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At that age, Xander was a catnapper and would often only take 30 minute naps. I always just got him up if he was awake and in a good mood, even if he still seemed a little tired. He might just go down for his next nap earlier!

Also, once we got into a good routine for eating, I gave up on EASY since his napping didn't work with it. I'd still feed every 3 hours, but his naps would just be whenever based on when he last woke up!

And now (7 months), he tends to get at least one good hour+ nap in a day! So it does get better!!

I have no advice about the swaddling though - we never swaddled Xander.

Naps are tough! We don't have a set nap schedule. I think some kids are more go with the flow when it comes to sleep, while others NEED Nap schedules to get decent sleep at night/be happy. LO usually takes a 2 hour nap in the afternoon, but sometimes he doesn't, and it's broken up throughout the afternoon. I just kind of let him let me know when he's tired (he has strong cues).

He also has crazy hands, so I swaddle him for most naps. He always initially fights it, but once he's swaddled with a bink in, his exhaustion wins and he's off to nap land.

Oh and I should add... C only naps in the swing or RnP. Gotta change that someday!

The EASY schedule isn't for every baby, I don't think, and if it's not working for her there's no point in forcing it. She's still sort in a fourth trimester... I think going with her flow is going to make everyone happier. Also, I have read so. many. posts. all over the internets about babies who sleep well at night but will not nap beyond the half-hour "crap nap" to save their lives. It's a thing. For these babies, from what I've read, sleep training is eventually required (and IMO she's much too little for that), OR the baby herself just gets better at napping as she gets older.

We are in a similar place--my girl is queen of the crap nap--at 4 months. Who knows what we'll do, but I am happier when I stop trying to force her to nap. Also, her best naps were in her swaddling days... sadly now that she's a maniacal roller those days are over, but we had a good run of it. (Sniff, sniff.) I would swaddle the heck out of that baby, if I were you! HUGS.

@Cherrybee: I had to scrap EASY because Xander's naps were all over the place. BUT I did EASY long enough that I knew his eating habits and that's what was most important to me. Plus Xander's pretty flexible, so he didn't seem to care one way or another that we weren't following a routine. So it'll depend on how your baby is!

Also, after following EASY, I realized that no matter what, Xander was going to be up for 2 hours of awake time before napping (even as young as 10 weeks), so now I just ALWAYS put him down for a nap after 2 hours, even if he's not showing any signs of sleepiness. The only times I change it up is if he seems tired earlier.

@Cherrybee: I used to tuck the blanket down around her arms while she was in the swing. Usually she pulled htem out but she was really tucked in and she would sometimes sleep for almost 2 hours! Its worth a try even if its to just get one good nap a day. When the arm flail reflux goes away you can get back to better naps in be.d

@Cherrybee: yes, I guess that's what I meant by going with the flow? I agree that the line between those things is key... And totally mysterious. Mine took a 45 minute crap nap starting at noon, and I got her up when she cried, nursed her back to sleep and let her stay in my arms. She's still snoozing 90 mins later... Def a " bad habit" but baby girl needs to sleep, and if I fight with her all day I will slowly lose my ever loving mind.

My LO hates to be swaddled for naps but seriously needs it. Anytime I've left her unswaddled she catnapped...I use the swaddle sleep sack (and the swing but based off the pic above, that isn't working haha).

@Cherrybee: Ah! Thats amazing!! Thats totally what worked for us too. C would fight naps like crazy and I was finding that her sleep cues weren't always super clear, so the time limit really helped us. Im so glad that it's working for you too!!!

@Cherrybee: Yeah, I felt like I was a total psycho about her naps when she was little. I was the same way about bedtime and her nighttime routine. Eventually, she melded all the small naps into 2 big naps though and it wasn't so bad. Them being overtired just contributes to crappier sleep and once she learns she can fall asleep easily, she will learn to put herself back to sleep and sleep longer.

C is a champion sleeper, so I don't regret doing it the way I did. At 6 months, she had already night-weaned and was sleeping 6:30-8:30 straight through and taking 2, 2 hour naps.