Suddenly Short naps.... Oyvey!!!!

[takire]

Hello everyone,

My 5 month old used to take a 45 minute nap in the morning (at around 8:30am or 9:00am), then a 1 1/2-2 hour long nap in the early afternoon, then a 45 minute nap in the late afternoon.  Lately, she seems to want to only take 35 minute naps at a time.  We just returned from vacation (last Monday) and had to retrain her to sleep on her own (I nursed her to sleep while on vacation, because of the unfamiliar environment).  She falls asleep on her own now, but doesn't sleep for longer than 35 minute naps.  Her nighttime sleep is still uninterrupted (mostly).  I just want to have her take longer naps, as she wakes up tired from these catnaps (my mother, her babysitter, I notice her rubbing her eyes constantly since she wakes up).  I've read from various sleep experts that any nap shorter than 45 minutes is basically no nap at all and it has little restorative effects.  I want to make sure Gaby's naps refresh her and leave her energized and ready for the next wake cycle.  How do you suggest I lengthen her naps?

Did I mention I leave Gaby alone for up to one hour in her crib after she wakes up from her now 35-minute naps without her settling herself back to sleep?  She used to wake up after 45 minutes when she was younger and leaving her in her crib used to do the trick to get her to sleep again.  Not working anymore.  She seems to be fully awake now.  The only thing tha's changed in her environment (besides having come back from vacation one week ago) is I don't turn on the A/C during the day anymore because it's cold in New York now.  I still put a fan on (to battle the heat from the heater) and the white noise maker on.  I don't believe the noise level or temperature in the room has changed...  I have also tried the coming into the room before she fully wakes up to help her resettle to sleep (by patting her), but this has not worked.  Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Erika

[Meg's Mom]

Have you tried increasing her A time, in my experience w/ my LO that has always worked for us.  She is a reformed 45min napper nd we have been fighting the 45min nap monster through 4 to 3, 3 to 2 and 2 to 1. 

What A times are you at just now?

[takire]

Sorry for the late reply...  Her A time is about 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours.  Actually, these are extended A times, since she starts rubbing her eyes and yawns much earlier than that.  I've tried getting her to nap earlier and later, but she still sleeps little and then wakes up from her nap in a very bad mood and will be in a very bad mood until her next nap....

Just this morning, she only took a 25 minute nap!!!!  I don't know what is going on with her! 

So how long should A time be, do you think?  I have the baby on the 4 hour EASY schedule, except I move everything to one hour earlier, since she wakes up at 5:30am or 6:00am and I can't seem to help her move that time to a 7am wake up time. 

These short naps are driving me crazy, but, most importantly, are driving her besserk!  The thing is that bad naps usually translate into nightwakings.  When she naps well, she sleeps the full 11 hours at time without interruption.  If she doesn't nap well, she wakes up at 4am inevitably....  I am getting quite frustrated!

Thanks for "listening"!

Erika

[Meg's Mom]

Now it is my turn to offer appoligies...we are working on the 1 nap transition add to that a recurring ear infection and the time change...oyevy!   :shock:

Do you swaddle?

Use white noise?

Have room darkened?

Have you tried pat/shhh to get dc back to sleep?

Does dc use a pacifier?

[takire]

Hi Michelle,

I have been swaddling little Gaby since the first month and actually does not sleep well without the swaddle.  I've tried weaning her off from the swaddle, but she has been miserable.  So, I don't think she's ready to be unswaddled yet.  I'll continue it.

I have also used a white noise maker since the first month.  It never really made a difference, but since we live in New York City near a busy sreet, I figure it can't hurt any of us. 

I haven't been able to buy room darkening shades, as we live on a rental apartment and my husband freaks out about "installing" anything that might require us to put holes on the wall.  However, we have suspended towels over our shades to make the room much darker.  It's not perfect, but it's the best we've been able to do.  Any suggestions on this?

I have tried pat/shhh back to sleep, but it stimulates Gaby more.  It wakes her up.  I used to think just looking at my face woke her up more, because she automatically thought it was time to play as soon as she would see me (even if she was tired).  However, I've done the pat/shhh while hiding my face behind the crib bumper and sneaking my hands thorugh the rail under the bumper (I know...  It's ridiculous what us parents try to do in desperate situations), and still has stimulated her too much. 

Finally, Gaby never ever took a pacifier.  I've bought over 20 different types, sizes, brands (I'm not exaggerating) and she won't take any of them.  We've been trying since day 1 (At the hospital even) and try even today, but she still refuses it.  She prefers something fleshy with real meat.  We can't fool her with a fake sucking item...  

Well...  That's about it!  Any thoughts?  I've been getting her to bed (at night) 1/2 hour earlier than usual and she's waking up at her usual time.  So, she's recuperating a bit of time then....  Hopefully, this will help her get our of that overtired state she's in and might do better at naps.

Good luck with the 1 nap and time change transition.  Hope the ear infection is behind your little one!

Cheers,

Erika

[Meg's Mom]

That all sounds good so far.  For darkening the room, you could put foil or black cardboard on the windows.

Okay, give me a breakdown of all sleep.

Bedtime ________

Awake _________

1st nap _________ for ________ long

2nd nap _________ for ________ long

3rd nap ________ for _________ long

[takire]

Thanks for the tips on darkening the room.  I"ll try them.   Gaby goes to sleep at around 6:30pm.  She wakes up around 6:00am.  We used to have her go to bed more like at 7:30pm.  However, she always had such a hard time with naps, we decided to move bedtime earlier.  We figured if she's such a good night sleeper, maybe she can recuperate a bit from her bad naps at night. 

I know her quantity of sleep at night is great!  11 1/2 hours is nothing to complain about!  She usually does it uninterrupted, except for a few random cries here and there.  When she does not nap at least 3 hours during the day in two (or three) good naps, she inevitably wakes up at 3 or 4 am (sometimes more).

I usually keep Gaby up for two hours, then get her to sleep.  So, if she wakes up at 6:00am, her first nap is at 8:00am.  She usually starts showing sleepy signs 1hour and 45 minutes after being awake.  So, I just follow her cues for that.  Her first nap used to be somewhere between 1 hour and 1 1/2 hours (most likely 1 hour).  Her second nap would take place at around noon.  She would sleep for about 1 1/2 hours (sometimes as long as 2 hours).  If she ever took a third nap, it would be a short 30 minute one just to keep her awake from 2:00pm until 6:00pm.  It would usually happen from 4:00-4:30pm.  She really averaged 3 hours during the day for naps and 11 1/2 hours at night, which is perfect for a 5 month old. 

The problem, though, is she has been taking only 30 minute naps, which would not help her at all.  Then, she would get into this overtired state, which would affect all her other naps and her nighttime sleep.  During the past two days, though, she's been doing better.  Not perfect, but better...  What I did, I moved her bedtime to half an hour earlier (6:00pm), so she would recuperate.  She still wakes up at 6:00am.  This seems to be helping.  So, I'll continue to try this and see if all I needed to do is get her out of the overtired state...

I'll keep you posted!  Thanks for the support and advice!

Erika

[Meg's Mom]

I hope it continues!

I would also try to keep her awake an extra 15min during that first A period...see if that helps her sleep longer and then set her up for the rest of the day for longer or the same A times.  In my experience the short naps for 4+mos is usually due to not enough A time.

You are welcome  :wink: