Naps and a 4 Month Old

The 30 or 40 minutes is a sleep cycle. I went thru it and it is very frusterating. The only book I found that gives a solution is "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Problems." There are a few Baby Whisperer books out there so you need to look for that exact title. Also, they have a webstite www.babywhisperer.com.

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Hi S.,

You don't mention if he is on any kind of set schedule. I would highly recommend it if he is not. I would also recommend the book "Parent Controlled Feeding". A wealth of information on scheduling. Hope it works out for you (and soon!).

1 mom found this helpful

I have a 6 month old son with a similar situation - I guess the difference is that I don't really think it's a problem. He naps about 2-3 hours total per day in 40 minute chunks (usually 3 40 minute naps). And he generally sleeps 11-12 hours at night with 1 wakeup. On occasion he will string two of the 40-min cycles together and sleep for up to 1.5 hours, but that is rare.

I guess the question is what's the big deal if he doesn't nap that much? It sounds like he's getting good sleep at night and presumably you are too. Isn't that what's important? If he's cranky but won't go down just remember to keep him busy beforehand, nurse him, and then put him down (with a clean diaper, obviously). Does he have a "lovey"? That will help at this age too.

S.,
You might like to read books written by Dr. William Sears. It sounds like your baby is sleeping quite well for his age. If you are always there to nurse and otherwise comfort him, so much the better. I would co-sleep if you are not doing this already. Also, feed on demand.
A pox on Dr. Weissbluth and others who impose their sleeping and feeding schedules in infants! The sleep cycle information might be good. Many people disagree, however, on how to respond to it. I prefer Dr. Sears' approach.
It sounds like you are doing a great job already. Continue to follow your instincts.
Amy

I have lived by Weissbluth's theories and found his suggested sleep schedules really work. In addition to that, we did the Ferber method to teach our son to fall asleep on his own at 16 weeks of age. My advice on his short napping may be not an early enough bedtime. According to Weissbluth, an earlier bedtime may solve that problem. Our son is 1 year and now has a 5:30 bedtime with 9am & 1pm naps. That may not work for you, but I would take a look at that. Also charting his schedule can help. I notice also that our son does not have as good of quality sleep if he doesn't sleep in his crib. Maybe try Dr. Ferber's sleep training method. I found it easier than simply letting him cry it out.

Also, I use a sleep doula for my son's sleep schedule concerns. Here is their website. There is a fee, but they have been very helpful. http://www.familysleep.com

My son, who is now 9 months, would only sleep(for naps)in my arms too at this age. He would also co-sleep or sleep in his swing during nap time. At night, however, he would sleep in his crib fine. It took me a month or so to get him to sleep in his crib for naps. I started with the first nap, because he was really tired and this nap was more predictable than the others. I didn't use specific strategies but just tried everyday and each time he would sleep longer. So my advice it to be consistent, try everyday, and watch for signs of tiredness so he does not get overtired. I think at this age you will start to see a nap pattern and a routine for naps. Give it time and it will happen!!!

I think your son's nap schedule will happen a lot on it's own but you can help it along. Try keeping him up in between naps, entertaining, playing, talking to him, etc. and be predictable. I don't think you have to be set in stone to a schedule but a little person needs that predictability to depend on what is going to happen at a given time to get into a routine you can rely on and live with too. It will happen a little at a time so consider this your first trial of patience. It will happen. Good luck!