Author Topic: 4.5 month short napper  (Read 1178 times)

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Offline adaycm

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4.5 month short napper
« on: September 23, 2007, 15:29:00 pm »
Okay, so my 4.5 mo son is an angel baby, all the way around.  We have been doing EASY since birth.  He is still swaddled during sleep times. and self-sooths to sleep by usually crying for maybe 2 minutes.  Lately, he hasn't even been crying when we put him down for good at night.  I am breastfeeding and we are still doing about 7 feedings a day.  We are still on a 2.5-3 hour EASY Routine. 

About 3 weeks ago he started sleeping through the night.  He did it 5 nights in a row, then 2 when he woke up, then 5 again sleeping through.  The past 3 nights he has woken up at 4:30 and I haven't know what to do.  He gets to the point where he is screaming.  I've tried to just comfort him back to sleep without nursing but it hasn't worked, so I have been nursing him.  When I've nursed him he has eaten very vigorously.  I know that he is going through a little teething right now... and his naps are usually only 45-1hr in length.  I've tried the W2S but that doesn't usually work.

My question is, how can I extend his naps?  If he wakes up from the nap completely he won't go back down.  I've tried sturing him before his nap is over and sometimes it works, but not completely.  I think his short naps are contributing to his recent waking up in the middle of the night.    I've read on the boards, but I'm still confused.

Here is are basic routine:
E: 7:30
A:1.5-2hrs
S: 9/9:30-9:45-10:15

E: 10:15
A: 1.5-2hours
S: 12-1:00ish

E: 1:00
A: 1.5-2 hours
S: 2:45-3:45

E: 4:00
A: 1.5 hrs
S: 45 min

E: 6:15
A:

E: 8:15
A: sometimes
S: 8:30-9:00

E: Dreamfeed around 10:00

Offline deckchariot

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Re: 4.5 month short napper
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2007, 21:40:04 pm »
first, just let me say that nap extension is super hard, so don't get too down on yourself.  It's also a hugely development thing.  With my dd, the hardest part was 3 1/2 -5ish months (she's now almost 6 mos and has much improved her napping).

All that said, if your ds can do 2 hr A times, you may want to try moving him towards a 4 hr EASY.  I moved my dd to one (she is also bf) and saw an immediate improvement in naps.  It's possible that he's not taking a full feed at each feeding, that's why he wants to eat more often.  Here's link on transitioning:  https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=63161.0

Also, you could try pu/pd if w2s is not working.  I had better luck with w2s (able to extend about 1/2 the time), but my dh had better luck with pu/pd.  The key for me was really being able to distinguish her mantra cry from her regular cry - she will sometimes mantra cry for 30 min, but if I go in, she either wants to play then when she sees me, or she starts screaming (as if to say - mom, I was trying to go to sleep here).  So then I just try to keep an ear on her and if it escalates, I go in.  Also, if I can't extend a nap, I feed her, but then only keep her up for 30 min, then put her down for her next nap.  That way she can hopefully "catch up" a bit and not be so overtired. 

HTH
michelle
Michelle




Offline adaycm

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Re: 4.5 month short napper
« Reply #2 on: September 24, 2007, 00:44:21 am »
Michelle,

Those are some great tips.  Tomorrow is a new day, and I'm going to start to work on extending him with a fresh start on a new day. 

Thank you!

Catherine

Offline deckchariot

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Re: 4.5 month short napper
« Reply #3 on: September 24, 2007, 22:46:19 pm »
Great attitude!!!  I always have to remind myself of that.  No matter how bad today gets, tomorrow is a chance to start fresh! I'm here if you need encouragement!

Michelle




Offline adaycm

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Re: 4.5 month short napper
« Reply #4 on: September 26, 2007, 21:21:56 pm »
Things have gotten much better.  I started to extend his routine.  I tried to do the transition thing Tracy suggests, but he just went for it himself. We went from feeding every 2.5-3 to going every 3-3.5  And for the past 2 days he has taken several 2hour + naps and many 1 hour naps.  I'm surprised stretching his feedings out worked,.... but it did.


Thanks!

Offline deckchariot

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Re: 4.5 month short napper
« Reply #5 on: September 27, 2007, 03:24:05 am »
I'm so glad things are going better!!! 
Michelle