Should I Try "Wake to Sleep" w/my Short Napper????

[LivvyLoosMom]

My 5-month old dd has always been a short napper (30 minutes) from the time she was about 4 weeks old. 90% of the time when she wakes from a nap, she wakes up happy, eyes bright and seems ready to get up. Early on I tried holding her, comforting her, shush-pat, etc to get her to go to sleep again,  but it never worked. Now I guess I just assume she's a short napper since her daddy was the same way as a baby. She is an Angel/Spirited type, pretty easy to read, was on a good 4 hour routine prior to Xmas (travel, then sick, then cut a tooth) but we're working our way back there. Our routine is more EASAE with very little Y time for me.  Her A time is around 2.5 hrs now, and E can be 5 min or 15 min. depending on her appetite (seems to have lost it w/her teething).  Since she isn't cranky during the day, I figure she's getting enough sleep. But sometimes she does cry upon wakening until she sees me - could it be she's jolting out of one sleep cycle and it scares her?  I can pretty much set my clock by her naps - it's almost always 30 minutes long.  I'd be grateful for your comments and if anyone is going thru this too. Thanks!

[rossilu]

i am having the same problem w/ my 5 month old!  waking at EXACTLY 30 minutes, happy!  he can (and does) stay up as long as 3.5 hours.  a few times i have tried to put him down after 1.5-2 hours and he just lays in his crib babbling...let me know if you find a solution!

[LivvyLoosMom]

Hi ... I would think that's a long time to be awake too, but I have experimented a little with shorter A times and also just waiting to see how long she's awake before she becomes cranky. If I try to do our wind down any earlier than 2 hrs., it can become a bit of a struggle. So I find I have to combine our routine w/her inner clock. Starting anywhere from 1.5 -2 hrs after she wakes from her previous nap, I change her diaper if it's wet, talk quietly to her a little while she's on her changing table, close the blinds & curtains, turn on the noisemaker, put the heating pad on her bed, snuggle her close in the nursing position, then she'll babble for about 5 min., and when she's drowsy I put her in her crib. I still need to do pu/pd at least 50% of the time as she sometimes starts to fuss/cry. When I've tried letting her fuss (i.e. not rush in too soon) EVERY time I do this her fussing turns into full blown VERY upset crying. The A preceding her naps seems lowkey to me - she's either playing in her walker with one or two toys or is on a pastel-colored playmat or is on my lap playing w/a toy. We don't watch tv or videos or anything so I think her A times are pretty sedate.  I recently read one book that said if you wait to put your child down for a nap when you see them yawn or rub their eyes, they're already overtired, so I start the wind-down before I see any of those signs and it seems to be helping - helping her sleep more soundly perhaps but not any longer. I tried "wake to sleep" for one of her naps today, and right at 30 min. she jolted but my hand on her chest and one shielding her eyes didn't help. In fact she seemed to wake faster than when I watch her on the monitor, and as soon as she saw me, she gave me a big grin like she was saying "Thanks for being right here when I woke up!"  She was brighteyed as usual but I tried pu/pd to no avail - she was ready to be up. Is that normal for the first time trying "wake to sleep"?

[Colesmom]

Hi there,

My DS always cries upon waking.  It's not necessarily a sign that they are still tired.  30 minutes is not restorative however so I would continue to try and extend the naps.  And yes, doing wake to sleep can take several days.  Do it for all naps for a few days.  If simply putting your hand on her doesn't work, maybe try patting lightly. 

How is her night sleep?