My daughter is almost 8 mo. old and ever since she was about 2 months or so she only takes 30 or 40 minute naps. She is clearly cranky after she gets up from a nap, so I don't think this is enough for her. I've tried so many different things, I've let her sleep in my arms, in our bed, if she's in the crib then I've dimmed the lights and used white noise, I've taken her for walks in the wrap carrier and the stroller and it is nearly always the same result: after 30 or 40 minutes, she wakes up but very clearly still tired. She'll be cranky, yawning, rubbing her eyes, etc. There have been a very few occasions when she will sleep for a whole hour straight and when I've tried to recreate the conditions under which that happened, it never works the 2nd time! She sleeps well through the night, usually 9-11 hours uninterrupted, in her crib, so I'm totally confused why nap-time is so difficult. I'm currently putting her down for 2 naps a day, and I've been trying to put her down at the same time every day, she falls asleep pretty easily and then, 30 or 40 minutes later-WAAAAAAAAA! she's awake...
So...what is the deal with this? has anyone out there had this same issue with naps? If so, what did you do about it if anything? Did it get better over time? Not only can I see that not having enough sleep during the day bothers her, but it is also hard for me to get anything done while she naps!
I have to agree that this is a sleep cycle issue with my daughter because she has always been like this...it's hard to say if I was the cause of the problem by picking her up after 40 minute. She never just stirred or fussed a little after 40 minutes but would launch right into a wail...I always assumed that wailing = awake, it never occurred to me to let her go for a few minutes to see if she would fall back to sleep on her own...
So we're going to try a one nap a day schedule and work on getting her to stay asleep from one cycle into the next with some of your suggestions...I don't think this will happen in one day so we'll probably working on this for a while...thanks for the suggestions and encouragement!!! :-)
I have read in some parenting books about "40 (or 45) min robber" I do not know why it's called that, but my boys would always wake up screaming after 45 min at that age, and would still be tired. I ended up not going and getting them for 5 min and they would always fall back asleep. After a total of 1 1/2 they would wake up but there would be no crying, just "talking" that's how I knew they got enough sleep:)
I really hope that the other people's tips help. But I have to tell you, my son was like that. Slept well through the night but only napped tops 30 minutes at a time during the day. I tried everything, but nothing helped. He was cranky and tired, but instead of falling asleep he would just cry all day. It was hard - almost going crazy hard - but we made it through it somehow.
If you have family around or have some close friends ask them if they can look after her for a while so that you can have a break or get some stuff done. But you will overcome this. You can either just live with the 30 minute naps, which probably is ok if she isn't crying the rest of the day, or maybe she will change her schedule and nap longer when she gets older.
Good luck!
Yes! My son had the EXACT same problem, and I found the solution in a book called The No-Cry Nap Solution. It turns out a baby's sleep cycle is usually about 45 minutes, and some babies won't sleep past one sleep cycle into a second, so you have to coax them into a second. Supposedly after a few weeks of this, they will naturally sleep through into a second cycle. With my son, it took many months...but it FINALLY worked, and he now sleeps for at least 90 minutes a day on his naps. Seriously--check out the book. Even if the sleep-cycle thing doesn't turn out to be your issue (but I bet it is, because what you're describing is EXACTLY like my son), the book has a lot of other common sleep issues for babies and ways to remedy them. Good luck!
How frustrating that is! Just when you think you can relax or get a few things done, baby is awake and crying.
My son was like that, I tried everything I could think of, spent hours online reading about sleep etc. Ultimately it came down to my son growing out of that stage and transitioning on his own to longer naps.
I am sorry that I don;t have a solution, some babies are just wired for the 45 minute quickie nap :(
My DD did the same thing... she would wake up after 30 minutes, and would start crying (not just stirring) and become hysterical if I didn't go to her... She started in the crib, then when she woke up I would move her to her bouncy chair and bounce her back to sleep (the bouncy chair was the ONLY thing that could get her back) then she would sleep for another 30-45 minutes.
