Help! 30 minute naps at 4 months

[Mamak03]

Hi,

My LO will be 4 month old in a week and he's recently started napping for 30 minutes at a time for the past 5 days. He was previously a good sleeper and never really had problems with naps.

He's had a couple difficult nights of sleep as well, but more good then bad. I also suspect he's started teething.

How can I extend his naps? He's usually rocked to sleep. I've tried wake to sleep a couple of times, but he's woken up completely. Sometimes he wakes happy, other times he's cranky. All of his inconsistencies makes me hesitant on how to proceed. Should I start sleep training with pu/pd? Is it a phase he will pass through?

Thanks!

[Buntybear]

Hi there, would you be able to post your EASY for us so that we can see how much sleep and A times he is getting? Thanks

[Scottishmummy]

Hi there!
Sorry for the delay in replying.

Yes please post your routine in EASY format.

4mo is a typical time for a sleep regression as there is a lot of developmental stuff going on, a growth spurt, some LOs make leap from 3-4hr EASY at this stage AND changes in how LO's sleep and transition between sleep cycles. This means that LOs who are helped to sleep (rocking, feeding or any other way that isn't them falling asleep independently) start to have trouble transitioning between sleep cycles. Basically to transition between cycles they need the prop that got them to sleep, so it is a common time to need to start sleep training.

Before any ST it is helpful to get A times right, here's a link for average A times and info re 3-4hr EASY:
Average A times- BOOKMARK ME!
Time to Transition - 3hr, 3.5hr or 4hr EASY

For ST your options at 4mo are sh-pat or PU/PD. Here are a couple more links. Have a read and see which you think would suit you & your baby better.
Shush-pat - How to
Pick Up/Put Down (PU/PD) - Everything you ever needed to know!

Please come back if you want to chat anything through
Good luck
Xx

[Mamak03]

My Easy routine was like this before 30 minute naps:

7am e
730 a
830 s
945 e
10 a
1130 s
1 e
115 a
3 s
4 e
415 a
530 s
6 e
630 bedtime routine (bath, top up bottle, bed)
730-8 bed for the night.

I did dream feeds in the beginning, but I've cut them out and it makes no difference in the amount of sleep he got with the dream feeds.

On some nights he wakes up for a 2 am and early morning feed. Other nights he sleeps from 8pm to 6am.

However, since his 30 minute naps started, it's hard to keep him on easy and he wakes up more frequently at night. Sometimes he goes right back to sleep, other times he needs help. Generally, he's very inconsistent and hard to predict lately. I was thinking of starting ST after Christmas with PU/pd. I haven't tried using it yet. I will try the plan to convert to 4 hour easy this week.

Is there anything else you could think I'm doing wrong (other than needing to start ST and 4 hour easy)?

Thanks so much for your help!

[Scottishmummy]

Hi there!

I think I'd just try pushing A times a little and the ST. That routine looks pretty typical for a 3mo but A times do take a big leap at 4mo and sometimes LOs also start to go longer betweeen feeds. And the changes to sleep patterns mentioned before.

The inconsistency and unpredictability also suggests developmental leap to me. Is he working on rolling or another new skill?

Only other thing is to make sure you have a Wind down routine for naps and bed.

Hope you get more rest soon
Xx

[Mamak03]

Hi!
I'm going to start the transition to four hour easy today. Hopefully this will help the nap situation.

Would it be a good idea to hold off on sleep training until the 4 hour easy is established? Perhaps this will resolve the sleep issues for now. I'm just worried he's still a bit young for ST.

He has been doing a lot of standing supported and rolling. So it may all be due to these developmental advances too.

[Scottishmummy]

4 mo is a pretty good time for ST, especially as the short naps kick in for LOs who aren't independent sleepers at this age. But do whatever you feel most comfortable with. The Baby Whisperer methods for sleep training (links above) are gentle so are suitable for young babies. Sh-pat is even gentler than pu/PD so you might want to start with that.

Personally I would try to get an A time that you know your LO will fall asleep, regardless of whether it is textbook 4hr EASY or not, & then ST.