Please Advise: Big, Hungry Baby and Short Naps !

[kmama]

Hi, My son is a little over 3 months old and is nearing 18 lbs.  He's on a four hour schedule now because he takes around 7 oz. at a feed and needs that long to digest.  Trouble is- he is a clockwork 45 min. napper and can hardly stay awake for more than an hour at a time.  So our EASY looks like EASASE!

He sleeps great at night (11-12 hours), goes down easily - even for naps, but seems tired during the day.
I don't know where to begin to extend the naps...I've tried extending is wake time and he falls asleep! Sometimes, I go in early and can catch hi before fully waking, give him his soother, touch his face and pat him and he'll drift back to sleep.  Other times, there's no getting him back to sleep as his eyes spring open and he smiles at me (only to start crying a little later due to tiredness).

Any help out there?  :roll:

[GG]

I've had and now again have that same issue.  I was trying EAESY for a while because I thought maybe he was hungry again (my milk supply was low and, as Tracy would say, my 'guilt was showing' :wink: ).  I don't think that was it.

Anyway, it sounds as if your DS is a big baby for 3 months old... he's obviously gaining weight well (congratulations!!  :-)) so I don't know if you need to worry about eating.  However, he's at that stage where he could be going through a growth spurt.

What is his temperament?  Also, how long have the 45 min naps been happening?

[kmama]

Yes, he sure is big! And long!  In any event, he is a generally very mellow boy.  Probably Angel/Textbook, but he's very physically active.  Has been since the womb

He kicks and plays for about an hour and then when I take him for a "wind-down"- he promptly falls asleep.

These short naps started at 7-8 weeks and didn't used to phase him so much, but now he just seems tired alot in the afternoon - eye-rubbing, face burrowing...

Thanks so much for your reply- any input is enthusiastically welcomed!

[Gigismom]

our dd was the feared 30-45 min napper from 2 months til about 6 months.  i couldn't extend the naps for anything!  so we did feedings every 2-2.5 hours or whenever she woke from her nap.  with the 45 min naps and short awake times at that age, the 3-4 hour routines were not possible.  when she turned 6 months, we were able to extend her awake times and since then  she usually naps 1.5-2 hours.  hang in there.

[Daniel's mummy]

Our ds was a 45 min napper too (and also a very big baby 21lb at 6months). I used to spend hours on this site trying desperately to find new ideas and techniques on how to extend his nap times, but nothing worked.   Some days he would sleep a little longer when I went in and soothed him again, but other days when I walked in after he had woken after 45 min I could tell as soon as I walked in the room that there was gonna be no more napping! :?

At around 6months he just suddenly sleeping for 1.5 - 2 hours.  I wish I could say it was something I did but it wasn't!  But I'm glad it's happened.

[GG]

Same here!  My DS started taking 2 hour naps when we returned from a trip to the west coast, and I hadn't done anything (except that our air conditioning had broken for 2 days and it was hot in here).  That was around the time he turned 5 mo.  Now, he still takes a 2 hour nap in the morning, which is heavenly because I can sleep in if I haven't gotten a good night's sleep.  The afternoons, however, are a different story!  30-45 min naps, even if I try to extend them.  I just end up getting screamed at in my ear (can anyone suggest any ear plugs?).

I do think that temperament has something to do with it, though.  Since he's an angel/textbook baby, it should be easier to try to extend the naps than with other babies.

Start by taking him away from his activity 5 min sooner than normal and starting the wind down then.  Also, try pat/shhh just as he's waking up from a short nap and, if he doesn't go back to sleep with that, I'd suggest trying PU/PD for a couple of days.  If it doesn't help, let him do what he's doing and try again in a couple of weeks.

Otherwise, just keep his activities a little shorter in the afternoon since his naps are so short.  When my DS takes his short naps I just make sure I watch his cues like a hawk and I get him down for a nap even if it's 45 min later.

Sounds like your little guy is doing great otherwise!   

HTH   :?