Short naps all of a sudden

[Momof2boyz]

Hello,

My son Carter has reflux so he's been sleeping on his tummy since he was about 1 mos. old (he's 6 1/2 mos. now).  He slept through the night for about 13 weeks and since then has woken up at different times but he now sleeps from 6:30pm to 4 or 5am, is breastfed, and then sleeps again until 7am.  He goes down really well for nighttime sleep but its his naps that are a big issue for us right now.  He used to nap quite well - at least one longer nap sometime in the day.  Now he naps for 1/2 hour to 45 min. at the most and then rolls onto his back and won't go back to sleep.  I've tried letting him cry and leaving him on his back but he just isn't used to it so he doesn't fall back asleep and I end up picking him up and foregoing his nap.  He learned to roll from his tummy to his back quite a long time ago but doesn't seem to have ANY interest in learning how to go the other way!  I've thought about doing PU/PD but I have another son at home, Riley, (he's 1 1/2) and its pretty impossible to spend any length of time with Carter when Ry's around so I'm at a loss as to what to do.  When he first started turning onto his back, we went in and rolled him back onto his tummy and I'm now realizing that that was a BIG mistake.  I guess we could try pat/sshhh (we used to do that when he wasn't rolling over) and leaving him on his side but I usually like to try to get him back to sleep on his tummy as he sleeps for longer (okay, not anymore!).  I think the short naps have been happening since he was about 6 mos. old. 

The other thing is that I cannot get him to eat!!  I've tried 3 different rice cereals, some pear and some yam & sweet potato - just gags on everything and closes his mouth when he sees the spoon coming - however he grabs at anything I'm eating so I'm pretty sure he's ready for solids.  He is breastfed and is on a 3 hour schedule - used to be 4 but somehow it got back to 3 - should I be trying to get him on a 4 hr. schedule again - or is he just hungrier b/c he's not eating solids?

Frustrated Mom

[ambersmum]

Hi there frustrated mom!
                                   I hear you on the short naps and am going thruogh the same thing. I am not now trying to extend her naps, if she wakes after 20 or 30 mins I am getting her up as trying to extend makes her scream! and I can't stand it! Not much help for you but it is sometimes good to know someone is going through it too.

On the weaning... would you try giving it to him on your finger if he hates the spoon? My dd will always suck my finger given the chance!  :wink: Surely its not too unhygenic if it is a clean finger?  :oops: I also gave dd a spoon to play with so she got used to the feel of it in her mouth, would that help?

Go to go dd has woken from a very short nap!

[GG]

Lots of things going on there!  The milestone of rolling over is wreaking havoc on his sleep.  This is normal.  They get used to it and get back to napping as they were before within a couple of weeks - if you can try keeping him on his routine (which, I can see, is very difficult, especially with another child).

Does your lo have a wedge in his crib (or is the 'upper' portion of his crib raised), so that he is sleeping at an incline?  This should help with the reflux (depending on the severity), even if he is on his back.  If that can help the reflux while he is on his back, he will get used to sleeping on his back (many babies have the opposite issue - they need to get used to sleeping on their tummies once they learn to roll over, so it shouldn't be a problem).  If putting him on his side gets him to sleep, I suggest doing that and then going in to put him on his tummy once he is asleep.

The other issue is that it doesn't sound as if your lo is sleeping enough hours if you are forgoing the nap because he is crying.  This only makes him more tired and could be affecting his eating (though I'm not going to say that's the issue with the solids since I don't know).  You really do need to put in the time to help your lo learn to sleep, either with PU/PD or pat/shush (if that still works for you).  Since you have another child, is there any way you can do some training on the weekend when someone else can help you, like a dp or family member?

Regarding solids, maybe he has a physical issue with the gagging.  Can you have his pedi check the back of his throat?  His actions say he is ready for solids but the gagging makes me wonder.  Tracy does say it takes a while for a baby to get used to this new feeling of the food in the mouth.  Is there a way to make the cereal more watery (add less cereal) and be careful about how far back it goes?  I'm really not sure about that issue... I'd suggest posting that particular question in the Eating forum for a better response.

HTH