Anyone else have a baby who only catnaps? HELP!

acia · August 2012

DD used to take a long 3-hour nap every morning (and then a couple more catnaps later in the day), but then at about 2.5 months this stopped and since then she will NEVER sleep longer than 30-40 minutes. She gets tired every 90 minutes or so, which means she does about 4-5 catnaps a day. I know she's still tired when she wakes because if I pick her up and rock her she usually falls right back to sleep (but then wakes as soon as I try to put her down).

She falls asleep on her own, in a dark room with white noise. I've tried putting her down sooner (thinking maybe she's overtired) but she won't sleep until it hits the 90 minute mark. She sleeps fine at night, and usually goes 6-8 hours before waking up to eat, so I know she's capable of falling asleep on her own and staying asleep.

Anyone else have a catnapper? Any tips? Does it get better? How do you get anything done during the day? I feel so bad for my older DD because I rarely have much time to devote to just her! Help!

shrty603 · August 2012

Yes mine does the same thing but he sleeps all night so I'm good with it.

LuckyBride06 · August 2012

Mine does too and doesn't sttn, so I'd rather night sleep then day sleep! DS1 catnapped too and they eventually got longer as he got older and more mobile (around 6 months). If she's happy and in a good mood, don't worry. Enjoy your night sleep, I'd do anything for 6-8hrs!!!!

Lu24 · August 2012

Mine does this exact thing, too, except she does have one long nap in the morning. It's good to know many of you are experiencing the same thing! Like most of you have said, she is happy and also sttn, so I am okay with it. It can definitely be difficult to work activities around the nap schedule, but I try to make it work.

Mamasaurus · August 2012

She started this a couple weeks ago.

Indifferent

I hope it does get better! I hate working so hard against her sleep fighting just for a 20 minute snooze.

silvie25mar · August 2012

yup!!! dd (4mos) is exactly like that. she sttn, but during the day takes about a 20-40 minute cat nap every 90 mins or so. im cool with it i guess, although would be helpful if it was longer but im sure it will change down the road. i say go with it!

kclg10 · August 2012

shrty603:
Yes mine does the same thing but he sleeps all night so I'm good with it.

THIS!!

oliversmommy32912 · August 2012

Yep. Mine always wakes up at 35 minutes on the dot. He started this at about two months old. I always went and got him right away. Well one day at four months old I decided to let him fuss and see what he did (we have a video monitor). He fussed for five minutes and went back to sleep for another HOUR AND A HALF! From then on I decided I would let him fuss when he wakes up. If it elevates to hard crying I go get him and try again at the next nap. If he fusses for more than 15 minutes I go get him. Probably 75% of the time he falls back asleep, 20% of the time I go get him and am able to rock him back to sleep for another half hour, and 5% of the time the rocking doesn't work and I just get him hip. He's a bear though if he doesn't nap long enough :-)

oliversmommy32912 · August 2012

Oh, and I forgot to add that sometimes if he won't go back down and he's super grumpy I just put him in the Baby K'tan (Kinda like a moby wrap), cover his eyes with a blanket, turn on the white noise, and bounce til he falls asleep. Then I tuck his head in and go about my day getting things done. He will usually nap about two hours in the wrap but I can tell it's not great quality sleep because he stirs and whimpers often. It gives me the freedom and time to get things done around the house. Good luck!

Nicki2482 · August 2012

Same here! I don't have any advice since my LO has been doing the same thing. I couldn't figure out why he would sleep at night but during the day, he'd wake up every 30 minutes. I read in Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child, though, that the part of the brain that controls night sleep develops sooner than the part of the brain that controls day sleep. This helped me to understand why DS could be a good night sleeper but a horrible napper. I'm just crossing my fingers that he develops his day sleeping abilities SOON!

devotchka81 · August 2012

We have a catnapper too. I have to say that he naps MUCH longer stretches when snuggled next to me, with a binky, in our bed (I bring him in after the last early morning feeding.) My babysitter still swaddles him and uses a noise machine and with that, he will sleep an hour or so. I don't love the noise machine, since it's been linked to hearing developmental delays, but if she uses it every once in a while, that's fine. I personally don't like to swaddle anymore because he breaks out and puts the blankets over his head, but it seems to work when she does it. Not sure if this will help - I think every baby is different

GL!

Patella1129 · August 2012

DD only naps for 45 minutes at a time and DS was the same way. DS started taking longer naps at 6 months old when we deswaddled him, but DD hasn't been swaddled for about a month now and she still cat naps. So now I think it had more to do with his age. I'm just holding out until she is 6 months old and hoping it gets better on it's own like it did with DS!

As far as getting anything done...I don't get much housework done during the day. I have a schedule and during DS's nap (90-120 minutes) I can usually eat lunch and do a couple quick chores. If DD is awake during that time, she sits in her bouncy seat next to me. When DD is sleeping, I try to make the most of that time with DS--I really try to focus on interacting with him because he has to play independently so much while I feed/put down DD. Sometimes that interaction is pure playing (blocks, cars, coloring, etc.) and other times he "helps" me do certain chores. DS can help me unload the dishwasher, the dryer and he even "helps" me wash windows and the patio doors. I spray the window with water and he wipes up with a cloth. I follow him with the Windex. He helps me dust as well by following me with his own dust cloth.

Pdxmom73 · August 2012

Yes! Drives me bonkers since she is usually tired enough to warrant a nap. 10 to 20 minutes at most. She uses to nap in the Beco if all else failed but now she just fusses. Boo! Hope it ends soon.

Kiedis · August 2012

devotchka81:
We have a catnapper too. I have to say that he naps MUCH longer stretches when snuggled next to me, with a binky, in our bed (I bring him in after the last early morning feeding.) My babysitter still swaddles him and uses a noise machine and with that, he will sleep an hour or so. I don't love the noise machine, since it's been linked to hearing developmental delays, but if she uses it every once in a while, that's fine. I personally don't like to swaddle anymore because he breaks out and puts the blankets over his head, but it seems to work when she does it. Not sure if this will help - I think every baby is different GL!

My son also sleeps best with me. If he's having a bad day and really needs a nap, I will lie down in my bed with him. He nurses to sleep, and I sit on my ipad while he sleeps. When he wakes, I nurse him again and he'll usually go back down. I can sometimes get 2-3 hour naps this way (compared to 30 minutes on his own). It doesn't help get anything done, but he usually wakes in a good mood.

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Anyone else have a baby who only catnaps? HELP!

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