how long should naps be and how many for 3 month old

[ShellyNathanTaylor]

Greetings. 

My DS is 3 months and 1 week old.  We are now on a 4hr EASY as his feeds are much better this way. 

I have a few questions...

1)  should I be trying to extend the A time?  He can usually only handle about 1hr 15mins, I've tried longer but have then found that its very difficult to get him settled again when he wakes at 45 mins.  If I start the wind down just after 1hr he goes down very easily and has  a much better nap. 

2) how long should they nap for?  He usually has a 2hr nap in the morning (he would sleep longer if I let him) and sometimes has a 2hr nap in the afternoon then may cat nap, may not after that but if he doesn't cat nap he's not too happy by bedtime!! Should I let him sleep longer in the AM if he wants to? 

3)  When he wakes up at 45 mins, it can take me 20-30mins of shh/pat to get him back to sleep... is this ok, can shh/pat become a prop?


Our routine looks like this

E 7am
A
S 8:15 (will go 2 hrs or more if I let him, still has difficulty getting past 45 mins on some days...needs alot of shh/pat but will fall back asleep eventually!).

E 11am
A
S 12-12:15

E 3pm
A
S 4:15 cat naps only if we're lucky

A start bedtime routine around 6pm (pj's, massage, story time)

E 7:00
S 7:30

DF 10:30, will then sleep until the morning (may wake up a couple times shh/pat back to sleep pretty easily)

[Mia & Scarlett's Mummy]

Hello

bw advice is to move lo to a 4 hour routine when they are 4 months old, before that it should be a 3 hourly routine.  However, having said that if your baby is happier on a 4 hour routine then go with it - if I remember rightly Mia was pretty much going 4 hourly between feeds at this age too.

To answer your questions:

1)  should I be trying to extend the A time?  He can usually only handle about 1hr 15mins, I've tried longer but have then found that its very difficult to get him settled again when he wakes at 45 mins.  If I start the wind down just after 1hr he goes down very easily and has  a much better nap.

I think you've answered your own question there!  I'm assuming the A time is on top of E time?  If that's the case that's more than enough awake time for ds.  It's somewhere in the 4th month that they can manage a total awake time of 2 hours.  1 hour A time at this stage sounds fine.

2) how long should they nap for?  He usually has a 2hr nap in the morning (he would sleep longer if I let him) and sometimes has a 2hr nap in the afternoon then may cat nap, may not after that but if he doesn't cat nap he's not too happy by bedtime!! Should I let him sleep longer in the AM if he wants to? 

On a 4 hour routine you should be aiming for 2 2 hour naps and a catnap of 30-45 minutes.  If you feel ds would benefit from a slightly longer am nap and you can still fit all the neccesary feeds in then do it - remember we are talking a routine here - not a time schedule!

The only other thing I would say is that if doesn't have a catnap then you may want to consider an earlier bedtime to avoid him becoming overtired.

3)  When he wakes up at 45 mins, it can take me 20-30mins of shh/pat to get him back to sleep... is this ok, can shh/pat become a prop?

been there and done it sister! That sounds perfectly normal at this stage.  I never found ssh/pat to become a prop and I don;t know of any other moms who have either.  Visit the FAQS board on this board and it'll talk you through why ssh/pat rarely becomes a prop.


HTH

[ShellyNathanTaylor]

thanks for the feedback Louise!!!

The A time is including the E time!! but you're right, he does better with a wind donw starting around 1h - 1h10mins so I'm going to go with it, I wasnt sure if I should be trying to extend his A time or not...

I've tried a 3hr and even a 3 1/2hr routine but it always ends up at 4hrs as that is what fits him so again I'm going with that!

Hopefully my back wont break from all the shh/pat before we get sleep figured out!!

Have a great holiday. 

Shelly