Short Naps (30 minutes) - how to extend?

[Truffy18]

I'm following the baby whisperer's (BW) strategy of EASY routine with my 13 weeks old son but I'm struggling with his naps. He goes to sleep well but consistently wakes after 30 minutes and I've read in the BW stuff that this is not long enough. If he's in his car seat he'll remain awake for a bit and then nod off again but if we're in the house he cries. Nothing seems to settle him back to sleep but he doesn't seem to want to be awake either as he plays if I try and play with him. Is it that he only needs 3x30 minute naps in the day or should I be trying to extend his nap time - and if so how? It's so draining spending approximately 4 hours a day trying to settle him back to sleep. Help!

my LO stoppped having long naps in the day at 3 months old. He wasn't cranky when he woke so i presumed he was ok. Some babies just need power naps ... i think the BW talks about this. I also found PU/PD and shush pat totally overstimulating for my DS and used my own routine ... see how you go and change methods if needs be.

I got my ds out of his cot and cuddled him back to sleep, then watched a film or whatever. To begin with I held him till he woke again. Gradually, as he dropped back off, i would put him back in his cot, and within a couple of weeks he was napping for a couple of hours. And still often does at nearly 14 months. hth.

truffy - i am having exactly the same prob as you (and countless others.... ) You might want to look at the thread i started in behaviour and development titled "anyone got any advice/suggestions ...........the mnetters have been really helpful/supportive. I Don't have a solution for you but would love to hear what works for you. you could also look on september ante natal thread. Recent posts are all about naps/sleeps etc. hth Also i started a thread about anyone using baby whisperer method - you cd check that out too

sorry - i meant 'post' natal

I wish some wise mnetter would respond to this post with some top tips!
Taylormama- what routine of your own did you use. My ds 13 weeks old will NOT settle at night unless he is bf to sleep and then he wakes every time he is put in his cot. He usually settles around 9:15pm and sleeps really well after that but it is incredibly frustrating, demoralising and tiring - not to mention unfair to my dd who is nearly 9.

I wish some wise mnetter would respond to this post with some top tips!
Taylormama- what routine of your own did you use. My ds 13 weeks old will NOT settle at night unless he is bf to sleep and then he wakes every time he is put in his cot. He usually settles around 9:15pm and sleeps really well after that but it is incredibly frustrating, demoralising and tiring - not to mention unfair to my dd who is nearly 9.

Some babies need more sleep and for longer periods than others. You need to be sensitive to your babies cues. Are they tired? Do they need a nap even if they are fighting it. if your baby wkaes after 30 mins and is alert and happy then that would appear to be enough sleep . if cranky then I would suggest letting them cry for a bit, not a terribly fashionble thing to suggest. I am not talking hours of screaming here, 5 mins or so. The room they sleep in needs to be dark and quiet. You need to follow the same pattern when you put them down, eg. what you do and say so that they will take their cues from you too. Anyway, good luck.

I had the same problem with dd at around 12 weeks using (vague) BW methods. I could get her to go to sleep but 20 mins or so into the nap she'd flail her arms around and wake herself up - and no amount of patting and shushing would get her back off...
In the end I decided to try a dummy and it worked like a dream - she would suck herself to sleep then after 20mins she would begin to wake up but suck back off again - within a couple of days she was napping for 2 hours or more at a time. It was also fantastic for putting her down to sleep as I just had to settle her in her cot (awake) and let her suck herself to sleep. Before this I'd had to parade up and down the room for a good 20 mins before she'd finally drop off.

i know dummies aren't for everyone (or every baby), and to be honest I never thought i'd use one, but i'm a bit of a convert! I was, however very strict that it was only used for sleep and no other times.

cmac- i know that your suggestion of a dummy is the ansewer. My dd had one until she was 4 so I am not ata all against them but.....ds is! He does not know what to do with it - he screams/thrashes/goes ballistic when one is tried. I have used five different shapes of dummy too! He does not know how to suck froma bottle either which I know is connected ie if he could do one he could doi hte other. I will definitely p[ersever with dummy now that you have said that though. How old was your lo when introduced toa dummy?

Cruisemum, she was about 12 weeks I think. I had tried one out of desperation at about 6 weeks too when she was really colicky but she wasn't interested and spat it out so i didn't persevere. Only tried again later on when trying to use BW and she suggested them. I found that she would only take it when she was calm to begin with - wasn't interested if she was upset.
I know not every baby will take them though so good luck for finding a solution that suits yours.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I do try a dummy and sometimes it works - i guess i'm worried he'll become dependent on it (maybe I shouldn't worry so much). This isn't helped however by the fact that he can't hold it in himself for more than a few sucks so i end up sitting holding it in his mouth. Anyone know if he'll get better at holding it himself as he gets older cause he's showing no progress currently!

He currently sleeps through the night like a dream (i do appreciate this!). I haven't yet tried him napping in the dark because I'm concerned he will confuse night/day and I'm scared of undoing his excellent nightime sleep. What do people think? Am i worrying over nothing?