6 Month Old Only Sleeps 45 Minutes at a Time

Hi M.! She'll get back to a schedule, but she may not need as much sleep in the mornings any more. Put her in a swing or playpen in the room where you are working at home. She can see and hear you and not be afraid that she is alone. Sometimes she'll fall asleep in a swing for a short nap before the next feeding too. I as a SAHM when my son was little, and the playpen was wonderful when it was time to fold clothes or fix dinner. He loved to the play with toys in it even if the side was let down and he could crawl in and out (at about 2 years of age).

Good Luck - E.

Hi M.-

All you can do is give your daughter the opportunity to sleep (which is what you are doing by putting her in her crib to nap versus dragging her around the mall!). If she only sleeps 45 minutes but wakes up happy, babbling and rolling around in her crib, then that is great. She is still resting even if she is not sleeping. I bet this is a phase. A 6 month old needs more than a 45 minute nap. Perhaps she is just getting more aware of her surroundings and getting more alert. I would stick with your plan and be patient...and leave her in the crib at least 1.5 hours before taking her out. Also, maybe she can handle more than 2 hours of wake time now, say 2 hr 15 min or 2 hr 30 min. As far as the night time waking goes, it has only been 2 nights so this might not be a pattern yet. If you find that she is just waking up to play or get your attention (versus being sick or caught in a crib slat), you may need to train her to go back to sleep on her own, by not going to get her and/or not taking her out of the crib. This is very hard to do as the crying may get louder before it gets better as she tries to get you to come in. My son just turned a year old and I feel like we have had to continuously "retrain" him to sleep during the night and during naps at each new phase. Hope this helps!

C.

M.- It's common for babies to start waking during naps during developement. I've learned from my 3- that at every new develpemental stage- they would not nap or sleep well. She may be teething- learning to sit up or crawl, etc...give it some time and keep being consistant she'll get the hang of it again. Also- if she is just babbling and rolling in her crib- why not just leave her there? if she's not screaming - I wouldn't go get her. This is VALUABLE time for you to get some things done yourself! Stick with it- in a week or so she'll be back on a schedule (it may be a new one, but it will be a schedule!)
Good Luck
Nikki

could she be teething? That's when mine always had sleeping problems (short naps, getting up with the roosters etc) and it always seemed like it lasted FOREVER with each tooth. I always gave a dose of Motrin and, if the sleep problems went away, then I knew that's what it was. I was always right, as a tooth appeared soon afterward:) Good luck--you'll sleep again eventually.

She may just be teething, my son did something similar to that when he was about 5 months old and then a tooth appeared and he went back to his "normal" self.

Did you read Babywise? That is called the 45 min intruder. You seem to have her on a great schedule. She maybe teething. But my daughter went through a few phases where she did this. Also at that age I would make sure she is only getting 2 naps a day. Just keep going with your schedule I am sure it will pass.

Hey M.,
Have you tried giving her a warm bath at a certain time or maybe taking her for a nice walk outside,try letting her play around on the floor with you there on the floor with her,let her tire herself out with some reaching toys,toys that make some noises.The more things you do with her during the day when you are not working your business,the better it will be for her when it is time for bed,remeber to give her a warm soothing bath with a bath oil called NIGHT TIME BATH for babies.Hope this helps out for you,D.

Well, so long as the babbling and rolling around don't wake you, I would suggest you sleep/work/etc. Don't go in there and teach her that waking in the night means social time. Instead, waking in the night is BORING... so boring, in fact, it just lulls me to sleep... When she's ready to get up, she'll let you know. 'course, you're a mom with experience. You probably already knew that.

Also, unless she's telling you she's hungry, I wouldn't try feeding her. If she seems fine even at 4 hours, she's fine. Try stretching it to 4 1/2 or 5 maybe even 6.

Sounds like she's going through a transition time when her body is reprogramming the whole sleep/eat thing.

If you find anything that works, please let me know! My 6 month old is doing the exact same thing. He was taking
1 1/2 - 2hour naps and sleeping from 7pm-7am. But just this week he is taking 45 minute naps and not falling asleep until much later and waking up at 5:30am. And boy is he cranky! So I feel your not able to get anything done, exhausted, out of ideas pain.

Hi M.,
My daughter is 10 months old ans was on the same sort of cycle your baby was but when she started cutting teeth our schedule went out the window. I have had many days with 45-50 minute naps which resulted in a very cranky baby. She has started staying up a lot longer between naps as well. I have found that the highlands teething tablets help us more than anything else.

