How to extend a nap 12 week old

[claireh29]

Looking for some realistic advice for extending my lo naps.

She is 12 weeks old and will only nap for 30-40 mins.

She goes to sleep by herself with about 5 of whining. We tired shh pat for 3 weeks and she just cried though  it -  I think she is a little independent girl. She settle for naps in the same way but unlike nighttime she can't resettle.

Short naps wouldn't bother me if she woke up happy and well rested. She wakes up tired and will stay awake for about 30m before needing to be put back up for a nap. I don't feel like she gets any good quality awake time.

So I know she is over tired, I don't have time to shh pat as I have another child running about interrupting and she cries too much when trying to go back to sleep. Is this something she will grow out of and eventually just go in to the next sleep cycle with minimal fuss?

Thanks

[Scottishmummy]

Hi!

12 weeks is a common time for short naps and many do have to just grow out of it but sometimes there are things you can do to help. It's great that she can self settle, that will help in the long run.

Could you post a typical day in EASY format  (or the last 2-3 days is days vary a lot) to see if there is anything we could tweak in her routine.

Xxx

[claireh29]

Thanks. I find it hard to follow a plan because of the school run and just having another little one to entertain with trips out etc. Her days are always the same, wake up somewhere 6 and 7, feed play for about an hour before going for a nap. This is usually the longest nap of the day 45-60 minutes. She will maybe be happy for about 30 minutes but starts getting cranky so I put her back up stairs for another nap usually about 20-40 minutes when she wakes up from that I wait for the 3 hour mark and I feed her. This is how our day continues, catnaps and 30-40 minutes worth of awake time (which is a lot of crying tbh). Then it's bed time at 6pm she goes to sleep within 10 minutes  and wakes again somewhere between 11:30 and 1am. From that time on she will wake 2-3 hours till morning.

At the moment it just feels like I don't see her/enjoy her because she is always tired. I don't mind the nights for now as she is still little and more often then not is gas that wakes her up which as she gets older will calm down (only poops once a week being a bf baby).

[Scottishmummy]

That sounds like hard work, and those nights sound tiring too, especially with another one to look after.

Her A times look quite short for her age.. How long does she take to fall asleep after you put her down? (A time is eyes open to shut, including time to fall asleep)
Have you looked at the average A times for her age?
Average A times- BOOKMARK ME!

I would try keeping her awake a little longer before the first nap (even if it's just 10 mins more) and see how long she sleeps.

I'd then aim to keep her up longer before the next nap- at least an hour-1hr15 before you put her down.  If she's cranky before then, would a change of activity or room help?

I wonder whether she's not tired enough to take a long nap at the start of the day, but then gets overtired as the day goes on because the short naps aren't restorative enough for her.  The OT might be impacting on her nights too.

Hope that helps
Xxx