Painful 30-40 min naps

[BabyA0105]

My DS is 3 months old and it's incredibly painful to see him take short naps.  He wakes up after 30-40 min screaming because he's still tired I've tried WTS, diff WTs, and shush patting him to go back to sleep but it does not work.  He's sooooo tired all the time and by the afternoon he is done with life.  The only way I can get him to nap longer is if I go for a 2 hour car ride or wear him.  We have a bedtime and nap routine in place and he pretty much goes to sleep on his own after 10 min of shushing for him to settle down when we put him in his crib.  What else am I doing wrong? I know he's not hungry because I even try to top him off before naps and he still wakes up.  He's just not able to piece together sleep cycles.  Poor guy

[weaver]

If you post your routine, it will help people to comment. Plus I would start now noting when he does a 30 min nap and when a 40 min nap, as these mean different things - 30 mins usually means OT and 40 mins usually means UT. This is not universally true, but it's a really good starting point to help you sort this out. Don't panic, it's doable!

[BabyA0105]

Routine for naps and nighttime sleep are reading in the nursery with dim lights, diaper change, swaddle, hold still for 5 min singing a lullaby, setting him down in the crib and shushing him through 10 min or less of fussing and then leaving the room while he falls asleep on his own.  I don't have set schedule for EASY since his short naps throw everything off (everyday is a new day!) but generally I feed him every 2.5-3 hours and I try to keep wake times around 1.5 hours or until he's showing signs of tiredness.  Bedtime is 7:30-8:30pm depending on when his last nap finishes.  Let me know if there's anything else I can provide to help him transition through sleep cycles!

[weaver]

Average A time for this age is aroud 1 hr 20 mins, so you're not far off but even ten mins too much can throw things off.  It's not set in stone, and of course you are there with your baby and can see him.  Please just write down what today looks like, you don't have to have a 'perfect' EASY just what you're actually doing, warts and all.  For me, I would start now with a set WU time in the morning and that will make things more predictable for you throughout the day.  Do note when he's 30 min napping (OT) and 40 min napping (UT). 

[BabyA0105]

Thank you so much! I've really been trying to pay attention to wake times the past couple of days and LO has made progress!  He gave me one long 2 hour nap each day and finally connected sleep cycles on his own.  I have a spirited baby and it takes him so long to settle down.  The 2 hour naps both came after I started his routine after just an hour of WT and he fell asleep right at 1 hour and 20 min!  I've posted his schedule for today as it still was not great.  I struggle with what to do after he wakes up from a 30 min nap as I can't put him back down because it'll be time to eat again plus he's super cranky/worked up. Do I just make it through the day and reset for the next day? Or is there a way to recover in the afternoon?

7:30 - E
7:50 - A
8:50 - S (1 hour 55 min nap, 1 hour 20 min WT, woke up happy)

11:00 - E
11:30 - A
12:15 - S (45 min nap, 1 hour and 30 min WT, woke up happy but I kept him in his crib for 20 min to see if he would go back asleep, he did not)

1:00 - Lay in crib / A
1:40 - E
2:00 - A
2:50 - S (took forever to settle down even though I put him in his crib after 1 hour and 10 min WT, 34 min nap, 1 hour 50 min WT, woke up very very upset/screaming)

3:25 - A
4:10 - E
4:30 - A
5:20 - S (again, took forever to settle down, 28 min nap, almost 2 hour WT , woke up content though)

5:50 - Bath / A
6:45 - E
7:15 - Read/Top off/Diaper/Swaddle
8:00 - S (took him awhile to fall asleep, usually does a 5.5 hour stretch then wakes up twice to eat over a 11-12 hour period)


Thank you again!!