I am also in my forties with two older children. Things are a lot different now than I remember them in my twenties.

R.

Hi, M.!
My daughter who's now 2 was the same way. She slept through the night from 8 wks. to 11 months (only 10-11 hrs.) but she never took long naps during the day until she was almost a yr. old--no matter what I tried. She'd go through stages of sleeping for 30 min. at a time, 1-3 x's a day for several months until she was almost a yr. old. She was also colicky until 4 months old, which was the hardest thing I'd ever gone through. Then, right before she turned 1 she'd start taking a 1 or 2 hr. nap twice a day until 15 months, then would take one 2-3 hr. nap a day until 20 months old. Now she takes naps sporadically (some days none at all--and she goes to bed around 10 or 10:30 and is up at 9:30 or 10 a.m.)because once we brought our new baby home (in Dec. '07), she just didn't want to take them anymore! She'd scream when I put her in her bed to take naps, when before she willingly took them with no problem. It was very frustrating, as I desperately needed some time to just tend to the baby (or myself!) and she refused to nap, no matter what I tried. Now she'll just take a nap when she gets tired and just hops up on the sofa and falls asleep. She's never been a child who needed much sleep (like her daddy). For the most part, she's always in a good mood and not cranky--besides being a female, with all the drama.... :). I also have a 15 yr. old son and I don't remember him having ANY sleep or nap issues...he was an angel! So, she threw me for a loop. My 4 month old son is a breeze and I think he's going to be easy like his big brother. But, my daughter has been quite the challenge, to say the least!

I would wait to see how she acts during the day with the short naps. If she seems content and not fussy, then maybe she just doesn't need the extra sleep at this point (which is what I found to be true with my own daughter). I do know that when they're going through growth spurts they tend to sleep more, too. If she's getting plenty of sleep at night, I wouldn't worry about it at this point. She may all of the sudden start napping for longer periods in the next few months....you never know. Believe me, I know how you feel at this point! I had my daughter when I was 35 and my oldest was 13--I was thrown for a loop starting all over again! In some ways, I think it's easier being older (I'm a little more patient) but then again, after so long of having an independent child, it was hard to get back into the game w/a little one...now I have yet another baby (not planned, but is such a joy). It's challenging a lot of the time, but keeps me on my knees where I probably should be anyway! :)

Good luck with everything!

A.

Hey Girl,
My daughter did the same thing, she was a great sleeper and then she hit about 6 months and became a cat napper. She sleeps through the night, so I didn't complain. I'd rather have her sleep all night. I agree, if she's just talking and having a good time in her crib, LET HER BE. I put mine in there with some toys and she is fine. She probably just doesn't want to miss anything, she's found a whole new world being us during the day, and she doesn't want to miss one thing. Just keep her entertained with toys, I give mine some cooking spoons and she bangs around on the kitchen floor if Im in there doing dishes. Mine has also started waking up early (since the time change at least) but Im a morning person so it doesn't bother me. Good Luck girl, the good thing is this is your third, so really nothing should surprise you ;0)

I would get her something in her crib so when she wakes she can play with mom and stimulate her brain some and help make her tired my kids loved the Ocean wonders by fisher price the even have one with a remote control so you can be near the door and set it off. It's neat it has a light and music and ocean sounds.
She may also be off schedule because she's starting to teethe she maybe changing her schedule because she's at a growing spurt or getting ready to start crawling her little body is changing so fast everyday. See if those ideas help a bit. Wish you the best I know the first year can be very hard.

if she's just babbling and rolling around in her crib, can you just let her be and see if she goes back to sleep?

"I've tried leaving her in her crib in hopes that she will fall back to sleep but instead she babbles and rolls around."If she's not crying I'd leave her alone. It could be that she's getting ready to hit a milestone, like crawling if she isnt already.
You also said she wakes up cranky , she could be teething if she's waking up that soon.

My daughter did the same thing, but only would sleep 30 minutes at a time. It drove me insane so I can really relate to what you are going through. I found that there was nothing that I could do to help the situation. Her naps gradually lengthened over time. She is almost a year old now and sleeps an hour in the morning and 90 minutes in the afternoon. She has been sleeping like this for the past couple of months. Don't lose heart, hopefully her naps will change over time.
A.