Short naps 4 month old

[malibu_nikkus]

Hey
My little one is almost 4mths.  Same story here. 30min naps regardless.  It's doing my head in too.  It's hard to not feel burnt out and frustrated because it's like we spend our lives putting them to sleep and then racing around to get things done in the tiny 20-30min window frame we have.  I'm not sure how people deal with this in a calm, non stressed, non anxious way.  It has certainly pulled me down into PND lane, but how do you avoid it.  It's our crappy reality!  Sorry, no help from me, t utter sympathy and empathy you absolutely have. 

[Jodes112]

Hello!

Just wanted to say hang in there! It DOES get easier with time & from birth to 6/8 months their sleep needs are constantly changing, different needs all the time and its just so tough. I think if you have an angel baby, great, they sleep! And well! But a spirited/grumpy/touchy, oh boy its hard.

I think for me i just had to let go of that routine for a while, sit back and watch the babies cues. Go with the flow. Its a hard step to take but for your sanity, its a better step to take. Just for a while, while you ride it out. I also had an almost 3yo at the time too, luckily he is the angel baby described above lol.

Honestly from 6/7/8 months, after transitioning to 2 naps, it totally settles, you will find.

I remember when DD was about 3m/o and she had had about 4 30 min naps all day by the time DH got home at 4.30pm she was grumpy & screamy, i was in tears wondering how the heck im going to fo on like this! DH took her from me in that instant took her to another room & eventually got her off to sleep. Just that one part of the day, with that little help, is what i needed. Do you have anyone that is able to step in like this in a time of need?

One thing that hasnt been mentioned is wake to sleep, wondering if you have tried it? Go in at around the 20 minute mark & stroke face/rub tummy, anything to get her to stir a little. It helps break the sleep cycle & *can* help lengthen the nap.

Other than that though, i drfinatley just think you should take a step back, stop fighting for something that just isnt happening, and go with what baby wants. You will probably still get the same n/w as what you are now anyway, but being a bit less structured and and bit more 'screw it' is probably going to help you here

It does get easier!! KEEP GOING you can do this  xx

[malibu_nikkus]

Haha. Thank you! I like the 'screw it' frame of mind.  I guess for me, I panic that by not training him to sleep longer, he will never learn and it will be all my fault and harder as we go on.  Especially now, when I first put him to bed he is peaceful and happy but as he becomes tired, he screams for me to return, and when I go to him, any shushing, patting etc makes him scream harder.  He will then sob for a bit when I pick him up, be overtired and eventually fall asleep in my arms.  This is for every nap and takes about 30mins to get him to sleep.  I'm so fearful of AP and this lasting forever, especially considering he used to settle himself to sleep.  He's given up on that. Gah! Everything just feels like it's going to last forever at the moment.

I'll try the W2S.  Good idea as he does seem stuck on that 30min boat.  Is there anything else I need to know for W2S or is it pretty straight forward?

[HaniaJa]

Hi there!
I just would like to give You a huge hug and tell You that we are in the same boat - I have almost 4mo DD one that naps for no more than 45min and 3.5yo DS that wants my attention all the time (even though he has never had more of it than now...). And I totally understand your frustration and fears and reading your posts is like hearing my thoughts:) There are some days when I think "screw it", but usually it's more like "I will not stand it anymore, I need to do something with those naps!" My DS was a great napper from the very beginning, so the situation with DD makes me extremely angry and powerless. What keeps me going on is thinking how fast those 3.5 months went by and hope that it really WILL be better when she turns 5/6 months...
Here are some details about W2S - I start tomorrow:)
How do I address habitual wakings? (wake-to-sleep and other methods)

Hang in there!!!
xxx

[malibu_nikkus]

Thank you!
I tried W2S at 20mins, I walked out thinking he went back to sleep but a couple of minutes later, he woke. Ahhh. How did you go?

[HaniaJa]

oh well, it didn't work perfectly not even once, but I must say that I see some difference. I made a few naps using W2S and the little success is that it took me about 20-30 min and I replaced paci a few times, but for 2 naps I managed to resettle her (or rather she resettled herself). Obviously it doesn't make much sense to me, as still I don't have that 1.5 hr to do anything I want and it's impossible to do this when DS is at  home, but I decided to try when he's in nursery, I don't know, maybe it will work one day...;/
How about You?