Author Topic: Nap training in crib and extending naps  (Read 2509 times)

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Offline mac2003yn

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Nap training in crib and extending naps
« on: March 21, 2017, 22:40:27 pm »
Hi everyone! I'm looking for some guidance for naps. I would really appreciate your comments.
I am doing shush/pat when dd cries and if it doesn't settle her then pupd to get her to sleep in crib instead of being held. So far it's been going ok... But I'm unsure of what to do when she wakes up after 25-30 mins. Sometimes she wakes up crying or she wakes up and looks for something to play with. Am I supposed to do shush/pat right away when she wakes to get her to go back to sleep whether she is crying or not, or am I supposed to wait to see if she will fall asleep on her own and do shush/pad when she starts to cry?
Her wake time was 2h-2h15m so I tried extending it to 2h30m and it helped her sleep longer (but it was still holding her at the time!). I am hoping that nap training will teach her to fall asleep on her own and help her transition to next sleep cycle. I know she is super overtired today because of the sleep training... But I'm trying to stay consistent and not be discouraged...
Thank you!

Offline Knockonwood

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Re: Nap training in crib and extending naps
« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2017, 01:22:03 am »
Hi!
I am in the exact same situation as you are.  The pupd and shush pat are incredibly draining for me, so I would do anything to avoid it.  Have you considered the 'wake to sleep' technique? I tried it and have had some success.  My son's sleep cycle is about 45 minutes, so at the 35-40 min mark I wake him just enough to stir him out of sleep, so he will begin a new cycle. I believe Tracy suggests going into the room and physically touching the babe, then shush pat back to sleep.  That is just way too scary for me, but since I know my son can settle himself, all I do is open his door a little so it makes a creaking noise, then shut it right away.  I watch him on our monitor to ensure that it did slightly wake him.  Then his new sleep cycle begins.  It's that easy! Lol. I have had it backfire though....then I'm doing pupd. 

Offline Knockonwood

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Re: Nap training in crib and extending naps
« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2017, 01:30:06 am »
Also, when my son was swaddled, I would go into his room at the 40min mark, place my hand on his chest and help him through the transition.  Now, he sleeps in a zipadee zip, so I haven't had much luck with this since. 

When my guy wakes from a nap early, he's always smiling and kicking.   I have had no luck extending his naps once he wakes.  I do shush pat and pupd, but my son goes ballistic. 

Offline Kpop

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Re: Nap training in crib and extending naps
« Reply #3 on: March 23, 2017, 02:10:01 am »
I am struggling with this too! I have tried wake to sleep and failed everytime : ( it is SO discouraging.  I either wake her up, and then I am stuck shush patting/PupD or I do it too soon and she is too deep in sleep for me to really slightly wake her . . . . sigh . . . .

Offline mac2003yn

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Re: Nap training in crib and extending naps
« Reply #4 on: March 23, 2017, 19:54:58 pm »
oh goodness! Thank you for your comments! It is a real struggle and I keep telling myself that I'm just trying to teach her to fall asleep (like riding a bike) but somehow when I'm in the thick of it, I want to lose my mind and scream! And I tell her over and over "i know you're frustrated - I'm here for you" but then I get so frustrated. I think I'm going to develop a phobia of babies and sleeptime because sometimes it really makes me anxious when sleeptime comes along! So much for the confidence that Tracy talks about in her book! 

I am trying to follow a 3.5 hour EASY routine and the S part is driving me bonkers! I have been successful somewhat with putting her down after our pre-nap routine and calm her with singing/hand-on-back in the crib. She does eventually fall asleep and hasn't resisted to the point of skipping the nap. However, she WILL NOT sleep past 25 minutes. I try to sing/hand-on-back when she wakes but it doesn't calm her enough to fall back asleep. Then I proceed with pupd and she gets so upset that she doesn't stop crying because she knows I will put her down. I do pupd for 35 minutes for the remainder of the "1hr" nap but she doesn't fall back asleep. 

I'm thinking part of the problem is that maybe she is mantra crying but to me it sounds like real crying? I mean, she sounds really upset when she is crying but most of the time there are no tears. So I'm experimenting and listening intently to her cries...

