5 1/2 month old suddenly doing 30-45min day naps | 3-2 transition

[MamaBergs]

Hello wise helpful reader!

My little miss is almost 6 months. She is mostly a great nighttime sleeper but her daytimes have become troublesome. She wakes from her day naps after 30-45mins. I have tried the PU/PD and the wake to sleep methods but they really haven't worked. When she does wake up shes mostly happy, like she is ready to play. She isnt crying - just being vocal/ chatting thats shes awake and ready for some company. Shes on the 4 hour EASY and if after the 1st nap (9am) i try to keep her up til the next 1pm nap (kind of hoping she will sleep longer). Sometimes this will result in a 1hr+ish nap or just another 40min nap. Her evening catnap (5.15pm) she easily sleeps 45mins then we wake her. As i said night times aren't an issue she may wake once around 5am but easily goes back to sleep til 7am. She falls asleep easily enough and we have a quiet wind down so she isn't overstimulated, just having trouble extending her nap lengths.

Currently:
7am Awake (BF)
9am Nap (duration up to 40mins - try to resettle til 11am)
11am Feed (BF then solids)
1pm Nap (duration 40mins - 1hour - try to resettle til 3pm)
3pm Feed (bottle)
5.15pm Catnap
7pm feed (bottle)
8pm Bedtime (have tried to bring it back but she just wakes earlier in the morning)


So im wondering if i should be increasing her Awake time to 3hours and dropping the CN? Also what would the ideal Feeding times look like?

I would love any thoughts and suggestions please as im running out of ideas!!!! I trialed a later nap this morning at 9.45am and she woke after 20 mins so she was definitely overtired.

Thank you for taking the time

[becj86]

So im wondering if i should be increasing her Awake time to 3hours and dropping the CN? Also what would the ideal Feeding times look like?

Hi, you've pretty much hit the nail on the head there. You could increase by 30min and see how she goes then increase by another 15min if needed. Feeds just happen still as per EAS when she wakes. If she's not managing the extra time between feeds, you can do a topup 45min or so after the main feed which avoids feeding to sleep and snacking.

FwIW, its much easier on everybody concerned if you increase A time by 15min every couple of weeks as needed rather than in big jumps

[MamaBergs]

Thank you Bec, i feel like i'm going a little crazy. She has always been spot on with the 3hr EASY and 4hr EASY and now shes all over the shop.

Today:
6.40am woke
9.30am slept 20 mins
12.20pm slept 1.5hrs miraculously (hasn't done this in a few weeks)
currently 5.20pm and shes happily wide awake and has been fighting a nap since 4pm -- luckily hubby is home.

I'll try the 2 1/2 hr wake time tomorrow

[becj86]

She has always been spot on with the 3hr EASY and 4hr EASY and now shes all over the shop.

Yes, they suit well when baby is the right age but as they grow, their A times keep increasing and you're definitely not the only one who gets stuck with 'what worked before'.

Fighting that 3rd nap can be another sign its time to drop the CN.

[MamaBergs]

Thanks Bec, still pluggin away. She had a great day a couple days ago with two 1hr+ naps but then massive fail yesterday with 3x 30mins naps. She just doesn't give off any consistent sleepy cues. So im just logging everything and hopefully a trend will emerge.

One thing she does do, when in the cot she does little butt raises and shimmies her way around, arches her back to look around. Shes not upset. I think perhaps shes getting a second wind and have missed the window and is overtired, which sometimes seems the case but then other times it seems shes just not tired enough. Seems to be around the 2hr 10-20min mark of awake time. Definitely not overstimulating her. Any thoughts?

Thank you!

[becj86]

I'd probably try another A time increase from there. Its hard when she's got an undercurrent of OT from lots of short naps for her to have reliable sleepy cues. Really you need to just pick an A time of 2:30 or 2:45, stick with that by the clock (reduce by 15min following short naps) for 3-4 days at least and see what happens.

Could she be a bit gassy?

Is she doing anything else resembling crawling? Might just be starting on that...

[MamaBergs]

Thank you so much, i really hope you realise how much of a savoir you are!!! I really appreciate you taking the time to help 

She had a great afternoon nap for 1 1/2hrs after awake time of 2:45 so i'll give that a try for the next few days, reducing as needed.

Shes not gassy, loves her food. I wouldn't say crawling just yet but the last two weeks shes been sitting up alone and confidently rolling from back to tummy so i'm sure that is taking a toll on her. Shes also very easily distracted so i do wonder if that's throwing off the sleepy cues, almost like at times shes not realising shes tired til i've started the wind down for a nap.

Thank you again!!!!!!

[becj86]

That's great. Glad things are looking up. Keep us posted