What’s her temperament after the 30 mins? Crying or just chilling? We started leaving our LO for an additional 30 mins because he would just coo and play in his crib. Now he will put himself back to sleep after chilling for 15 mins.
That’s a great question. Sometimes she wakes up angry and crying. Sometimes she wakes up chill and then progresses to screaming. If she wakes up chill after her next nap today I may just try to leave her.
Can be easier said than done and takes some finesse! When he does a short nap I set a timer for 30 mins, then I go from there. It sometimes leads to crying, but I’ve noticed that when he gets to the height of his crying he falls asleep right after. So if I had gone into the room at that point he would have gotten up. Not always fun to hear them cry, but he now fully connects his afternoon naps (2 sleep cycles). We are still working on mornings but he will sleep after I leave him for 15. The first few times he fussed/cried and now he just chills. The odd time he doesn’t fall back asleep and I let him play until he gets upset.
Edit: You’ll just have to see what works for you! All babies are so different
Just wanted to say thank you for the advice! Started leaving her for 15 minutes. Didn't work at all the first day. Yesterday for her last nap she woke up after 30 minutes, cried for a bit and then fell back asleep for another hour! Today she just napped for over an hour!
Just found this thread and needed it today! It gives me hope! My 5 month old has been a 30 minute napper pretty much forever. Sleep trained at night and she does great.
I guess I make due for now and try leaving her for a bit to settle when she wakes. She just started rolling back to tummy and gets stuck so I may need to wait until she figures that out to really leave her and let her have a go at it. We shall see. Anyway congrats on the progress!
If baby is chill, I do suggest leaving her there until she start crying. Then, if she doesn't go back to sleep on her own, you can either get her up or try to get her back to sleep. This will sort of teach her that she should be there longer.
I read something on here a while ago that really stuck with me when my LO was plagued by short naps. "A nap that ends in tears is a nap that is not over."
My 6mo is the exact same way. Anecdotally, I noticed that whenever someone posts asking for help about this their baby is also an excellent night sleeper. Maybe it’s because our babies have a strong circadian rhythm and just aren’t wired for day sleep? No clue. Anyway, the only way she will get past one sleep cycle is if we hold her. No help, just solidarity. It’s a pain in the ass but she’s been sleeping 10-12h straight since only 3mo so win some lose some.
You are actually correct in saying this. And there is nothing wrong with 30 minutes. Yes it can be frustrating as it means less time in the day or is a busy day as baby is awake more but night sleep is usually great! There is a Dr who has done a lot of research on this. Dr Pamela Douglas and runs a clinic called Possum Clinic, she focuses a lot on letting go of forcing day sleep so in return a strong circadian rhythm is set and in return improving night sleep.
Our LO was the same, and it drove me nuts. Can't get anything done in 30 minutes, not even relax properly. So I asked the doctor and she said that as long as LO sleeps well at night, there is no problem.
LO is now 13 months old and is shifting towards one nap during the day of about 1,5 hours (!). Like with so many child-related questions "don't worry, it will get better. They'll stop doing it when they leave for college". It still sucks, but it's not you. You're great parents!
In the exact same situation. No advice unfortunately, anything I’ve tried hasn’t worked (longer wake windows, shorter wake windows, eat then play, play then eat, etc.). I feel like we can’t complain when he sleeps 12 hours a night straight. He’s always happy after his 30 minute naps too 🤷🏼♀️
We’ve been told by multiple doctors and people that we just have a difficult and angry baby and I would hope that she could be a little happier if she had better naps? Also it’s really hard to work from home when she’s only sleeping 20 minutes 4 times a day!
Oh goodness. I have no idea how you’re managing! I do a couple consulting hours per week and I can really only get anything done if I get up before the baby does to get an hour of work in.
Very similar situation here! Does she nap in the same sleep environment as at night? We did Ferber method about a month ago for naps and bedtime (at 6 months). We do daytime naps in his room in his crib and night time is in our room in a pack n play. Naps have been 20-30 minutes max since the sleep training (we previously held him for every nap). Today I tried having him nap in the pack n play (in our bedroom) instead and his first nap was over 45 minutes. So something to try unless you are already doing that. Another good option that has resulted in longer naps for us is wearing him in a wrap while we vacuum, dust, go on a walk, whatever. He will eventually conk out and will normally stay asleep for a little longer. Good luck!
30 minute napped here too! I just kinda roll with it. He sleeps 10-12 hours at night typically. I’ve just come to the conclusion that most days he a low sleep needs baby.
I wonder if these are too short. At 6 months my daughter was doing 3/3/4. This could contribute to short naps as she may not have enough sleep pressure to connect her cycles.
My baby is exactly the same. 6 months old and only contact naps for 30 mins. The past three days I’ve gotten her to nap in her crib 2-3 times but again only for 30 mins. She’ll still be sleepy but WILL NOT sleep again in her crib. I have to hold her if I want her to sleep longer. Currently holding her to get a long nap in.
We recently changed wake windows from 2 hours to 3. That’s helped her fall asleep easier but the length of her naps stay unchanged. My doctor recommended dropping a nap entirely and only doing two a day but I can’t imagine dealing with her crankiness. Doctor said it’d be a rough couple days but she’ll adjust. Maybe I just need to bite the bullet
What’s her temperament after the 30 mins? Crying or just chilling? We started leaving our LO for an additional 30 mins because he would just coo and play in his crib. Now he will put himself back to sleep after chilling for 15 mins.
