I don't know what to do. M started taking three 45 min naps at 3 or 4 months, then it became three 30 min naps, and now, at 6 months old she's started making her first nap only 10-15 mins while the other 2 are 30 mins.
I feel like I'm on the brink of a complete and total nervous breakdown. I cry every day. I don't know what to do.
honeydew / 7687 posts
@sslm: what are her awake times? By 6 months we were definitely on two naps. If her first one is that short I'd lengthen her first awake
GOLD / papaya / 10166 posts
I'm sorry - I know what a helpless and frustrating feeling that is. I second what @scg00387: said. Maybe she's ready to drop to two naps?
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
Did you recently sleep train? i know that can make their naps temporarily shorter
cantaloupe / 6164 posts
@scg00387: Sadie's 8.5 months & still on 3 naps!
@sslm: I'm so sorry girl! I can totally relate. From 3-6 months I was in baby cat nap hell. I definitely cried a few times. What time is she waking up & what time is her first nap? Is she STTN?
cantaloupe / 6397 posts
@MsLipGloss: we've tried white noise, stretching out her awake times, 2 naps instead of 3, letting her CIO when she wakes...
@scg00387: we were doing 2 hours, but have also tried 3... This morning it was 3 and that resulted in a 10 min nap! Maybe I need to commit to a 2 nap schedule for a week or so and see?
I just thought the sign they're ready for two naps was that they struggled to take the third one... 
GOLD / pineapple / 12662 posts
@sslm: My LO was still taking 3 naps at 6 months . . . what sleep cues do you give her (other than white noise)? I am no nap expert (I still have issues at almost 14 months), but for me, having a sleep routine is best (sort of like at bedtime, only without the bath and sleepsack).
cantaloupe / 6397 posts
@blackbird: nope. We've been really lucky with night time sleep so haven't had to train, which is the silver lining to this I suppose!
@BabyBoecksMom: I think we'll give that a shot!
@photojane: yes her night time sleep is awesome, usually. She goes down between 7:30 and 8 and wakes up around 6:15-6:30. She sleeps straight through (usually), so I know I'm very lucky that way.
cantaloupe / 6397 posts
@MsLipGloss: we do diaper change, sleep sack, white noise, books, nurse, sleep. Sometimes I skip the book if she seems super tired.
cantaloupe / 6017 posts
You may need to stop nursing right before sleep? We are trying to do that to help with nighttime sleep.
pear / 1632 posts
@sslm: I'm sorry. I know how it feels. My 4 month old has been having trouble with his naps too. One day will be great ( 1st nap-45min, 2nd- an hour or two, 3rd- 30-45 min.) and the next day will be disastrous ( 1st- 20, 2nd- 30, 3rd- 45 min)
It makes for a very long and hard day when they don't nap well. The last week has been better for him. When he wakes early I've been keeping him in nap mode by holding him, singing and bouncing until he's sleepy again and then I lay him down. It's been working! He'll sleep for another 30-45 min! Also, I read somewhere that at the 40 minute mark or so its a very vital stage of babies sleep where they either wake up from sound, temp, etc...OR will continue on to their deep sleep if they haven't been woken up. So I've tried making sure it's as quiet as can be at the 30-45 min mark and it's really been helping his naps. That's all the suggestions I have, I'm still figuring this thing out too....good luck and hope lo naps well soon. 
GOLD / wonderful coconut / 33402 posts
What if you tried the first nap an hour and half after she wakes up? Our doctor told us that she would like R to take to her first nap that long after waking. Give or take 30 mins each way, that is when we first see her rub her eyes every weekend. Day care can't get her to take a nap that soon since so many are getting there at that time, she won't nap.
squash / 13764 posts
Are you nursing her to sleep? That's a major sleep crutch that might prevent her from soothing herself to sleep...I agree with @Silva: that you might need to separate the two.
cantaloupe / 6164 posts
@sslm: That sounds similar to Sadie's nighttime. She goes down between 8-8:30 and gets up around 6:30. I put her down for her first nap 2 hours after her wake up. What time do you normally put her down for her first nap?
cantaloupe / 6397 posts
@hilsy85: yes :S. I know it's a bad habit. It works for night sleep, but I guess maybe it's hindering her naps?
