Baby only takes short naps :(

[zastle]

My LO is 13 weeks and he has always taken 45 minute naps. I don't know when this started exactly but I've been tracking his sleep since he was 5 weeks old and he's been napping for only 45 (sometimes 30) minutes during the day. I can count the times he's slept more than that on one hand.

I know a baby's sleep cycle is 45 minutes and that he's having difficulty transitioning into the next sleep cycle on his own but I've tried everything (swaddling, "wake to sleep", ideal sleep conditions, etc.) but nothing is working. I can't get anything done during the day and while he's not cranky or unhappy, I can tell he's not as well rested as he should be after every nap. And I read it's normal for babies to have 45 minute naps every once in a while but all of them? That can't be good for his development.

He has always been a terrible sleeper but tracking his sleep and wake windows has made a huge difference these past couple of months and now he sleeps really well at night. It's just daytime sleep that he's struggling with.

How can I help him transition between sleep cycles? Am I doing something wrong or should I just accept this and wait for things to get better? Any help is appreciated!

Mine was the same and nothing I did made any difference until she suddenly started doing longer naps on her own, probably around 6-7 months old. Now does a short morning nap and 2 hours after lunch. I know that doesn’t help much now!

Probably not what you want to hear but it is perfectly normal at 3 months to only sleep for one sleep cycle. My LO is just turned 6 months and only now is starting to having longer naps. He dropped his third nap about 2 weeks ago and now sleeps an hour in the morning and 1 and half in the afternoon. He sometimes has a third nap but only if we are out on our daily walk and he has had a short afternoon one.

I suppose I knew deep down that I'd have to wait this out lol. I'm glad I'm not alone and this is normal though.

Just wondering - do your LOs use a dummy during nap/bedtimes? My son needs it just until he's almost asleep and then spits it out right before he drifts off. I assumed this wasn't technically a sleep prop since he doesn't need it to stay asleep but maybe I'm wrong and this is one of the reasons he won't sleep for more than one sleep cycle. I tried putting him down for a nap without it and he was hysterical so I gave in.

I'm just so exhausted and I can't get anything done during the day. It's getting worse these days - now he won't even make it to 45 minutes. Most naps are around 20 minutes now.

Oh @zastle I feel you as DS is the same - will not sleep for longer than half an hour during the day & I can’t get anything done! Even the sure-fire ways of getting him to nod off like the pram & sling are no longer working. In desperation I will sometimes feed him to sleep but even that doesn’t make it happen sometimes. I think we just have to wait it out

@OccasionalNachos
Hope this ends sooner than 6 months! Not sure how much longer I can take.

Naps just keep getting worse and worse. He used to be able to sleep on his own (I'd lay him down on his bassinet and he'd drift off), now I have to rock him till he's drowsy or asleep, and I often have to repeat that over and over until he finally goes to sleep. I know I'm teaching him a bad habit but I'm desperate.

And I've checked my baby tracker app - he's been sleeping only 11 to 12 hours a day this past week when he used to sleep for 14. I just don't know what to do anymore. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. :(

My eldest was like this. Between 4-7 months, she did 4x 30 minute naps a day.. that’s the longest I could ever get out of her! I became a pro at getting jobs done in those 30 minutes! At 7 months, she started doing a longer naps of her own accord. The two short morning ones merged into an hour/hour and a half and she just took one 30 minute afternoon one. By one, she was doing a 2-3 hour morning nap only and did that until Feb this year when she dropped them totally (she’s 3 in a few days). It does get better! I have a feeling my 6 week old DD2 is going to be very similar, she just doesn’t sleep in the daytime 😫 it’s hard work!

@Bol87
I hope your 6 week old surprises you and starts sleeping well both day and night! Fingers crossed for you!

Based on everyone's answers I suppose I have no choice but to wait this out. I've done everything I can but things seem to only be getting worse.

Mine did this too until he was about 7 months - a lot of half hour cat naps, 40 mins tops. Then literally from one day to the next he was having one 1 and a half to 2 hour naps.

@Pinkblueberry Interesting how this seems to resolve by 6 to 7 months... I wonder what the science behind it is!