I'm also struggling with the timing of the routine. Am I supposed to keep her up until the next scheduled nap? Because then that would mean she wouldn't be napping for 3h5m (awake is 2h30m + 35m pupd from last nap). And that would make her overtired...and potentially affect her next nap? OR Am I supposed to stick to the suggested awake time of 2h30m (which I think she does well with) from the time she woke (and didn't go back to sleep) from the previous nap?  Does that make sense? Kpop, Knockonwood, and others, what do you do with the awake time after a short nap?

I am trying to follow this EASY routine:

730 wake (2h15m)
945 nap #1 (1 hour)
1045 wake (2h30m)
115 nap #2 (1 hour)
215 wake (2h30m)
445 nap #3 (30 mins cat nap)
515 wake (2h30m)
745 bedtime

Right now, the only things that are going well with that routine is morning wakeup time, bedtime and that 30 minute cat nap! Everything else is not going according to the time...

But should I be doing this routine?

730 wake (2h15m)
945 catnap #1 (30 mins)
1015 wake (2h30)
115 catnap #2 (30 mins)
145 wake (2h30) 
415 catnap #3 (30 mins)
445 wake (2h30)
715 catnap #4 (30 mins)
815 bedtime

I feel like this routine won't make her overtired while I'm sleep training in crib. I mean IF she doesn't go back to sleep during the 35 minute pupd then should the routine look like this to avoid overtiredness in general?

I will try wake to sleep but i feel like she's not able to do that yet since she can't put herself to sleep at the moment without the soothing from me by the crib.

Oh man! I'm all over the place! I forgot to mention that she is 6 months! And now she has decided to nurse for a shorter period of time and it's a struggle to even get her to latch. Might be the solids and time to move to every 4-hour feeding schedule?

Please please please reply - I would love to hear from you about your thoughts on how to do this. Thank you for reading! I'm desperate and need your expertise to figure this all out...



Offline LaraAndrea

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Re: Nap training in crib and extending naps
« Reply #5 on: March 24, 2017, 20:15:11 pm »
It is a real struggle and I keep telling myself that I'm just trying to teach her to fall asleep (like riding a bike) but somehow when I'm in the thick of it, I want to lose my mind and scream! And I tell her over and over "i know you're frustrated - I'm here for you" but then I get so frustrated. I think I'm going to develop a phobia of babies and sleeptime because sometimes it really makes me anxious when sleeptime comes along! So much for the confidence that Tracy talks about in her book!

I am no expert, but I feel your pain mamma. The first 25-50 min of every nap I am on edge. Hoping, worrying and stressing that my LO is going to wake up.

I can tell you that the first 5-7 days when the short naps started for me I felt like nothing was working. PU PD was so awful and draining and I began to second guess what her mantra cries were. Before the short naps started I felt like I knew her cues. Then all of a sudden I felt like I didn't know my baby at all. It was/is maddening!!

But we did start to see results and we are now getting consistently better naps... Although we just had a 25 minuter today.

At this age ( my LO is just shy of 6months) they are changing so quickly you have to be prepared to up the AT more frequently then you would think.

As to how to proceed after a short nap I read an interview with Tracy in the archives of the forum where she says. If your baby has no routine and you are just starting one stick to the times as best you can, but if you have a routine it is best to try and extend short naps with shush/Pat, PU PD etc. Until time for next feed. Then if baby falls asleep during the feed keep LO up 10 mins post them put back to bed. If they don't fall asleep keep them up 30 mins post feed them back to bed.

That is what we have been doing with decent success.

Good luck!

Offline mac2003yn

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Re: Nap training in crib and extending naps
« Reply #6 on: March 29, 2017, 12:09:52 pm »
Thank you for your response!

She has been going to down for naps easier. And since training she has slept 1hr+ for one nap last week and one nap this week. All other naps are still 30 mins. Should I try to extend her awake time to get her to nap longer?

This is our routine:

630am  wake
845am nap #1 (30 mins)
915 wake
1130 nap #2 (30 mins)
12 wake
215 nap #3 (30 mins)
245 wake
5 nap #4 (15 mins)
520 wake
740 sleeping

Offline Knockonwood

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Re: Nap training in crib and extending naps
« Reply #7 on: April 07, 2017, 18:38:14 pm »
Sorry I never responded.  I'm honestly still struggling with the same situation.  I'm so tired of the short naps and the interventions.  Did you have any success?