1 hour naps now, what the heck?

[Sarahboh]

Please help, I am feeling real down today about Ella's sleep. Her night sleep has been pretty good sleeping from 6;30 or 7:00 until 7:00am with one night waking usually between 1 and 2 am. Her daytime sleep has gone to cr*p. Each nap she is taking is about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. I am going crazy! I go in to help her get back to sleep with shh/pat, impossible she is looking all around and trying to make eye contact with me, even though I am blocking her eyes. She is 11wo on Monday, what the heck else can I do? Can I start PU/PD soon? And if she gets up early and I cannot get her back to sleep, can I keep her up? I am trying shh/pat for 20 minutes (after that I can't handle it anymore) where I sit holding her in her room until naptime is over (she is fully awake). I am also having a very hard time reading feeding cues. She is chewing on her hand when I come in and I notice a lot of bubbling/saliva during the day, could she be starting to teeth? She seems to be eating well every 3 hours (bf), when I give her a bottle with formula she eats 4 ounces. I think the biggest thing I need is reassurance that this is normal, can be resolved and will get better in the future. Thanks for any feedback :oops:

[Lucysmom]

Hi - Well, unfortunately the shorter naps are normal for babies 3-6 months.  I took the following from the sticky at the top of the naps forum.  It is a summary of what Jane (one of the mods) told me.

Problem:
My 13 week dd recently reverted to short naps. I was convinced there was something I was doing wrong and that if I could just find out what it was the short naps would be gone.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Strategy/Result:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matthew's Mommy (Jane) shared some info with me that has reassured me and given me the strength to face another day of trying to extend my dd's naps.

From 0-3 months babies work on organizing their night sleep. From 3-6 they work on organizing their day sleep. What is happening is biological and is a normal blip. In the meantime, I am going to try to extend her naps with wake to sleep so that she gets used to the sensation of going from one sleep cycle to the next. I am keeping her awake time at 1.5 hours and will start moving her towards the 4 hour EASY when she is 3.5 months or so.

Jane also advised that I do a pre-wind down before all naps. So if the nap is supposed to start at 8:30, around 8:00 start walking around the house or the garden. The swaying motion of walking releases a calming hormone in the baby. Walk around until 8:15 and then start your wind down. In my wind down I rock her for a bit, turn on a lullabye, take off her clothes, change her diaper, swaddle her, and then "slow dance" with her. I may tweak the wind down/pre-nap routine but it worked well this morning.

Jane did say that it could take a while for things to get sorted out in regards to her day sleep. But I just feel so much better knowing that what is happening is not my fault and it is just biology. I also feel like I won't be as frustrated with her as it is just another part of her growing up.

------

I did try to extend her naps but had to give up as I was losing my mind.  So I just made sure she had plenty of 45 minute naps (that is what we were stuck at) and eventually she just outgrew this phase.  I think what really helped her get over the short naps was that she learned to fall asleep independently.  How is Ella falling asleep?  When she wakes up is she happy or is she crying/clearly upset?

There is a 12 week growth spurt so it is possible that she is getting ready to go through that.  Growth spurts can really mess up sleep.  Also with her drooling and chewing on her hand, my dd also started doing the same thing around the same time.  Everyone said she was teething but she was not.  There is a time when their salivary glands really start going into overdrive so maybe that is what is going on there.  Not being much help here, am I?  :oops:

What is Ella's awake time these days?  You may want to increase her awake time GRADUALLY and see if that helps.  Around 4 months babies are typically ready to transition to the 4 hour EASY and I know some moms start the transition earlier if their babies seem to be ready for it sooner.  My dd is formula fed and was quite happy going 4 hours between feeds but Ella is breast fed so that is a different story.

Oh boy I was trying to be helpful but I am waffling like mad!  So sorry.  But I can reassure you that what is going on is normal (painful, but normal) and will get better once things are tweaked.  I trust someone with more brain cells will be able to help you more! :?

Take care!

[Sarahboh]

thanks for the advice, I cannot tell you how much it means to me today Ella is put into her crib awake, she falls asleep independantely, sometimes after giving some cries for a few minutes, but that is how it always goes. This past nap, she woke up after 1 hour, went in and she was smiling at me when I came in (crying before to get me in there)I held her for about 20 minutes, (she seems to hate shh, so I just pat her and hold her still) then she drifted back to sleep. Today I was experimenting to see if putting her in her bed earlier helped her sleep longer (for naps) (it seems it hasn't), I guess the next step would be keeping her up longer and see how she reacts right? I totally agree about a possible growth spurt coming, but I don't think I am really good reading her hungry cues. She seems to chew on her hands ALL DAY so I don't know how I am supposed to know whether she is actually more hungry or just chewing for fun. What does a real hungry cue sound like. Thanks again for all your advice and anymore you may have.

[Aarismom]

Yep, you have it right. My first thought was, "how long are you keeping her up?" At 11 weeks usually it's a sign they're up too long, but if putting her to bed earlier hasn't helped, then it might be time to extend wake time. Usually another 15 mins or so does the trick. It may come down to just weathering through it, following sleepy signs and going on a "wonky" EASY for a bit, and waiting until whatever developmental phase/growth phase is happening passes. Trust me, it will pass

BTW, if she seems hungry all the time, it's probably growth spurt related. Usually naps go out the window, and in some cases night sleep is interrupted. This is often followed by a few days of blessed sleep (long naps and great night sleep) while the actual "growth spurt" happens.

*HUGS*
Sonya =P

[Sarahboh]

sorry, I didn't include that her awake time is usually max 1 hour (pushing it sometimes), does this seem reasonable for a 11wo or should she have more/less?

[Aarismom]

1 hr-1 hr 15 is about right for that age I think, maybe a bit more.

*HUGS*
Sonya =P