down after 1hr45 in the morning and then sleeps for an hour or so. then she's up for another hr and 45 then another hour nap. etc etc.

She knows how to settle herself Ive always put her down awake think I've only ever had to rock her to sleep once when she was a bit poorly and she can go between sleep transitions (she does at night) and I have watched her on the video monitor she wakes up rolls over and goes back to sleep (occasionally i go in to pop dummy back in)
With regards to her night sleep she sleeps from 7:30pm through to 7;7:15 am with a dreamfeed at 11 and a quick 15 min feed at 4am. Has done since about 4 weeks.

I know she should have 3 naps a day with a catnap but she also gets at least 12 hours at night.

So my question is - should I be worrying about the short naps??!?! i know catnapping through the day is everyone's nightmare. She's always happy when she wakes up and doesn't really get cranky in between. i have tried putting her back to sleep, if she needs more sleep she will just do it as she does do 2 hours sometimes.It just means that she doesn't really follow a schedule anymore - will it come back at 4 months? Do i just go with it for now?

If she continues to do this will it effect her night sleep or because she has so much night sleep do the days not matter so much?

Im really sorry for the rant, but I suffer from anxiety and my husband says 'stop being silly' but I just need to ask someone who knows. I feel like I'm constantly researching baby sleep!! lol

Thanks for any help in advance

xx

[creations]

Hello, sorry to hear you are feeling so anxious.

I would say if her mood is good on these shorter naps and she is sleeping well at night, which she is, then really it's all ok. Perhaps the unpredictability of the random 2hr nap is making you feel like there is not a real routine?
I don't think you are at all silly for caring about your baby's needs, but it does sound as though you might be forgetting your own needs, maybe focusing a bit too much on looking for answers rather than getting a bit of Y time when you can. A cup of tea, a sit or lie down, a breath of fresh air can do wonders to help mood and be a little less focused on the routine side of things.

How long has she been on 1hr 45 A time?  it's a good A time for age, I'm just wondering if she's been on it a while maybe a little increase could help her take one longer nap rather than a couple of shorter ones.

[AMSxx8]

Thank you so much for your reply.

She has been on 1 45 for about 2 or so weeks, sometimes she can do 2 hours but then i worry about her getting OT so start to do calm stuff then until she shows sleepy signs. a few odd days she still does the 'norm'.

She used to follow the routine so well and I always try to get it back on track as the day goes on, but I just don't know if I'm over stressing about it, i suppose naps eventually disappear anyway.

Just wondered if anyone else had the same problem and what the outcome was?

She has always been quite alert and active and she is getting hungry around the 3.5 - 4 hour mark, i wasnt actually sure if I should try and push for a 4 hour routine, but is she a bit young?

xx

[AMSxx8]

Also I wondered if its terrible if she sleeps on her mat or bouncer during the day when she like this as otherwise I just feel like I'm up and down to her cot all the time and it seems to wind her up to be honest. Or is it better to try and stick with going in the cot even if it is for every 45 min nap?
x

[Conniesmummy]

Hi, not that I am much help but I feel I am in a similar situation with my 13 week old. I have to push for an A time of 1:45 or 1:30, she will then nap for 2-2:30 morning and afternoon in her cot now, this was a massive change as she was a serial 30 min napper until about a week or so ago.
She has fed 4 hourly for ages now and trying feed before never happened she just point blank refuses to feed if she doesn't want it!!
I have posted loads of questions cos I too am very anxious, I am on meds from the GP now to try and manage this 😒
Plus I never seem to get bedtime right!!
Shes either overtired or undertired and the whole thing ends up taking me about an hour and a half!! Plus she has silent reflux so I like to keep her upright after feeds which adds to the time.
When will I ever see an evening again?! I was a proper soap addict before lol.
Now the napping at home is better I am anxious about going out and disrupting it, or if anyone comes over, if they disturb her routine!!
I've decided I am a mental case!!

[creations]

She has been on 1 45 for about 2 or so weeks, sometimes she can do 2 hours but then i worry about her getting OT so start to do calm stuff then until she shows sleepy signs.

Going on what you've said I think I'd be tempted to try for a 2hr A time even if it is just for one nap per day and just see how it goes. Mine always liked a very long first A time, do you think her first A time might be a good time to try 2hr?  If not (as some LOs like a very short first A time and then longer the rest of the day) it is ok to pick a different one but I would suggest initially to try the *same* one each day because babies like routine and can build habits on nap length relatively quickly.  How about try for a few days or a week and see how it goes?
I know you are anxious of OT, very many parents are, in my experience UT can cause just as much problem and in my DS's case even more so. I'd much prefer him have a bit of OT than any UT.

Just wondered if anyone else had the same problem and what the outcome was?

Lots of people experience short naps, mostly around 4 months but it does depend on the individual. My DS started his 4 month regression at 3.5 months so I am sure some can begin even earlier. This is why the EASY routine is about adapting to the individual baby.

She has always been quite alert and active and she is getting hungry around the 3.5 - 4 hour mark, i wasnt actually sure if I should try and push for a 4 hour routine, but is she a bit young?

If she's feeding every 3.5 to 4hrs then I would gradually move to a longer routine, a 3.5 or 4hr routine over the coming weeks.
It is also okay to be flexible and feed closer to 3.5hr or 4hr even if the naps are shorter than you'd hope for.  It's fine to have a bit of A time between S and E if that's what she needs.

I wondered if its terrible if she sleeps on her mat or bouncer during the day when she like this as otherwise I just feel like I'm up and down to her cot all the time and it seems to wind her up to be honest.

Again all LOs are different. The SIDS guidance advises to have baby sleep in the room you are in for all sleep until 6 months old so it is safer to have her sleep on her mat downstairs with you there.  On the other hand, I planned ot have mine nap int eh family room until 6 months old and he had other ideas, he demanded his night bed from 10 wks old and I felt I had no choice but to put him to nap upstairs as he totally refused to sleep down stairs in the travel cot beyond this age.
If she is happy and comfortable and safe then it's fine

I hope this helps some.  It seems to me you have great mummy instinct on what to do in terms of E times, A times, S times and tweaking her routine up to a 3.5hr EASY and even where to put her down for nap - but perhaps you are not confident enough to listen to your instinct just now.  Anxiety can have that effect of doubting yourself.  Hugs.

Hugs for you too conniesmummy.  Thanks for stopping by to show your support. It's always nice to know we are not alone through our tricky times xx