do sleepy feeds count as naps?

[bethdivine]

DD is 16wks and I'm still struggling to get her to take proper naps in the day. If we're out and about, she'll have a good nap in the car or baby carrier, but if we're at home all day she won't settle in her cot or chair for very long before waking and only really sleeps when she has a feed. She'll feed for 5-10 mins, before turning it into a lazy sleepy feed, having a few slurps every once in a while for about 30 mins. Does this actually count towards her nap time and is this why she won't settle for long when I do put her down do you think?

Oh to have a baby who takes decent naps in the daytime. DS was a dreadful napper and I used to pretty much have to take him out in car or pram until he gave up his naps a few months ago. I can't quite face going through that again!
any advice most welcome. TIA.

Well, FWIW, the No Cry Sleep Solution woman (sorry, forgotten her name - too sleep deprived to have a memory) reckons naps lasting less than 45 minutes don't count anyway, so that'd be a no! The theory is that 45 minutes is one sleep cycle and that's what they need to get rested.

Having said that, my 9mo sometimes does 20 or 30 min naps and it seems to be enough to keep him going till bedtime. He was a terrible napper until he was about 6 months but now is pretty reliably one 45 mins and one 1/2 - 2 hrs, so yours may get better with age. Hope so!

If she seems to be refreshed for an hour or two afterwards, I would say yes, they count. If DS wouldn't be put down for a nap due to teething etc., I used to give him a sleepy feed and he'd wake up raring to go. Sometimes just 20 minutes would do the trick - like a power nap!

I agree with Artifarti. I can generally tell if my 20 week old LO's nap has been "long enough". If it has, she wakes up making happy noises and stays alert and cheerful for about 2 hours afterwards. If it hasn't, she wakes up crying or is tired and grizzly again within an hour. So if your DD stays awake after her sleepy feed for a reasonable time without becoming tired again, I reckon it's not a problem. If she doesn't, hmmm, not too sure what to suggest. I had terrible problems with putting my LO down for naps for a long time but it has got a easier recently. Not sure if it's because of anything I did, apart from perhaps becoming a bit more strict about watching for her sleepy signs and not letting her go more than 2 hours without a nap. She also got a bit better at settling herself, although unfortunately that hasn't extended to putting her down at night, which is still a lengthy full on screaming performance. Hey ho ...