Does Wake-to-Sleep work for extending naps?

[MyBella]

Still struggling with 6 mo dd's 30 min naps.  We have been going in at the 20-25 min mark to extend for the past few days with not much success.  She get stimulated very easily so we don't do p/sh.  She's now sleeping only about 1.5 hrs all day made up of 3 short naps.  And because she's also waking up and playing at night even though she's in bed for 12 hrs, I suspect she's probably only sleeping about 10.5 net.  As a result, right now I have an overtired baby.  I don't know how to break the cycle.  Has anyone tried the WTS method to extend naps?  Has it worked? 

Thanks.

[heather10]

Matthewsmommy here was talking with me about this last week and mentioned that it can work for extending naps.  I'd certainly give it a try.

[MyBella]

Oh, really?  Sure would like to try something else since the other things don't seem to be working.

How does WTS differ from trying to extend the naps?  Are you supposed to actually wake her?  How long before the jolt are you supposed to do it?  What if she wakes up totally and doesn't go back down?  How many days/weeks would it take for it to succeed?  So many questions, but I'm desperate...

[Maggie's Mom]

I've been trying this and I think that we're getting somewhere, but I'm not sure. I go in at 25 min and put a hand on my LO and then shush when she stirs. I think I started by patting and shushing, but now only have to shush sometimes (I made it through once yesterday with no shush at all!). I stay till 45 min (20 min total). So, sometimes I feel like we're making progress, and other times I don't (see my post from this afternoon!). It doesn't work as well when I go in for the second and third rounds (at an hour 10 min, etc). I don't know if this is really considered WTS? Or if I'm just setting myself up as a prop? Oh, and I turn away so she can't see my face if her eyes do open b/c that distracts her.
I'm also dealing with the always overtired baby, but she is getting more daytime sleep since I started this, so I'm hoping we're breaking the cycle. Good luck! I'm interested to hear how it goes if you try this.

[MyBella]

Maggies mom,
Is what you're doing considered WTS?  Because what you're describing is what we've been doing - going in at the 20-25 min and keeping a hand on her as she stirs and trying to get her to fall back asleep.  We haven't been able to extend much with this method.  It also hasn't helped to extend the awake times - only results in a more overtired baby who takes even shorter naps...

[Lucysmom]

Beril -  I don't know why it is called wake to sleep but it is called that in the book (around page 228 there is a description of it).  Tracy says you can either do wake to sleep or pu/pd to extend naps.  Maggie's Mom I am with you in not understanding how patting or putting your hands on the baby are not props.  But I am desperate for my dd to nap longer so that she does not end up overtired and screaming like a wild animal at bedtime.   :shock:

I have been doing this for 10 days and things don't seem to be getting any better. 

Sorry you're also dealing with a short napper.  My dd is also textbook/spirited by the way.

Take care...

[Maggie's Mom]

I have not been extending wake times--my LO is usually only up for an hour and a half, maybe 2 hours before I put her down. I can definitely tell the difference if she stays up longer--she is more tired and fights sleep more (today has not been much fun!). Some days I've gotten her to sleep for over 5 hours! and she still gets tired before 1.5 hours awake. Not five hours at once, and certainly not quality sleep, but you'd still think she wouldn't be as tired after all that?
To keep my sanity, my goal has been to start by getting her to nap more than 45 minutes first (so anything over 45 is progress!) and then as that's gotten better, now I'm working on making them longer than 1.5 hours, and so on.
Beril, you mentioned that your DD gets distracted by the shush-pat, have to tried just putting a hand on her (no pat) and shushing? Sometimes that works better for me.
Maggie is Angel/Spirited and we've been at this 10 days, too!

[MyBella]

8 days of pu/pd to extend naps and getting rid of paci.  We've made some progress with naps, I've actually gotten a 50 min and a 40 min one today.  But w/o the paci she's just more grumpy going down.  We have a lot more fussing and crying.  I miss the days when dd used to be able to calm down easily and fall asleep even without the paci.  She's really fighting sleep...

