naps - how to extend
Hi,
Just looking for a little advice about naps. My son is 17 weeks old and breastfed. (feeds at 7am, 10.30 -11am, 2-3pm and a split feed 5.30pm and 6.45pm, then dream feed at 11, usually a feed at 3-4am). Night time sleep is generally not too bad, sleeps well from 7 to 11pm for dream feed then very occasionally will sleep til 6.00 - 6.30, with a wakening which he can self settle from, but more often will waken about 3-4am for a feed then sleep til 6-7am.
I'm quite happy with that, but the daytime naps have worsened in the last few weeks. When he was tiny I could only get him to sleep on the move in his pram. From about 8 weeks onwards he would sleep in his pram outside or in the house but only with white noise and swaddled.
He'll now sleep for his morning nap in his cot, without white noise, doesn't need to be swaddled for either 45 mins or 1hr 10m. Goes off with cuddle and shushing, drowsy but awake when put down. If he wakens after 45 mins he's still pretty tired and grumpy.
He then settles well for his second nap anytime between 12-1pm in his cot, but needs white noise and semi swaddled and will only sleep for 35-45 minutes. Prior to a few weeks ago he could sleep for up to 3 hrs at this nap (in his pram) and quite often needed to be woken up! Now if I pick him up he's sleepy and dozes off but when I put him down he lasts 5-10mins. In the last week we've dropped the shorter late afternoon nap, because he wouldn't go to sleep not even in the pram.
My questions are -
1. Is 1hr 10m too long in the morning, and that's why he won't nap well in afternoon? Should i waken him if he gets past the 45 minute sleep cycle?
2. I've tried PUPD for lunchtime nap, but seems to wind him up more, so tried patting in cot shushing and crying down. Not sure how long I should do this for? Just an hour or the whole 2 hr nap window I'm hoping for?
Sorry about the long rambling story.....without a big nap after lunch he's so grumpy!
written 6 weeks ago by Sleepy6241 - 7 replies - viewed 180 times
labels: daytime napping
Replies
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He's getting much more aware of what's going on around him at this age & it can be a time when previous good napping habits get upset. Ideally you want him to be able to nap in the cot when you're at home & in the pram when out & about so having a mixture of the two is fine.
You could try shortening his morning nap to 40-45 mins to see if it encourages a longer second nap (works well with older babies) but as he's quite young, it's more likely the case that he needs to hone his re-settling skills a little so he can get back off when he moves from one sleep cycle into the next. At the second nap, let him sleep for as long as he can manage then if he wakes after less than an hour's sleep, use your chosen settling method (comforting in the cot & cry down is fine) for 20 mins after he wakes. Initially he won't go back off & will need a third nap to last through til bedtime. With daily persistence though he'll eventually start going back off within the 20 mins & finally won't wake at all.
The whole process can take 2-3 weeks though so give it a go & let us know how you're getting on.
reply by Mentor-Sarah -
5 weeks ago
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That's great thanks for the advice I'll keep trying PUPDCD for a one hr nap window and I'll let you know how I get on :)
reply by sleepy6241 -
5 weeks ago
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Keep us posted.
reply by Mentor-Wendy -
5 weeks ago
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Hiya, had a much better day today, 1hr nap between 9 and 10am, then went out in buggy at 12.30, and then came home after half an hour, sneaked into the house and he slept for a total of 2 hrs in the buggy with the curtains drawn. He was a delight all day!
Is it so bad to let them nap in their buggy at lunchtime every day? should I persevere trying with the cot as well?
I don't really know why he'll sleep in his cot in the morning but not at lunchtime.
It does worry me a little that when he goes to nursery in october he'll be expected to nap on a little cot type thing with the other babies and I'm not sure how that'll go at the moment!
thanks for your advice
reply by sleepy6241 -
5 weeks ago
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It's very normal for the first nap of the day to be easier in the cot. With time though he'll start settling better for later naps in his cot & it's good to have him happy with both cot & buggy. The best approach is to try a second nap in the cot on the days when you're at home & if he doesn't manage it after 45-60 mins switch to the buggy. Don't stay in at home specially though, the buggy's fine for when you're out & about.
reply by Mentor-Sarah -
5 weeks ago
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well it's now 3 weeks later and things are much better. PUPDCD wasn't really working out the picking up just seemed to make him angry so I did comfort in cot and cry down for 10m at a time. This was much more successful. Sam will now have 45-60 mins in the morning, ( i don't let him sleep longer than that) and then has gradually gone from 40m at lunchtime, to up to 1 1/2 to 2 hrs, initially with wakenings every 35-40 mins but now not wakening at all. He can manage this in his cot or in his buggy in the house.
I'm really happy with this. My only hurdle now is that if I take him to something in the morning (eg massage at 11ish) and he falls asleep in the car on the way home because it's nap time, when we get home he wakes up and won't go back down. We live in the middle of nowhere and going anywhere involves a half hour car journey. After 30m cry down with comforting in between I've got him up and then put back down few hrs later when tired again. Seems able to limp through the day this way! Not as grumpy as before.
I've come to the conclusion that you can't have it all and I can't expect him to do this. Reckon As long as I limit it to maybe once a week where his big nap is interrupted like this his routine might not be ruined? I don't want to stop going out to all baby related classes, cos I'd never see anybody!
reply by sleepy6241 -
2 weeks ago
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You're exactly right, it can't be helped if your out and about and they fall asleep you just have to amend slightly that day but it looks like you've made great progress. Well done.
reply by DT-emily -
2 weeks ago
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