Extending naps - 1st nap good, 2nd nap not, need tips!

[meispirit]

Hi there,

I've been working on extending my 7mo Catnapper's 40min naps for the last 8 days now and have been doing a whole lot of shh-patting! There's some positive change which is great. Yesterday and today DD had 1hr40 and 1hr20 morning naps without assistance - hooray!

However, the afternoon naps are a different story. It takes longer for me to put her down - she tends to want to get up and crawl about the cot - and also I have to help her transition past the 40min mark with about 20-30 mins of patting. Even then, she doesn't sleep longer than 1hr10. Any tips for getting these pm naps on track??

Note: She just starting dropping the 3rd catnap and so her EASY routine has changed changed quite a bit in the past two days. She has to have more A time, and perhaps this is why afternoon naps are more of a struggle? Here's her new EASY (still refining):

6:30 wake
7:30 BF
8:30 breakfast (fruit)
9:30 nap (1.5)
11:30 BF
12:30 lunch (veg)
2:00 nap (1+ and working on more)
3:30 BF
5:30 dinner (veg)
6:00 bath & bedtime routine
6:30 bed (though last night I couldn't get her to sleep till 7)
10:30 DF

She still has 2 BF at night - 1:30 and 4:30 - more out of habit at this point I think, but I need to sort out naps and get good daytime routine before working on night...ahhh



 

[*Natasha*]

Your routine looks great. We went through the same thing with DD when we dropped the cat nap. I end up using W2S to extend her PM nap. Have you tried that?

[meispirit]

I just tried your W2S (option a) suggestion on the afternoon nap. At the 35min mark I put my hands on DD's back and legs and held on for 15 minutes. She squirmed around for 10 mins and then was still for the next 5. I *thought* she had successfully transitioned,  but 5 mins after I took my hands off she woke up. After 15 mins of trying to put her back to sleep and her getting more and more upset, I realized it was only 15 mins till the next BF and maybe the hunger pangs had set in, so I fed her. What did I do wrong?? Do you think I should move the BF times to 8, 12, 4, then 6 before bed so that that are not so soon after naps? Or should I try the other W2S method instead? Your thoughts are much appreciated!

[*Natasha*]

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64168.0
Here is a link to how to do W2S. Give this a go and come back to me and let me know how you go.

[Layla]

I did w2s on dd2 when she was 7 months and similar to your was taking a short pm nap. I would go in at 30min mark and make her stir. Stoke her hand or her cheek or move her blanket... just enough to make her move & leave. I never held on so maybe thats why it didn't work  .

hth
Layla

[meispirit]

It worked!! I am so excited!

I did W2S the same way you describe, Layla, and my DD slept 1hr10 unassisted. That is a first for a pm nap! So nice not to have to pat for 20 mins!

Natasha, thanks for the W2S link. I had only seen the short 2-paragraph explanation before, and it was great to read other Mums' varying experiences before I tried it the second time.

If I continue doing this over the next few days, can I expect DD to sleep longer than the 1hr10 or do I have to repeat W2S again at the 1 hour mark so she'll hopefully sleep another 40 min cycle?

Also, I wanted to ask a question regarding her wanting to crawl around in the cot when I put her in. Do you think she does that because I've put her in too early?? I usually wait until she's rubbing her eyes and burrowing into me, then I hold her over my shoulder for a bit while patting. Lately she has starting arching her back and pushing away from me, and that's when I lay her down in the cot to start the shh-pat. I have to almost force her to lay back down from being up on her hands and knees about 4-5 times before she starts her mantra cry and lets me pat her. Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks! I was so nervous doing this W2S for the first time, but now I feel more confident.

[Layla]

YAY!!! . So glad it worked for you. Yes, if you continue to do it for 3 days in a row, it will extend your dd's naps. I only ever did it once as I've always considered a nap of 1hr or more to be sufficient. So maybe someone else can help you out with that? Trust me, I think everyone is nervous doing it the 1st time. Just the thought of waking her up at the 30min mark used to drive me insane but luckily everytime I did it, she slept longer.

Arching back is a sign that she wants to be put down already. Isabella always did laps around the cot before she finally fell asleep. I accepted it - I think its her way of calming down before sleep. She still does it, sh'll talk & play in the cot before she falls asleep. I would just leave her & let her fall asleep on her own. I wouldn't do the shh/patting unless she is crying and its not a mantra cry.

It sounds like she's doing great!

Good luck
Layla

[*Natasha*]

Great news you will probably find she will slowly extend a little longer than 1.10hrs.