[Carys' mom]

Hi,

I'm in the same boat with our almost 7-month-old dd. Today, she's only had a total of 1.5 hours of nap time and is now a weepy basket case. She keeps waking between 30 and 40 minutes after going down. It's very difficult to get her to go back to sleep because she's spirited and a very alert little girl. I haven't tried WTS because I thought it would be too stimulating for her being spirited and all. Has anyone had success with WTS during naps with a spirited baby yet? I'd be interested to know.

Thanks...

[MyBella]

Melanie,
My experience is identical to yours word for word!  I've tried WTS w my spirited one, but I think the fact that she sees me when she wakes up from a short nap stimulates her even more, and our life is all about keeping stimulation to a minimum.  DD does not stop even for a second, constantly moving, looking around, reaching for things, kicking, etc. etc.  So I can't say that WTS has worked for us.  We are also averaging about 1.5hrs total in naps right now.  I sometimes get 2 hours, but that takes a lot of persistence and effort.  Yesterday, she slept only 1 hour made up of two short naps in an entire 12 hr period!  I'm trying pu/pd now to extend naps, pm me if you'd like to know more or commiserate...

[Travis' Mom]

I will throw out some suggestions to you and see if anything helps.  What are you doing when your LO wakes up?  Are you rushing in?  Maybe they can put themselves back to sleep if you leave them for 10 minutes before intervening.  How much activity do they have before they go down? What sort of feeding routine are they on?
I used the WTS to get a later morning wake time and extending naps and it did work for me.  I just go in and jostle his legs or tummy until I get a stir or a turned head or something to let me know I interrupted his sleep and then I leave the room.  I don't let him see me at all.  Even if I have to duck down below the crib and crawl out of the room!
You may need to keep a journal of your daily events and the times and go back to square one.

Just some thoughts.....good luck.

[MyBella]

This is what I find so confusing.  Everyone's describing the WTS technique differently.  What Travis' mom is describing is different than the WTS description on p 251 of Tracy's book, and the way TH describes it for naps is different than the way she does for dealing with habitual night wakings.  For naps, TH talks about patting her gently to relax her through the jolt, and that it can take 15-20 minutes.  And I've done that.  Many times.  We go in, before she awakens and keep a hand on her, but at 30 min she's wide awake and no amount of sh/pat is going to send her back to sleep.

The reason I initially posted this message was to see whether the method Travis' mom suggests, and the one TH suggests for habitual nightwakings
 works for naps or not.  To me it's different to go in, jostle, and leave - instead of staying with lo through the stir.

Travis' mom, how short were your lo's naps?  And how long before did you go in and jostle her?  How many naps/days did you do that for before it was successful?  How old was lo at the time?  And how much were you able to extend with this method?  Thanks so much for your input!!!!

Beril

[Travis' Mom]

Hi there,
I did this when my LO was around 5 months.  His afternoon naps were only 45 minutes and I knew I needed to get them longer and the third nap (when he had 3 naps a day) shorter.
I set a timer for 35 minutes from when I knew he had just gone to sleep.  I went in and jiggled him enough to semi wake him, but he didn't open his eyes.  I quickly left the room and he then slept another 20 minutes.
The next day I did the same thing and he slept another 45 minutes.  The next day, I didn't set the timer and wanted to see how long he would sleep and he slept 90 minutes!  I was told any changes in routine will take at least 3 days.
He is now 7 months old and doing two naps a day, usually 1 1/2 hours each.  If they are shorter, I let him lay in his crib as he is very content in there and will only get him if he starts to cry at all or if the 1 1/2 hours is up.
The sshh/pat doesn't work for my LO either.
Keep me posted.
Sheri

[MyBella]

Wow, that's incredible!  I have to try this as I don't think pu/pd is working well to extend.  Also, how long was your lo sleeping at night at the time, as well as now? 

Thanks so much for your input!

[Aarismom]

Sheri,

So you're going in before the jolts start, or right after they start (which doesn't make much sense, but I'm not exactly sure how this works either and I can't get my hands on Tracy's second book)? I'm interested in trying this too...makes more sense then spending 30 mins in her room every nap trying to extend them past the jolts with a hand on her back (which works most of the time, but gets tiring). If you're going in before they start at 35 mins, how long until they normally start for your lo? My lo's start at 30 mins on the minute, so 35 mins would be too late.

Thanks for your input!

*HUGS*
Sonya =P