I thought they were supposed to stay asleep...

[mandykittie]

When they put themselves to sleep.  I'm so confused!  We have a nice routine where Jasper can usually put himself to sleep, but then he wakes up every few minutes for awhile, then will sleep a max of about 45 min (it was 2 hours a couple of weeks ago!!!).   He's obviously still tired when he wakes, but wants to nurse, since that's what he does when he wakes up from naptime. :roll:
Am I missing something?
Thanks!
Amanda

[joannec]

I'm wondering about 2 things at his age: 1) 3 month growth spurt - if so, he will eat around the clock for a bit 2) sleep cycle changes around this time. 24 minutes is about a complete cycle but at this age they start reversing the cycle order so deep sleep comes first, followed by REM, making it more difficult to pass into another cycle. Unless he's obviously hungry, do your usuall shh/pat or PU/PD to encourage him into the nest cycle. He will have one or two shorter cap naps a day but aim for 1.5 -2 hours for the rest if possible.
Cheers, Jo

(DS-Noah 29/7/05)

[mandykittie]

Hi, and thanks for the advice!  I'm thinking it's not a growth spurt...it's early for that, he's a biiiig boy (at 13.5+ lbs), and he's just not acting like a growth spurt.  It's interesting about the sleep cycle changing.  I think I knew that at some point (about 2.5 years ago ) and that seems somewhat likely since he's waking that way.  He took a flukey 3 hour (!!!)  nap yesterday after being patted back to sleep, so perhaps he was able to drop into REM and get a good long rest.  As for "obviously hungry" ....well, he mouths around, but it's so soon after eating, it's just not reasonable.
I'll shoot for longer naps if they will both cooperate with me!
Thanks, and any other advice, anyone?
Amanda