Playing with Activity time to increase 45 min nap - Success right away?

[FlyFisher]

Hi,
I have been having problems with my LO taking short 45 min naps. We're also just trying to get on a more formal routine since before we were doing something like :

E - 7:00 AM
A - until 8:50/9:00 AM
E - to go to sleep (I know accidental parenting!)
S - 9:00 am to anyway... sometimes 1.5 sometimes 2 or 3 hrs....
E - whenever he woke up...
A - for another ~ 2hrs
E - for sleep around 1 PM
S - variable length....
ETC...

So I am now switching things around and doing the E first and not another one to sleep.... so it's more like EASY..... but could be EASE... he is 4 months old and I tried at first to fit him into the 3 hour easy since he was also a snacker baby since the frequent feedings. Lately he became a 45 min napper... much to my dismay...

The consensus is that he needs more A time... so I am wondering if you play with the A time (like this morning I waited until about 1:45 hrs of awake time, then did wind down...) do you see the nap lengthen right away or does it take a few days?

Thanks.

[Bryony]

Hi Flyfisher...  we've had 45 min naps on and off (mostly on!) since Katie was 7 weeks old....  they are really common.

Sometimes I have been able to extend A times and get a result - we always do it slowly, increasing only 5-10 mins at a time, and give it a few days to see if it works. I know for most people increasing A times DOES help, so it's definitely worth a try!

HTH

Bryony

[Amandamom]

I'm not an expert at all, but I do know that anytime you implement a change it can take 3-7 days to see results.

[FlyFisher]

Update: 45 mins naps seem to be due to over stimulation. Too much colour, too many toys. Reduced everything, had a low keep day, saw improvement that day.... first nap 1 hour 45 mins, nap 2, two hours 30 mins (one waking up and playing for about 15 mins, then falling back to sleep).

I am hoping this continues!! 

[Bryony]

Woo hoo!!!