Community› The Bump Month Clubs› May 2016 Moms
May 2016 Moms
New Discussion

Nap problems

artteacher19artteacher19 member
in May 2016 Moms
My LO will be 3 months old tomorrow, and since early last week his naps are only 30-45 mins (effectively only one sleep cycle). We've tried everything I can think of from my research online but nothing is working to extend his naps. He's also stopped sleeping the 5-6 hour stretch at night. He is up every 2-3 hours wanting to eat, so we figure he has been in a big growth spurt. His hunger seems to be subsiding during the day - he was obsessive al last week. And I've watched him put himself back to sleep through cycles at night, so I'm confused as to why he's not doing this on his own during the day.

Anyone else struggling with the 3 month growth spurt? Any tips for extending naps? How long will this last?! This is starting to drive me nuts!
Report Reply to Post

Re: Nap problems

  • Nordaas125Nordaas125 member
    I have no advice but my son is doing the same thing and he's 12 weeks tomorrow. So maybe it's just something to get through.
    Report Reply
  • 1mae20161mae2016 member
    SAME! The night sleep schedule hasn't changed much *knock on wood!* However, my LO has started staying up about an hour before becoming extremely fussy and exhausted and then only sleeping for about 30 minutes. This new routine starts at,7:30 am and ends around 8 pm when she goes down for the night. She used to stay up for 2-4 hours at time and would take 2 or 3 two hour naps dyring the day. I thought maybe having her brother visit last week threw it off because she just turned 10 weeks today. But this seriously exhausting! So, today I started upping her bottle ounce-age (not a real word, I know  lol) We went from 2 1/2 oz to 3-3 1/2 ounces and it's  been helping so far. 
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • proudparent2bproudparent2b member
    Are you holding LO during naps? My LO almost never will take naps during the day if he isn't held.

    Also, I've noticed that my LO has much bigger bursts of energy, like during our bed time routine, so I've added some play into our routine so he can move around in order to get that energy out before bed.
    Report Reply
  • MerinmacMerinmac member
    Ugh, I think we're in the beginning stages of this same problem. Two days ago, between one nap and the next, LO just forgot how to nap. She'll start drifting off and then before she can sink into real sleep, her eyes will pop open and we're off to the races again. So far I'm still getting at least one 2-hour nap per day, and her night sleep is still normal, but she's also been eating like crazy. Like 4-6oz at a time, at 11 weeks. If nothing else, I hope this is just a phase, otherwise we'll be bankrupt pretty soon. Thank God for store brand formula.

    I'll be keeping an eye on this thread to see if anyone has any good ideas for navigating the fun times!
    Report Reply
  • BellodomaniBellodomani member
    The 20-40 minute nap thing is developmental- nothing you can do at this age to lengthen them. Around 4-6 months they'll start to consolidate their naps on their own, I promise! Can't post links from my phone, but Google "precious little sleep short nap", she has a great article on it. My son totally did this and j thought it meant he'd never be a good napper but he's almost 3 and still takes 3 hours naps almost every day. 
    Report Reply
  • lwcbrooklynlwcbrooklyn member
    My baby is 9 weeks and it's a crap shoot every day if she'll take 30 minute naps or 2 hour naps.  I never know.  She only falls asleep while nursing, being held, or in the stroller.  But she's a good night sleeper, so I've accepted she's an inconsistent day sleeper.  I just keep hoping it changes...  I'm hopeful reading @Bellodomani's post above!
    Report Reply
  • artteacher19artteacher19 member
    You ladies are making me feel a whole lot better!! Last night he miraculously went from 9:30-1:30 without waking woooo! But he did fall asleep in my arms from 7-8:30 when I woke him up to do our bedtime routine because I feared I would ruin his night sleep from such a long nap so late. He got that crazy burst of energy and then zonked out. I think the binge eating is finally dying down because he only ate at 1:30 and then 5:30 last night. He woke up at 3:30 but I was able to coax him back to sleep for another 2 hours.

    Im so glad to hear it's just developmental. I kept blaming myself or my DH for something we were/weren't doing, and fearing for handing him over to the nanny in 3 weeks with this horrific schedule. But I guess we'll all just have to deal with it!

    I've resorted to still using the RNP for most of his naps, especially when the PNP won't work. We also still swaddle him but he's SO close to rolling over it I have to keep a close eye. We use a white noise app that really does seem to trigger sleepy time for him now after being consistent with it. Sometimes he needs a pacifier too. I gave up on trying to nap him in his crib, tho he sleeps in that fine at night. I don't care anymore about the rocking crutch because we just need our sanity right now!

    I'm also finding it helpful to let him feed if he wants before sleep (and after) because we think he was waking up hungry sometimes. In the last 2 weeks I've gotten only one 90min nap in the RNP and then last nights in my arms. Hopefully he'll start consolidating soon!

    oh and he pretty much stopped taking a bottle again after he did well last week. Ugh! Never ending...
    Report Reply
Sign In or Register to comment.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"