SLEEP > General Sleep Issues

21 weeks, doesnt sleep!! Stick a fork in me, I'm done!! :'(

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Abbyw:
Hi, posting again... unfortunately DD2 is still cat napping all day and is now awake  frequently at night. Shes 21 weeks on Saturday and I really can't take it much longer  :'(

She's EBF but I'm going to start introducing formula as a back up. But she eats on average every 3.5-4 hours and is gaining weight nicely.
So I know she isnt hungry. Her reflux is under control and though she is chomping on everything I dont think she's waking up from pain... at least not during the day.

Sometimes she will surprise me and take a good 1.5 hr nap, but that happens once or twice a week, if I'm lucky. So she DOES know how to transition sleep cycles. Im doing everything i can to extend her naps (except shush/pat, which she finds distracting), W2S, hanging out while she's sleeping to try resettle...
She also falls asleep independently in her crib, takes a paci and is still in the swaddle.

let's just say I accept that she sleeps for 40 minutes at a time, how long do I keep her awake to avoid OT? Especially since she's up so much at night??

deb:
I don't get here on the boards as often as I used to so I haven't seen your other posts, but...it sounds like it might be habit.

With this much NW, though, my guesses would be teething pain and/or hunger. At 21 weeks introduction of solids isn't too far off if you haven't started yet, which would give her calories. Are you cluster feeding before bedtime?

If you think it might be teething pain, though - less to distract her from it at night? - you can try pain meds at bedtime and see if you notice a difference in her quality and length of sleep times.

Just a couple off-the-cuff thoughts.

Abbyw:
thanks for your response deb!
her NW have actually settled. she'll wake at about 3/4 am for a feed and is up for the day albeit too early, but I feel like i'll tackle that later.

for now, she's still taking 30-40 minute naps and if the stars are aligned, i'll get a 2 hour nap maybe once or twice a week. so i know she KNOWS how to connect the sleep cycles but she simply isn't!
I've tried tweaking her A times, W2S, sitting next to her throughout the nap in effort to extend the nap before she fully wakes. i've tried leaving her in the crib to fall back asleep on her own. more stimulation, less stimulation. totally dark room, swaddle, no swaddle.
nothing, and i mean NOTHING seems to be helping her sleep longer.

so the question is, should i push her to stay awake longer between the catnaps or let her go to sleep as soon as she looks tired? this usually happens when she's awake for an hour or so...

deb:
I'd try stretching the A time gradually, start with maybe 1:15 and work up every couple of days in 5-10-minute increments, see if you can get her to stay awake long enough, especially at the first A time to be properly ready for a nap. I found that keeping mine in her room for the first A cycle helped a LOT: I could feed her, change her, play with her quietly on her floor, all in her room, and really got to know her cues better too. Less stimulation that A time made for an easier transition to naptime too.

Aimi:
Just wondering how things are going now? Did you manage to get longer naps and in that case how?

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