@photojane: usually 2 hours, sometimes 2.5.
@Smurfette: hmmm. I will try that tomorrow!!
cantaloupe / 6164 posts
@sslm: Also, you could try doing the diaper change after she wakes up? I do Sadie's diaper changes as soon as she wakes up in the morning and after each nap (unless she poops, then I obviously change it right then). Maybe she's getting too stimulated? I mean I'm no expert - just throwing things out there. haha! At naptime I put the sleepsack on her, then plop her in the crib with her blankie and paci, turn the noise machine on and leave.
pomelo / 5524 posts
I know you said that you thought her dropping from 3 to 2 naps would make her last nap shorter, but it was always the opposite for us. S kept making his morning nap shorter and shorter until we eliminated it and it made his afternoon nap nice and long (that was going from 2 to 1 nap). Try staying consistent for a week with 2 naps and it might start to make them both longer!
cantaloupe / 6397 posts
Could nursing down really cause short naps when it works fine at night?
cantaloupe / 6397 posts
@photojane: maybe she needs a blanking or some other attachment object...
@2PeasinaPod: interesting... I think I'll give the 2 naps a week or so and see what happens!
cantaloupe / 6017 posts
@sslm: I think so. It impacts T's night sleep, but not her naps! I've heard they are kind of 2 different beasts.
GOLD / pineapple / 12662 posts
@sslm: I nurse to sleep, and LO does just fine. I also nurse her down for her naps on the weekends and still hold her most days(she goes to sleep on her own at daycare, on a mat!!!). So it doesn't negatively impact LO's nighttime sleep, but I don't know about naps!
grapefruit / 4923 posts
LO's short naps gave me PTSD. i would sit around the apartment all on edge, just waiting for him to cry because i knew that it was coming soon and that i wouldn't be able to get anything done. plus, he would still be cranky and pissed when he woke up, and start showing sleepy signs within the hour. i reached a personal breaking point and decided to let him CIO when he woke up after a sleep cycle. usually, after 15-20 minutes of crying/fussing, he would fall back asleep. not always, but usually. it wasn't easy and i understand not everyone's comfortable with CIO.
this is more for emotional support. it's amazing how completely aggravating sleep habits can be. we're having our own issues right now with early morning wakeups.
GOLD / cantaloupe / 6581 posts
@sslm: I nurse to sleep at night but when I try to nurse her to sleep for naps she freaks out! I have no idea why it's different, and I wish I had some advice, but like you I have a great nighttime sleeper and a crap napper. Daycare can't figure out what her deal is either, but yesterday she slept for a total of ONE hour. AGHH.
honeydew / 7687 posts
@sslm: nope we had the exact same thing as you, super short first nap and then he stopped taking his third. I committed to a 2 3 4 schedule for three days and by the third day it was awesome and stayed awesome until 10m when were now having two to one issues 
but yeah I'd try that!@photojane: brag why don't you!! She's always been a great sleeper hasn't she?
honeydew / 7687 posts
@sslm: we also used a Aden Anais security blankie. We did no cry sleep for night and naps so can't speak to nursing or rocking to sleep for one vs the other.
pomegranate / 3895 posts
Ugh....so sorry you're still dealing with this Short naps are the WORST!
We've been down to two naps (234 schedule) for a couple weeks now and K has really taken to it..but she's always been a pretty good napper, so I'm not sure if the same will work for M.
I would try not nursing to sleep and see if that helps. Could be an object permanence issue. Apparently day sleep and night sleep are governed by two different parts of the brain and thus are two different animals.
