[Xavismom]

I just finally figured out a nap routine that worked great a few weeks ago, and now this week, DS has decided it does not work anymore!

I did have him taking two, very good long naps, at around noon, and 4 pm. When I notice cranky tired fussing, I lay down with him and we nurse. He nurses to sleep, and maybe about an hour into his nap, he would fuss and move a bit with his eyes closed, and I would lay back down next to him, he would latch back on and nurse himself back into his nap.

This was awesome, because he was much happier in the evenings, and I had some time to either nap as well, or get some things done around the house.

He is not having it this week! I nurse him to sleep, and he appears to be out like a log. Nope. 10-15 min later, his eyes are OPEN, and he is either cranky or really mad! Nurse and repeat.

He is so tired by the evening, and he is just cranky and onery. He is also going to sleep at night later than he was (was around 9pm and now is around 10-11) AND is also waking up around 2am and staying awake for about an hour, which is also new.

We are both tired, and I am so frustrated.

Is this a phase at this age? He is almost 3 months. Anyone else going through this right now, or any suggestions on getting him to stay asleep? I can GET him asleep... I just need him to stay that way!!!

 

[odoole]

Mine is doing the same thing now, but he's 6 mo. I think he just went through his 6 mo growth spurt. Maybe yours is doing the same? I think he'll come around back to his scedule soon, or maybe you'll need to tweak the times a bit. I suspect it's not a permanent change though.

 

[Path2Felicity]

Do you think that maybe 2.5 months is still too early to have a set schedule?

I've been following DD cues to see when her tired times naturally occur and they still are pretty all over the place now (she is also 2.5 months). She is probably still trying to adjust herself to the world- I wouldn't try too hard to have a rigid schedule.

I don't know, maybe I'm wrong here- I am a first time mom and am kind of winging this nap thing.

Have you seen this website yet? http://www.trixietracker.com/ A friend recommended it to me...

 

[Xavismom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Path2Felicity Do you think that maybe 2.5 months is still too early to have a set schedule? I've been following DD cues to see when her tired times naturally occur and they still are pretty all over the place now (she is also 2.5 months). She is probably still trying to adjust herself to the world- I wouldn't try too hard to have a rigid schedule. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong here- I am a first time mom and am kind of winging this nap thing. Have you seen this website yet? http://www.trixietracker.com/ A friend recommended it to me...

No, I dont set this schedule at all. He naturally came to this schedule on his own a few weeks ago. I dont schedule anything, naps, play, nursing, etc., and I dont plan on it either. He naturally fell into his night time sleep schedule on his own as well. I dont have a problem with things being off of a schedule, I just dont like seeing him tired and upset because he is not getting the sleep he needs.

I just want him to nap when I see that he is tired and cranky, and thats usually around noon and 4. Its just frustrating when I KNOW he is tired, and he is getting himself worked up because he needs a nap and I cant get him to stay asleep.

By 'routine' I meant the method of getting him to sleep, not the time.

 

[Path2Felicity]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xavismom No, I dont set this schedule at all. He naturally came to this schedule on his own a few weeks ago. I dont schedule anything, naps, play, nursing, etc., and I dont plan on it either. He naturally fell into his night time sleep schedule on his own as well. I dont have a problem with things being off of a schedule, I just dont like seeing him tired and upset because he is not getting the sleep he needs. I just want him to nap when I see that he is tired and cranky, and thats usually around noon and 4. Its just frustrating when I KNOW he is tired, and he is getting himself worked up because he needs a nap and I cant get him to stay asleep. By 'routine' I meant the method of getting him to sleep, not the time.

Oh I'm sorry. I completely misread/misunderstood your post. Yeah, I have that problem with my DD as well. Sometimes she'll sleep well and other times she doesn't. If I lay down with her, she sleeps better. Or, I have to hold her or wear her in my Moby wrap.

Do you think maybe he is overtired? Sometimes when my DD is overtired, she can not sleep at all.

 

[Xavismom]

I definately think he gets overtired!! I wish I could wear him, that would make things so much easier, but he only lets me wear him outside of the house for some reason!

 

[leigh09]

my two thoughts are:
1. 3 months old is a common age for a growth spurt. and growth spurts have always been frustrating times for me since all my babies wanted to do was nurse and nurse again. i felt like i could never get off the couch

2. whenever i thought i had my children figured out, they went and changed on me. i know it's not much comfort, but sure as anything ... all of my kids changed their nap times, habits, routines, etc regularly throughout babyhood. yours likely will too. your baby is growing up and is changing, constantly.

3. some things that worked for me to help babies stay asleep are background noise and honestly just letting my baby sleep his entire nap in his swing. i have heard many comments about letting my children nap in their swing, it doesn't bother me. they got a good nap, i got a good nap, everyone was happy. (btw my 2 & 4 year old both did this regularly during frustrating sleep phases in their life and now sleep peacefully in their own beds ... my 4 month old is still got a ways to go.)

best of luck in working this one out.

 

[tzs]

have you thought about a morning nap? like 1.5-2 hours after wake time.
it might prevent the overtiredness. this one has always been the easiest nap for my 4 month-old (who's "nap-challenged"), probably b/c it's so close to wake-up, they say it's easier for them to slip back into quality sleep.

 

[Xavismom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tzs have you thought about a morning nap? like 1.5-2 hours after wake time. it might prevent the overtiredness. this one has always been the easiest nap for my 4 month-old (who's "nap-challenged"), probably b/c it's so close to wake-up, they say it's easier for them to slip back into quality sleep.

He usually does a cat nap about an hour after he wakes up, but it only lasts about 20-30 min, and I've never been able to nurse him down for a longer one at that time.

Quote:

3. some things that worked for me to help babies stay asleep are background noise and honestly just letting my baby sleep his entire nap in his swing. i have heard many comments about letting my children nap in their swing, it doesn't bother me. they got a good nap, i got a good nap, everyone was happy.

I tried this today! THANK YOU. DS started getting cranky and fussy around 11:15, so I nursed him, and he fell asleep, and then woke up 10 min later... so I put him in his swing and sat next to him shhhhhing for about 10 min and he fell back asleep. He is STILL sleeping in it right now at about 12:45

I am totally not opposed to using the swing for things like this, I get what you mean. I dont agree with using a swing to occupy a baby instead of holding him and loving on him all day, but if I can get him to nap in it, great!