Can't seem to get into any sort of routine

[chapso]

Desperately trying to get into some sort of routine with my nearly 5month old, however he wakes up after every nap almost 30minutes on the dot. he wakes up fussy and crying, clearly still tired, but is impossible to resettle as hes recharged a bit. He will usually have one longer nap each day but that’s only if it’s on me. I've tried avoiding overtired,under tired and sticking to the suggested wake windows but nothing seems to work. same at night - i put him down and he wakes exactly 30 minutes later.

Feeling a bit stuck. He is so grumpy throughout the day because he's exhausted. He's also up roughly every 3 hours at night. anyone been in the same boat and have any suggestions?

These routines with 1.5 hour naps and uninterrupted nights seem so far away 🙈

😬 solidarity!

At this point they're trying to link their sleep cycles. My dd went through this phase for 30 minutes on the dot nap for about a month. On reflection, I should have just sat still and relaxed every single nap when she did that.

Hope it improves soon!

I have the same issues with 6.5 month old. It does improve (I have an older child) but can’t remember when. All I know is that I had a nightmare with dd today, trying to get her to take a nap, refused, then over tired so short twitchy sleep, then wouldn’t resettle. The best part of the day was when I gave in and let her feed-sleep on me while I watched Netflix.

No advice ... but I'm right there with you. DS2 is almost 5mo and a 30 min napper! Will only ever do 30min if in pram (regardless of whether I walk for hours...he still wakes at 30 and doesn't go back off), cot, car seat, bouncer etc. If he has a contact nap he can nap for about 2hrs...might grumble a bit now and again but just drifts back off.

Thought we'd magically fixed it last week as he randomly did a long 1.5 hr nap each day last week. But alas, back to 30mins as usual this week again.

It’s all completely normal. These babies are tiny and like sleeping on you!
Don’t worry, it gets better once they hit 1. They sort out their own routine eventually (like one long afternoon nap)

Ps 30 minute naps at this age are normal. Three kids here

I was in exactly the same boat. At 6 months DDs pediatrician told me to try leaving her on the cot for the length of time I wanted her to nap. I was hesitant at first, but ended up trying it as she just seemed miserably tired all the time. I also slightly extended her wake window to do it. It took 3 days, first day 10 mins happy babbling, 10 minutes upset crying but by no means hysterical, 10 mins groaning as she went back to sleep. Next day was half that. 3rd day and every day after for the next year she slept for at least an hour and a half 2x per day and everyone was A LOT happier.

The trick for me turned out to be NOT going in. Going in just resulted in her getting more upset every time I inevitably left and she would not go back to sleep.

Plenty of folks will tell you “that’s just what babies do…” but it doesn’t have to be.

Sorry to worry you but it might be his normal for a while yet…DD1 only ever did 28 minute naps, dropped to one of those at 11 months and then stopped napping completely by 20 months. She never ever did contact naps, not for want of us trying. Just too alert.

This is not the norm - most friends’ children bar one started solidly napping at around six months. And, even though that wasn’t the case for us, DD1’s ability to be awake happily improved dramatically upon sitting up at 5.5 months, and she became perpetually cheerful on beginning cruising at 10 vmonths.

For survival, I’d try and figure out a way of doing jobs while he’s awake so you can chill during the 30 minute sleeps. Also, to put a positive spin on it, you aren’t stuck to the house for two hours at a time so you can go out whenever you like.

Good luck, I hope it improves.