Not sure what to do

[GraysonsMommy]

Everytime I get our 4 month old DS to stay asleep for 1.5 to 2 hours, he reverts all over again!  Then I'm back at his cribside for another couple of days,until he starts sleeping on his own all over again.  We've repeated this pattern for a month now! 

For the past three days, he had been napping all on his own for 1.5-2 hours then starting with his afternoon nap yesterday, he woke after 50 minutes and today, after 30!  The hard part with this new cycle is that he is waking happy and by the time I realize he's awake, he's wide awake, cooing and playing in his crib.  When I go in there and attempt to put him back to sleep, he smiles at me and won't go back to sleep.  If he's waking happy, should I attempt to put him back to sleep, even after only 30 minutes?

The other thing that is happening now when I do attempt to put him back to sleep, sometimes it works.  I will stay in there past the 10 minutes it takes him to fall completely asleep, then he will just wake five minutes later, again!  It's driving me mad.  I am at the verge of CIO, just for sanity.  I can't keep standing at his cribside while he cries every day all day like this.  p/u-p/d is not working, he doesn't stop crying while I hold him.  It's making me nuts.  Are there any other suggestions?  He's on the 4 hour EASY, but with these short naps, I'm getting all confused and he's needing four instead of three naps, or he's awake for over 3 hours before bedtime, which is definately effecting his night sleep!  And his night sleep, that's a whole different story althogether, I need to post on the general sleep board too.

My DH is away for three days and nights and I am just going to lose it, if I don't get him to sleep at least a little.  Plus, we have a dr. appt at 3 today and if he doesn't go back to sleep, he is going to be needing another nap right at 3, making it very hard to get through his appointment without a serious meltdown AND possibly ruining tonight's sleep from being overtired.  HELP!!

Jessica

[Matthew's Mommy]

Hi there,

Okay, this may not sound like it to you, but he's making progress and will get out of this 45 min. napping soon. What tends to happen, is they do great for a few days, then regress. They go back and forth like this until they completely start taking longer naps.

I would keep doing what you are doing, just maybe staying a little longer with him to make sure he gets into the next sleep cycle. I know you are probably ready to go out of your tree, but he will get passed this soon. His body is getting used to taking longer naps, and soon it will demand it.

Hang in there.. from mother of a reformed catnapper to another.. it's one of those things that takes time, repetition, and maturity.

[GraysonsMommy]

Jane,
Thanks so much for the reply, so this is normal progress, really??  I guess I didn't see this as progression, I was thinking that he was doing well and then slipping off track again.  And each time it happens I have been getting more and more frustrated.  So, if he wakes happy after 30 minutes, should I still try to get him back to sleep?  And if he just won't go back to sleep, will it set us back even further, if I get him up?  I can't wait for his body to start demanding more sleep, I'm so exhausted of this repitition.

Jessica

[Aarismom]

From one mom to another that just went through this...

Trust me, it DOES get better. Jane's right, it's normal progress. If he's happy after 30 mins, it's ok to get him up. I've had to do that once or twice. It won't set things back if you have to. He's to the point now where you can start thinking about putting him down by the clock as opposed to the "2 hour rule", but I wouldn't keep him up for more than 2-2.5 hours at 4 months for the afternoon nap, and no more than 2 hours for the morning nap. At 5.5 months, my lo still isn't up to 2.5 hours for the afternoon nap, but she's getting close. At 4 months she could really handle being up that long, but she was a little overtired and naps were hit and miss. Naps were pretty hairy for my lo until about 4.5-5 months, then she started taking more and more regular naps, with regression happening less and less. Basically set up your nap schedule during the day, and do your best to follow it, getting him up at the same time every morning, and putting him to bed at around the same time every night to try and set the biorhythm during the day. If he has a horrible nap day, put him down 1/2 hour to an hour earlier for bed.

This is where I think a lot of moms really learn the meaning of the "go with the flow" rule :lol: It will end, but it takes some time to work out the kinks

*HUGS*
Sonya =P

[Matthew's Mommy]

hehe.. well said Sonya!

I'm just going to add..

Ditto!

It's rough when you're in the heart of catnapping country, but it does end.

[GraysonsMommy]

I'm feeling so much better today.  He slept fairly well last night (two wakings) and didn't get up until 7am this morning!  Usually it's 5:45.  He had woken at 4am all smiles and wide eyed and I thought, "Oh nooooo you don't, this isn't happening." So he played for an hour in his crib, went back to sleep at 5, and woke at 7! I just wish I could count on that for every day.  His first nap was fabulous, he went down SO easily, fell asleep in 5 minutes and slept for an hour and fourty five minutes.  He's down again now and quietly working himself to sleep.  See though, this is great and I love days like this, but he will have a regression probably in another day or two. I guess, if the regressions happen less and less, that would mean the good days are ocurring more and more.  When I look back at his sleep journal, which I started when we started the sleep training, it does definately show quite a bit of progress.  He is having fewer bad days and more good days now.  And with his ear infection on the way to better, I'm sure that will help.  The teething is another story, I don't know how long that will last, I feel those little bumps in there, but who knows when they will become pearly whites!?

Thanks for reminding me that even a little bit of progress IS progress!  Of course, I always feel this good on the good days, lol.   :wink:

Jessica

[Matthew's Mommy]

When those regression days happen, I would tell myself "this is okay, tomorrow will be a better day.. we'll get through this."

I found that once in a while,  Brendan will have a crazy nap day, and then the next day will be better.

[GraysonsMommy]

Boy are you right.  Last night, Grayson slept through the whole night again and today, he is napping great.  Woke at the 45 minute mark, I didn't go in, he fussed and cried for a minute, then put himself right back to sleep!!  I LOVE days like this!!

Jessica