My 16 week old son has a hard time self-soothing, and as a result is waking up every 2 hours during the night and is taking 30-45 minute cat naps during the day. He was previously able to sleep 4-6 hour stretches during the night, but was taking 30- 45 min naps during the day. He inconsistently has napped for 1.5 hours, and we can usually put him back to sleep for another 45 mins (by rocking/holding) if he wakes up after 30 or 45 minutes.
For naps, we had been rocking/holding to sleep as he had a very difficult time settling. We have recently started shh/patting for naps with some success. We have to hold him and pat his bum until he is settled, then lay him down and pat his bum in his crib. He usually fusses/cries a bit but will eventually settle and sleep. He has occasionally napped for up to 1.5 hours with this method, but still sometimes only naps for 45 mins. We try to keep a close eye on his sleepy cues and aim to have him asleep by 1:30-1:45 minutes after waking. We have a wind down routine for naps which includes quiet play in his room, swaddle, walk around his room with song.
At bedtime, we have a consistent bedtime routine (bath, pjs, book, nurse) and he falls asleep while nursing. Previously this didn't seem to be an issue as he would stay asleep for 4-6 hours before waking again, but now it seems as though nursing is a sleep prop. He started waking every 2 hrs during a growth spurt and was taking full feeds. Now it seems as though this is a habit. Last night we were able to re settle him with rocking and shh/pat and only fed him twice so we believe that he is not truly hungry at each waking.
We try to keep him on a EAS routine but he has never had a consistent schedule due to short naps. He wakes around 7 am for the day and we try to have him asleep for first nap 1.5 hrs after waking. He is exclusively breastfed and nurses every 3-3.5 hours. He was in the habit of nursing every 2 hrs until recently, which likely contributed to grazing throughout the day & night. He is gaining weight appropriate for his age and has enough wet/dirty diapers in a day.
We try to get him to sleep for the night around 7 but the timing varies depending on when his last nap is. He tends to fight bedtime and often has 2 hrs of awake time between his last nap and bedtime, and sometimes longer. Lately he has been falling asleep for the night around 8 or 9, waking after 45 minutes to feed, and then falling asleep until 12 or 1.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!