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Sleep

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Original poster

Waking after 45mins at lunchtime

13 replies

bunnyrabbit · 21/12/2003 13:05

Help! Am having problems with my DS lunchtime nap. He will sleep for 45mins- 1hr and then wakeup. He always used to do this and I'd ignore him and then he'd go back to sleep again, but lately he won't. Even tried pickup/putdown but he lay there wide awake. Stops crying when we go in the room and starts again when we leave.

I've cut back his morning nap to 30mins, but he still won't stay down. I started thinking that perhaps he doesn't need two hours at lunch time anymore, but he gets really grotty in the afternoon without it and ends up having another 30-45 mins at about 3.30pm and get's very grotty before bedtime.

I'm not following GF religously, but the sleep patterns have worked really well for DS since he was about 3 weeks old, he's 15 weeks now.

Any suggestions welcome.

OP posts:

Lamin · 21/12/2003 14:30

BR - my guess is he is hungry - my ds did exactly the same thing at about 12 weeks and didn't sleep properly again at lunchtime until I weaned him.

I am not saying you should wean him yet, just be reassured that he will probably sleep longer again after he has started solids.

HTH

Lamin · 21/12/2003 14:30

BR - my guess is he is hungry - my ds did exactly the same thing at about 12 weeks and didn't sleep properly again at lunchtime until I weaned him.

I am not saying you should wean him yet, just be reassured that he will probably sleep longer again after he has started solids.

HTH

futurity · 21/12/2003 15:15

My DS also did this and at the time I had no idea why! On reflection though, like Lamin says, I think he was hungry as well as he also slept better once weaned.

steppemum · 21/12/2003 15:18

no idea what your feeding pattern is, but like you I did an approx sleeping pattern according to GF. I found that ds never slept for 2 hours at lunch time, and the main reason was that he wanted a full milk feed at 1 o'clock, and not a half feed, and couldn't wait until after his 2 hour sleep. In fact he only started doing a longer lunchtime sleep when he was about 8 months. At 15 weeks doesn't gf still recomend a late afternoon sleep? I can't remember when she cuts it out.
Not sure if any of that helps, but in the end I followed ds natural feed/ sleep pattern, and it worked.

judetheobscure · 21/12/2003 16:12

Why on earth would you give a baby a "half feed"? Surely that's asking for trouble?

bottersnike · 21/12/2003 16:46

Yup, my ds used to do exactly the same thing. I think either he was hungry or he was just going through a stage of finding it difficult to go back to sleep. He still does the same thing occasionally now at 8 months, and we just put him back to bed for a little nap in the afternoon. It can make him grumpy, but if he doesn't have the nap he's unbearable.
No other suggestions other than more milk, I'm afraid.

Original poster

bunnyrabbit · 21/12/2003 23:15

Pretty sure he isn't hungry as I fed him at 11.15 yesterday and he still woke up at 1.

Is quite happy once he's up.

OP posts:

cords · 22/12/2003 10:30

DD slept today for 2 hrs , woke briefly after 1.5 only after I gave her a top up at 12:30 after BF at 11.15 ... i think she sleeps better straifgt after a feed . sooo , maybe solids is the answer ?

If DD wakes after an hour at lunch and is wide awake and not whungy, I don't panic too much , only if she has done only half an hour. She will generally nap in pm round abt 3:30 ish and not as GF says at 4.45 for her age.

steppemum · 22/12/2003 15:06

judetheobscure - the half feed thing is a gf suggestion (I can't remember her real name for it) It is basically a top up to get him through until the next feed time. I tried it for about a week to try and get him to sleep longer at lunch time, but he didn't need a top up, he needed a full feed. The gf routine only has 4 day time feeds, and my ds always needed 5 (7, 10, 1, 4, 7) As soon as I realised that I ignored the top up advice, and just went with the flow of my ds.

florenceuk · 22/12/2003 15:58

Just looked back at my diary and realised what a rotten sleeper DS was, right up until he went to one sleep a day. Very irregular, sometimes 2hrs in the pm, sometimes only 45min! Personally I would not cut back on the morning sleep but let him sleep as long as he likes - one book I said had a rule, never wake a sleeping baby! I think it is worse if you put them down really overtired and I don't think solids make much difference. I would go with the flow, try not to go in too quickly and see if he goes back to sleep but if not, just let him have another nap in the pm.

MincePie · 22/12/2003 16:07

Maybe he just needs less sleep and is becoming more interested in the world around him, if he is happy once he is awake.

DD2 has started doing this, she just wants to start looking/playing whereas before she just wanted more sleep. So I play with her rather than driving myself crazy trying to put her down when she doesn't want it.

MincePie · 22/12/2003 16:12

Meant to say...if he is happy when he doesn't want to sleep but then latter gets ratty can't you bring his later nap forward?

GlitterGrommit · 22/12/2003 16:49

Bunnyrabbit - Waking after 45 mins is common as babies do not go into a deep sleep until after 45 mins. Dd used to do this at lunchtime and the only way to get her to sleep longer was by controlled crying. I would persevere with the controlled crying...

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