5.5 month old wakes after 30 mins

[basilflower]

Help! My 5.5 month old (second child) only ever naps for 30 mins. This is fine, our first did this too. However no matter how many naps, or how long awake before bedtime, he usually wakes after 30 mins thinking it's just another nap. Eventually he'll go back to sleep, and then settles into his waking every 1 or 2 or 3 hours depending on what he decides that night.

Does anyone have any suggestions of how to make him realise it's bedtime? We do bath, followed by sleeping bag, story, song, feed (although during this hot weather the sleeping bag has gone and we've had to move to a cooler room) to try and make him realise this is different from a nap. Also his naps are all rocked to sleep in the pushchair, so again quite different.

I just wish once he was asleep he would know it was bedtime, even if he wakes frequently that's OK because he just feeds back to sleep, it's the waking and then not being ready for sleep again for a couple of hours that I can't cope with.

Thanks for any suggestions you can give!

He could not be ready for an early evening bedtime just yet.

Could you get baby to go to sleep in the cot, with a dummy for example, or some shush patting?

What's your daytime routine like? How long is there usually awake between naps?

It sounds like it could be part of the sleep/wake cycle (deep/light sleep) and he's not able to self settle back over so 'wakes up'

Try not picking up after half an hour but settling him back over - I found they'd sleep another hour or so during the day (apologies if this is already something you do and it's not worked)

Self settling should help through the night as he gets older

Failing that...classical/soothing music/lullabies

That makes sense, he usually settles sometime after 9pm, so maybe it's OK to just have yet another nap?

He sometimes settles with a dummy or little finger in his mouth, but the dummy mostly just makes him excited to suck and stay awake. Though I have to be honest I've not tried it consistently yet.

During the day he usually sleeps 1.5 hours after waking, then varies between staying awake 1.5 to 2 hours after last waking. All day naps are in pushchair, either rocked to sleep in house, or out walking. He hardly ever sleeps long than 30 mins, mostly woken by toddler!

Cycles of deep and light sleep last 30-50 minutes in babies, then gradually increase in length across childhood.

Children usually wake briefly at the end of each sleep cycle. This is a normal part of healthy sleep – all children do it. Some children call out when they wake and need help settling again, but independent sleepers put themselves back to sleep.

Better said here!

My niece used to last about an hour between sleeps at that age - woke after 20-30mins and then went back over with some soothing for about another hour - no toddler though!!

That's a juggling/sound proofing issue!

Maybe look at some self settling advice - takes time but pays off

I sometimes try re rocking back to sleep in the day works, but it depends how compliant my toddler is during that period!! He can definitely get through sleep cycles at times though, I see it at night. It's interesting he doesn't seem to be able to during the day.. Although I'm ok with the 30 min naps, it's more trying to sort out some kind of evening routine....

He can definitely get through sleep cycles at times though, I see it at night. It's interesting he doesn't seem to be able to during the day.

The push to sleep is greater at night, making large chunks of sleep at night happen. There is much less sleep pressure in the daytime (and early morning). When the pressure to sleep is less, if baby is likely to wake up they probably will.

If he's going 2h between naps and sleeping 30m, I would just keep that routine going thtough the evening. Still do "bedtime routine" (as in bath, change to sleepwear etc) any awake time around 6-8pm. Then allow for another 'nap' wherever naps normally happen.

Any wake ups that happen after 7pm keep them subdued and low key, but I wouldn't stress about it just being a 30m nap. Just feed, put back down for another 'nap' or clusterfeed some more.

In time you will start to see which 'nap' is the start of overnight sleep, because baby won't wake up. Over time the evening 'naps' merge together. Then once baby stops waking from the 7.30pm 'nap', you know that this has become part of night sleep, so can move to upstairs bedtime accordingly.

It could be sleep regression plus that bedtime (on your terms) might be too early. However hard I try my 5 month old will not settle into a long sleep until about 9.30. Even if she goes to sleep at 8.30 it will be a nap and then she'll go to sleep properly later. I figure it'll work itself out.