Lately my 4 mo old has been suffering the 45 min naps, despite being pretty darn well rested at night (she sleeps 12 hours straight, sometimes more most nights, no wake time). I've been trying to push her wake time during the day to 2 full hours, but she always seems like she's starting to get overtired by 2 hours. The last time I did do it, she still took a 40-45 min nap. She goes down after 1hr 40 mins almost like clockwork.
Lately, when waking at 40-45 mins, she starts by cooing for 5 mins or less (may open her eyes), then she lays down her head, kicks her feet, and starts doing a gutteral cry (from the back of her throat). This usually stays the same volume, and continues anywhere from 5-20 minutes. During this time, she will have her eyes shut, picking up her head and moving it from one side to the other (she's a tummy sleeper now), and trying to suck on her fingers, lifting her butt and lowering it. I can't tell if there are tears or not, but after about 10 minutes of this, occasionally I end up carefully picking her up, calming her down, and putting her back in the crib to sleep anywhere from another half hour to another 45-hr. When I do pick her up, her face is wet, but that could easily be from the amount of drool she creates from sucking her fingers (the cot is usually soaked where she lays her head whether or not she wakes). If I leave her alone, it ends after 20 mins or so, and she sleeps the same amount.
My question is, is this a mantra cry?? If so, it's an awefully long one. I've tried going in at 30 mins and trying to catch it by laying a hand on her back when she starts...but she goes into it anyway. Sometimes its shorter, most of the time it seems to last forever, and I worry she's not getting rested during that period. Defining a mantra cry is still a mystery to me.
Secondly, if they do take 45 min naps, do you normally wait until around the next nap period (even if it's 2.5-3 hours away) to put them down in order to preserve the natural biorhythm? I've read that you should, but I'm not sure if anyone really does this and have it work.
Thanks for your help
*HUGS*
Sonya =P
