transitioning from 4-3 naps for 4 month old

[acaldwell10]

Hello,
My DS is 4 months old and his wake up time in the morning has been getting earlier and earlier (7, then 6, now 530).  Also, his naps used to all be 45 min or longer and now they are mostly 30 min, and occasionally 45.  He takes 4 naps every day and his awake time is 2 hours and eats every 3 hours except between his last two feeds he doesn't nap and eats much closer together and either nurses to sleep or falls asleep in my arms.  All the other naps I put him down in his crib tired but awake, and rub his head for a few minutes until he falls asleep. His last feed every night is between 710-7:20pm and he is asleep by 730ish. I ideally want to keep the 6am first feed because I go back to work soon and want to nurse him around 6am.

I've read as many threads as I can. Is the best thing to do here try to extend his morning awake time? Also, he is almost always awake when I wake up, and he is just quiet or 'talking' to himself. So, I'm honestly not sure what time he actually wakes up, but 530 is the latest it would be.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

-Andrea

[lauradj]

Hi there.  Most babies around your LO's age are taking three naps; two long naps and then a 45 minute CN.  Could you write your EASY down so we can take a peek to see what's going on?

[acaldwell10]

Typically:

WU 530-545

E 6:00
A
S 8-845

E 9:00
A
S 10:45-11:30

E 12:00
A
S 2:00-2:30

E 3:00
A
S 445-510

E 6:00
A

E 7:15
S 7:30

Thank you so much for your help

[lauradj]

Thanks for posting your EASY!  I think what you have going on is a bit of an UT/OT loop and that's why things are going sideways.  I noticed that your A times can vary from 2-2.5hrs.  Let's scale that back to a consistent 2hrs A time until we iron things out.  At such a young age, 30 minutes can seem like an eternity.  Are you able to take your baby out for a walk in the stroller or even wear him? Will he sleep longer if you do so?  What we need to do is break the UT/OT cycle so that baby can get the rest he needs and then all the small changes will come into effect. 

[acaldwell10]

Hello,
Thank you.  Yes, if I push him in the stroller (especially during the 35-45 minute mark) I have just realized that he will go two 'cycles' and the last two days I've got a 2 hour nap from him (1st time ever)! Of these three naps, which should be the long naps and which should be the CN?

Once we get him back to falling asleep right at 2 hours again, what will be the next step?

Thank you!
Andrea

[lauradj]

The next step would be to enjoy the good naps! 
Honestly, if you're getting 1.5-2 hr naps, hold at that A time for about two weeks before doing any more changes.  Let him relearn what it's like to have good stretches of sleep.  Also, I meant to add, you can probably stretch him to eating every 3.5hr at this point (if you think he can handle it), with the intention being to bring him to 4hr between feeds at some point between now and 6 months.  No rush.   

[acaldwell10]

Thank you! Any suggestions for extending these 30ish minute naps when he is in his crib? It was great for two days in the stroller; but it's too cold to go walking with him this weekend in Boston! Thanks

Andrea

[lauradj]

Have you tried Shh-Pat?  Usually by 4 months most Mom's move on to PU/PD but that didn't work for either of my boys, I always used Shh-Pat.  You could also try Wake to Sleep, whereby you go in just before you know babe will wake, give him a teeny little jiggle, not enough to fully wake him but just stir him and that helps to reset the sleep transition point. 
However, if you're finding the naps are consistently be interrupted at the 30 minute mark then you may want to look a doing a tiny A push of 15 minutes. I'd rather you give a few days to see how the consistent A time helps, just so we can check off that box before trying something else.

Shush-pat - How to