I am just venturing a guess but could she be hungry? Possibly a growth spurt in addition to being hungry.
My baby did this for awhile so I just picked him up and fed him.
Are you breasfeeding?
My milk dried up so I had to feed him formula. The good thing about that is I could see how much he would actually drink. If you are breasfeeding, could you ask your dr. if you could supplement with formula.
I think he might be too young for rice cereal (you could ask doc about this too).
Try asking your doctor and changing what he eats. Oh also...is he teething? That could be waking him up. I used Baby Orajel rubbed on his gums at that age and Infant Tylenol (I now use the off brands due to the contamination scare) and that helped a lot. My baby cut teeth early and constantly for that year. :)
I have to agree with Susan and Lena, this looks like a sleep cycle issue. Everyone has them. As an adult you may roll over or even toss and turn for awhile, but then settle back down and sleep more. Babies are the same. Depending on their ability to move, they may roll over, they may cry/fuss, they may even pull up to a stand in their crib, but if you leave them be for 10 minutes, they will usually fall back to sleep.
Having said that, since your daughter is now in the habit of getting up after 40 mins., she may need longer to fall back to sleep until this new habit is established. If she hasn't settled on her own after 10 mins. just go in quietly (no words, just shhh), rub her a little and shh, then walk back out. Repeat every 10 mins as necessary. In a few days she should be settling herself. It may mean that you get even less done during those days, but just stick with it and before you know it she'll be taking longer naps and you will both be happier!
Be brave!
My daughter did the same thing for about 6 months! She was a 2 hour 2 nap a day girl and then downd to 45 mintues 2 times a day. To the minute! Looking back on it, and based on some things I've read and heard from other moms, when babies are in a growth spurt or on the cusp of learning something new, the naps can get shorter for a while. I found that with consistency, continuing to try for the longer naps that I know she needs, she has lengthened them again. I try to make sure all factors point to naptime.... quiet, dark room.... comfortable clothes, no shoes on.... full belly and lots of playtime to wear her out! Good luck!
Per my kids as babies and my observations of them and their sleep/nap habits:
after about 1 hour, you say your baby "wakes." But looks clearly still tired.
My perspective is, she is NOT really waking up. Nor is awake fully. She is merely, stirring... many babies or adults for that matter.... sort of stir in their sleep or while sleeping. Intermittently. Which is normal.
BUT... if you then pick baby up and start talking to her and making her... awake.... BEFORE she needs to be awake or is ready to be awake... then yes, your baby will NOT be getting a full nap... AND will still be very tired and fussy. Because you woke her up.
So my tip is this: when/if she stirs sleepy-eyed after 1 hour... just let her be. Don't even let her see you... nor hear you. Just observe her. It may very well be, that she WILL go back to sleep.
This is what both my kids did, as babies. BUT if "I" then interrupted 'their' stirrings and sporadic wakings, then... they got fussy and still tired. Because it was actually "I" that woke them... before they needed to be.
My son in fact, from about 6 months old and even now... will stir or seem awake after about 1 hour of napping.... BUT that is how he is. He simply stirs and even eyes open... after 1 hour of napping. So I do NOT wake him. He will stir and look around, but he ALWAYS goes back to sleep... if I let him... be undisturbed in his manner of napping. I know this about him.
A few of my friends... had babies that they thought would not nap for any length of time. And while with them... I actually saw, that it was them themselves that was waking baby and not letting baby nap fully. Because.. at ANY stirring or noise or movement baby did... they would immediately pick baby up and "assume" their baby was done napping. I told them... NO... baby is not done napping. He/She is still napping... just let her be... just because a baby stirs/moves/makes noise in their sleep... it does NOT mean they 'woke up'. So don't wake them. Let them sleep... and after their stirring they may very well self-soothe and go back to sleep, if you do not interrupt that.
all the best,
Susan
It may be time for you to transition her to one longer nap a day. Most children in a childcare situation get this transition at one year of age, but she may be ready for it sooner. Try putting her down within a half hour or so after her lunch and she may nap for several hours.
