Ok, so today he fed better on a 3hour schedule and seems how his naps are rubbish I think I need to stick to 3hourly and not actually push him to 3.5.
Naps are now my main issue. I think I’ve got his A time right at 1h20-30, but I’m unsure as he’s still not napping for a good length of time so perhaps does need longer but he’s often grumpy by 1h30.
I cannot for the life of me get him to self settle. Like at all! So I’m unsure if this is the problem/connecting sleep cycles or if he just isn’t tired enough to nap longer.
I have an older DS1 who I had to teach to self settle and still goes to bed brilliantly now at 28months old. So it’s not new to me. But DS2 seems to be an entirely different kettle of fish. If I put him down drowsy or even ‘just’ asleep - his eyes ping open and he moans and cries. This happens until he is inconsolable/OT. Sssh/pat won’t work at all - it seems to make him worse. Similarly, if I try to resettle when he inevitably wakes, he’s on high alert and eyes wide open and not sleepy. I have tried w2s a few times unsuccessfully - I go in at 30mins (his naps are usually 40-45) but he still seems to fully wake and then I cannot get him back to sleep. He’s a very easily distracted baby, spends his A time very wide eyed and on high alert. He naps in a dark room, with blackout, and has white noise on (as he also has on at night too)
Because of all of the above, we currently do all naps in my baby carrier or ring sling. However, this doesn’t guarantee me a long nap. Most of the time he still wakes after 45mins and then nods back off in the carrier after 20mins, or sometimes not at all.. Sometimes he’ll sleep in there undisturbed for an hour+.
I am desperate to teach him to self settle and do some gentle sleep training like you mentioned, creations, but I’m not sure where to go from here?