30 minute naps - help!!

[KL2905]

Hi All,

I have 6 month old twin girls and am being driving crazy by 30 minute naps! I put them down in their cots for naps during the day and that wake up after 30 minutes every time. I put them down awake, normally after they have been up for around 2 hours. They are able to settle themselves to sleep but wake up after 30 minutes on the dot! If I take them out in the pram they will happily sleep for a couple of hours. They sleep relatively well at night and are down to 1 night feed, which we are trying to gradually wean them off. Any thoughts / experiences anyone is able to share would be much appreciated!

6 ish months is when naps start changing from short and frequent to longer and fewer. But babies are never exact so it might be your twins need their short frequent naps for a bit longer.

When they wake, try to get to them ASAP and settle back to sleep if possible. Eventually they'll get it and should start napping for longer.

Also google the 2 3 4 routine worked fab for us :)

Could you set the pushchair up in the house for them to sleep in during the day too? You could sneak in at 30 mins and rock the pram/wheel it back and forth til they go.into another sleep.

tbh id only try and lengthen one nap a day. A 30min morning and teatime nap and a big nap say 12-2 ish.

I had this too. It was hard.

It sounds like they have a 30 minute sleep cycle: falling asleep, deep sleep, light sleep, brief awakening, which should ideally lead to more sleep.

It's what happens in this brief awakening which is key to whether they keep sleeping. It sounds like the pram is comforting/soporiphic enough that they self settle during the brief awakenings.

Try to develop a routine to do this in the cot. For example go in at the 20-25 min mark and start carefully rubbing their backs. This may lead them to feel more comforted when they briefly wake up - hopefully enough to send them back to sleep for another cycle.

If they do stir though try not to stimulate. Just rub, shhhh, avoid eye contact.

My LO was just like this, needed 4 naps a day for ages. He's now 9 months and has two longer naps most days. I did nothing different, he just started sleeping longer sometimes and now he sleeps longer almost every nap. I feel your pain though!

I was the same as chocolate teapots.
It drove me insane trying to lengthen my DS' naps. Nothing worked. Not even the pram.
In the end at 8 months he started staying awake longer and sleeping longer. I honestly changed nothing.
I feel your pain - from 4-8 months he had 4 naps a day and it drove me bonkers. Now he has 2 naps of an HR/HR and a half if I'm lucky.

If they will sleep in the pram / I would try for one long nap - so half an HR early morning in cot and then take them out at lunch and get a decent nap in them and then just a half HR again in the early evening.

It totally sucks. I tried every single trick but nothing worked. My DS self settled, slept for 11 hrs at night but would not nap for more than half an HR. It lasted until 8 months ( but I think this is unusual for most people it passes quicker).

Thanks everyone for your messages. I gave the 2-3-4 routine a try yesterday but they still woke up after 30 minutes during their lunchtime nap! Tried going in at 20 minutes to shush / pat them but no joy. I ended up putting them in the pram & going for a walk! It's good to hear some of your LOs grew out of this eventually - fingers crossed mine will do the same

My baby did this all day long from 4 months it was driving me mad as she was obviously tired & grouchy again after 30 mins awake so I'd just be putting her down for 30min naps every hour ! She would wake up after 30 mins on the dot chatting and happy and not seeming tired....I then read something that said that 30mins was her sleep cycle and she was having a hard time transitioning into the second sleep cycle...maybe cos she wasn't in the routine of having long naps and I would get her up after 30mins every time so I was reinforcing these 30 min naps. I read that you just need to leave them to cry for 5 mins and they will resettle themselves and then sleep for an hour ! So I tried this (and also made her room darker with blackout blinds so that there wasn't anything interesting for her to look at when she woke up from sleep cycle - white noise helps too apparently - radio on static) She woke up after 30 mins and chatted and cooed in her cot for 10 mins...I just left her and listened...then she started to cry....It was horrible the first time I let her cry for 5 mins cos I'd never let her cry before but then I was just about to go in there and settle her when her cries started to die down...and she'd go silent for a bit and then fuss a little bit more...so I waited one more minute...and bang on 6minutes she just stopped crying and then slept for 1 hour !! I did this every nap time from then on and after a week or something she stopped waking up at the half hour mark and my life was changed !! So glad I just stuck at it and let her settle herself...... !