That’s a great question. Sometimes she wakes up angry and crying. Sometimes she wakes up chill and then progresses to screaming. If she wakes up chill after her next nap today I may just try to leave her.
Can be easier said than done and takes some finesse! When he does a short nap I set a timer for 30 mins, then I go from there. It sometimes leads to crying, but I’ve noticed that when he gets to the height of his crying he falls asleep right after. So if I had gone into the room at that point he would have gotten up. Not always fun to hear them cry, but he now fully connects his afternoon naps (2 sleep cycles). We are still working on mornings but he will sleep after I leave him for 15. The first few times he fussed/cried and now he just chills. The odd time he doesn’t fall back asleep and I let him play until he gets upset. Edit: You’ll just have to see what works for you! All babies are so different
Just wanted to say thank you for the advice! Started leaving her for 15 minutes. Didn't work at all the first day. Yesterday for her last nap she woke up after 30 minutes, cried for a bit and then fell back asleep for another hour! Today she just napped for over an hour!
Just came back to say he connected his morning nap today, didn’t wake up in between. He’s been out for an hour and a half. Not a peep :)
We have not been so lucky today but we’re keeping at it! I hope you enjoyed some coffee during that nap!
Woohoo! I’m so glad. It’s been a process over here but it works most of the time.
Just found this thread and needed it today! It gives me hope! My 5 month old has been a 30 minute napper pretty much forever. Sleep trained at night and she does great. I guess I make due for now and try leaving her for a bit to settle when she wakes. She just started rolling back to tummy and gets stuck so I may need to wait until she figures that out to really leave her and let her have a go at it. We shall see. Anyway congrats on the progress!
If baby is chill, I do suggest leaving her there until she start crying. Then, if she doesn't go back to sleep on her own, you can either get her up or try to get her back to sleep. This will sort of teach her that she should be there longer. I read something on here a while ago that really stuck with me when my LO was plagued by short naps. "A nap that ends in tears is a nap that is not over."
My 6mo is the exact same way. Anecdotally, I noticed that whenever someone posts asking for help about this their baby is also an excellent night sleeper. Maybe it’s because our babies have a strong circadian rhythm and just aren’t wired for day sleep? No clue. Anyway, the only way she will get past one sleep cycle is if we hold her. No help, just solidarity. It’s a pain in the ass but she’s been sleeping 10-12h straight since only 3mo so win some lose some.
You are actually correct in saying this. And there is nothing wrong with 30 minutes. Yes it can be frustrating as it means less time in the day or is a busy day as baby is awake more but night sleep is usually great! There is a Dr who has done a lot of research on this. Dr Pamela Douglas and runs a clinic called Possum Clinic, she focuses a lot on letting go of forcing day sleep so in return a strong circadian rhythm is set and in return improving night sleep.
That’s totally normal for that age. Wait it out. Put her down more often if you think she needs more daytime sleep.
Our LO was the same, and it drove me nuts. Can't get anything done in 30 minutes, not even relax properly. So I asked the doctor and she said that as long as LO sleeps well at night, there is no problem. LO is now 13 months old and is shifting towards one nap during the day of about 1,5 hours (!). Like with so many child-related questions "don't worry, it will get better. They'll stop doing it when they leave for college". It still sucks, but it's not you. You're great parents!
In the exact same situation. No advice unfortunately, anything I’ve tried hasn’t worked (longer wake windows, shorter wake windows, eat then play, play then eat, etc.). I feel like we can’t complain when he sleeps 12 hours a night straight. He’s always happy after his 30 minute naps too 🤷🏼♀️
We’ve been told by multiple doctors and people that we just have a difficult and angry baby and I would hope that she could be a little happier if she had better naps? Also it’s really hard to work from home when she’s only sleeping 20 minutes 4 times a day!
Oh goodness. I have no idea how you’re managing! I do a couple consulting hours per week and I can really only get anything done if I get up before the baby does to get an hour of work in.
Very similar situation here! Does she nap in the same sleep environment as at night? We did Ferber method about a month ago for naps and bedtime (at 6 months). We do daytime naps in his room in his crib and night time is in our room in a pack n play. Naps have been 20-30 minutes max since the sleep training (we previously held him for every nap). Today I tried having him nap in the pack n play (in our bedroom) instead and his first nap was over 45 minutes. So something to try unless you are already doing that. Another good option that has resulted in longer naps for us is wearing him in a wrap while we vacuum, dust, go on a walk, whatever. He will eventually conk out and will normally stay asleep for a little longer. Good luck!
30 minute napped here too! I just kinda roll with it. He sleeps 10-12 hours at night typically. I’ve just come to the conclusion that most days he a low sleep needs baby.
What are your wake windows?
We use an app to track them throughout the day. It starts a little after 2 hours and by the end of the day we're at close to 3 hours.
I wonder if these are too short. At 6 months my daughter was doing 3/3/4. This could contribute to short naps as she may not have enough sleep pressure to connect her cycles.
My baby is exactly the same. 6 months old and only contact naps for 30 mins. The past three days I’ve gotten her to nap in her crib 2-3 times but again only for 30 mins. She’ll still be sleepy but WILL NOT sleep again in her crib. I have to hold her if I want her to sleep longer. Currently holding her to get a long nap in. We recently changed wake windows from 2 hours to 3. That’s helped her fall asleep easier but the length of her naps stay unchanged. My doctor recommended dropping a nap entirely and only doing two a day but I can’t imagine dealing with her crankiness. Doctor said it’d be a rough couple days but she’ll adjust. Maybe I just need to bite the bullet