My other thought would be, if you can spare the money, to try a sleep consult with The Baby Sleep Site or Isis Parenting. It might be very helpful to have an outsider take a look at the big picture and try to address the short naps.
cantaloupe / 6164 posts
@scg00387: HA. NO WAY! She was a notorious cat napper for the first six months. She's been a great nighttime sleeper, but we had the same super short nap problem as @sslm. One day around 6 months she just started taking longer naps. It was a miracle!
papaya / 10570 posts
I'm so, so sorry. I sympathise wholeheartedly because I have a crap-napper! She takes 30 minute naps (sometimes 20 min!) but, to combat this (she is so, so grumpy when she doesn't get enough sleep) I put her down every 45 mins - 1hr so she takes 5 naps a day!!!! It's crazy but it does work for E!!
cantaloupe / 6397 posts
@heartonastring: I know I should really try to stop the nursing. She's just not much of a nurser so I take advantage when she's tired!! What does your nap routine look like? Do you feed her when she wakes up then?
cantaloupe / 6397 posts
@photojane: god I hope that happens for us!!!! Tomorrow would be great haha
@Cherrybee: ugh. Sorry you're there too!!! She won't go down any earlier than 2 hours from waking so I can't get any more than MAX 1.5 hours of naps in one day
pomegranate / 3895 posts
@sslm: I nurse her to sleep for naps, hahaha! It works for us though. Just mentioned trying not to nurse in your case to see if it helps. I know what you mean about it being one of the only good times to nurse though, as K has gotten to be an incredibly distracted nursling and most nursing sessions are now done in the nursery without any other distractions.
Our nap routine is diaper change, swaddle arms (still swaddle for naps, because she naps in her swing so can't roll), white noise and nurse. Crib naps suck for us, so I still put her in the non-moving swing.
ETA: I nurse her when she wakes up, and then I nurse to sleep, but she doesn't eat much then..mostly just comfort nurses.
cantaloupe / 6397 posts
@heartonastring: haha! Damn! I thought you'd have a solution I have been thinking about dragging the swing to the nursery and trying that. She used to nap in there but has been napping in her crib for months. I'm getting desperate.
cantaloupe / 6017 posts
@sslm: I have been trying to stop nursing to sleep for naps this week. We've had to do a little CIO- but nothing has gone on longer than 10/15 minutes. I nurse her right when she wakes up, and she is still drowsy, so she gets a solid feeding in then.
cantaloupe / 6397 posts
So we went out to a Halloween party today with lots of babies and M almost fell asleep there. I managed to keep her awake in the car and then she went down right when we got home, no nursing. Woke up at exactly 30 mins.
WHAT IS WAKING HER UP????? It seems insane to me. This was her second nap, so that's one 10 min nap and one 30 min nap. Someone shoot me.
blogger / grapefruit / 4836 posts
I didnt read all of the comments so i apologive if i am repeating anything... But i found this when we were going through this and it helped me a lot! http://www.modgblog.com/2011/08/23/5-steps-to-get-your-baby-to-nap-for-a-long-freaking-time-every-day-of-your-life/
Once i started keeping him up 20 minutes after i sensed he was tired he started sleeping through into the next sleep cycle. Like magic. We now are back to 2-3 1.5-2 hour naps. Hurray! I had been so afraid of him getting overtired that i was putting him down too soon. I have also had to adjust to make sure he doesnt fall asleep in the car...car naps ruin everything.
blogger / grapefruit / 4836 posts
Ugh sorry for the awful ipad spelling....i really need to proofread before hitting submit!
cantaloupe / 6397 posts
@Mrs. Lion: interesting!!! If nothing else it's nice to know I'm not alone and that she might go to longer naps eventually! I don't typically wait for her sleepy cues, I go by the clock, which I realize now may not be the smartest plan...
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
My son didn't start taking longer than 30 min naps until 5.5/6 months. The only thing that helped was time. I tried putting him down awake/bottle to sleep/ anything. Nothing mattered until suddenly he just started taking a longer morning nap. He was on 3 naps until 8.5 months (because he only slept 10 hrs overnight) and that first nap was almost always 1.5/2 hours after his first wake. I'm sorry this sucks but it seems like since she is a good night sleeper (as my son was) she just needs time to consolidate her sleep.
apricot / 340 posts
Cant offer much advice. Just wanted to tell you that this too shall pass and youll get through it!
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