Longer A time - I'm confused

[Ydnic]

My DS is 4.5 months old, and is able to fall asleep on his own, I just lay him in his crib.  Recently he started to have short naps and would fight when I tried to lay him down for his naps.  I finally figured out that he wasn't tired enough to sleep or go back to sleep after 1 cycle.  So, we're in the process of straightening this out.

What has me confused is that I was watching for his tired signals, just like always.  He would show signs of tiredness after 1.25 or 1.5 hours of A time, but didn't want to go to sleep until 2 hours of A time.  (He's changed this, and his signals now come around 2 hours) 

Is this typical? 

[samijoe]

Two hours A time is perfect for your lo who is 4.5 mths old.  You will work nicely into the 4hr EASY...especially if you can get him to pull off 1.5 to 2 hr naps twice daily and a catnap of 45minutes-ish!

Seems like you are reading his cues well!

sami

[Ydnic]

The big question is IF we can get past the short naps!

It seems like it takes me forever to catch on when he changes his schedule. 

Thanks!

[Ydnic]

ok, that helps.  He was at a 1 hour A time for the longest time, he just wanted to sleep and sleep.  This big switch is probably what is throwing me for a loop.

We'll keep searching for the magic awake time.  (His first nap today was 30 minutes.)

Thanks,
Cindy

[samijoe]

Cindy (ha ha, i understand your username now!):

Yeah, 30minutes is definitely a short nap....could you maybe try to extend his A time by 5-10minutes...perhaps by taking a short walk or doing something low-key?

How long was he up before this nap?

sami

[Ydnic]

He woke up shortly after 7:00, and he tends to babble in his bed, so I let him go until about 20 after.  Then I put him down for his first nap right at 9:00. 

I'm wondering too, if we should have played more.  He was in his swing, which he likes, but doesn't play with his toys when he's in it. 

He's now on nap #2 and has been sleeping for 65 minutes, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  (There was almost 2 1/2 hours of A time between nap 1 & 2.)

Yeah, I created my username and then saw that other's were much cuter and more creative!

Cindy

[samijoe]

It sounds like you know what you have to do tomorrow, eh?  Him having 2.5 hrs A time midday is fantastic!  Just try prolonging him the first A time tomorrow and let us know how he naps!?

When you find the magic number he'll probably have two very long naps (about 1.5-2hrs each) and a good catnap of 30-45 minutes.

great job,
sami

[Ydnic]

Well, I think his magic A time is 2.25 hours.  This morning he was up for 2.5 hours, I got a little side tracked, and knew I was putting him down later than I should have.  Sure enough, he woke up after 30 minutes.  But I went into his room, patted him, gave him his paci and started the lullabies and he went back to sleep!  Yeah, that doesn't usually work!  He slept about 1.75 hours total.

Keeping my fingers crossed that this is a turning point.

Thanks for talking this all through with me.  This website is wonderful! 

Cindy

[samijoe]

No problem Cindy,

It makes me feel pretty good too, to know that you are getting some Y time for you!! 

Yep, he might wake at the 30 minutes mark...don't go to him unless you need to (a real cry).  He should resettle and go back to sleep if truly tired.  1.75 hrs is great!

My little one, when i hear her playing on the monitor...nap time is over.  But if she wakes and kinda moans etc i know she is not happy to be awake and will usually resettle.  We just gotta remember to give them time.

Your ds might need to go 2.75 before next nap....but i would start a nice winddown a few minutes before 2.5 hrs and put him in the cot then.  Listen to see if he plays or goes right to sleep.  If he plays for a few minutes it is ok, he should fall asleep right on time.  I always do this with dd when we encounter a routine tweaking....so as not to overtire her!  I HATE OVERTIRED BABIES, HAHA!!

GOOD LUCK WITH NAP 2!

SAMI

[Ydnic]

I think he's finally down for nap #2, but I'm pretty confident that I did it too soon.  He cried and it took some doing to get him to calm down.  Will I ever get this right?! 

Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

Thanks once again,
Cindy