Nap Habits for an Almost 4 Month Old

Have you tried letting her sleep on you?

Drive.

Take her for a walk (in a stroller or a baby carrier)

white noise machine

What else is happening in the house 45 minutes after she falls asleep? Could something be waking her?

Is she breastfed or bottlefed? Breastfeed babies generally process their milk in about 30 minutes or so. Is she hungry?

If she's not really howling (just fussing a little bit), leave her alone for a few minutes. She may very well go back to sleep. (Mine sometimes does.) This way, she also gets to learn how to go to sleep on her own, which is a great lesson!

My older son took 4-5 45minute naps a day until he was 6mths or so. It just worked better for him, and he has been the best sleeper. He was/is a thumb sucker though, and began sucking his thumb at 4.5mths. It really helped him sleep on his own, too.

I wish I had an answer for you! It may just be what she needs right now. I'd probably break from trying to get her down, and help her be active for another hour or two, then try again later.

She is close to teething age and this might be what is happening. If it is teething, there are a few tricks, but mostly you will have to live through it. (sigh) And the pacifier is one of those things that really help during this time.

Check to see if you can identify and lower teeth buds. Try rubbing your finger over them. That usually really helps. Find one of those teething toys that can be cooled in the freezer or fridge and use it. Some people use Tylenol but check with your doc.

But that is only if she is teething.

If you don't think she is teething, and can't find and teeth buds, why don't you semi swaddle her to give her some transition? That might help.

And if I remember right, my kids stopped sleeping around 4 months, and then really started to grow like mad. Then when they were growing around 5-6 months they slept and slept.

Have you considered calling your pediatrician? My little guy is also 4 months old and had a similar problem. He could nap in his bouncy seat or swing for hours, but we had no luck getting him to sleep in the crib. Turned out, he was suffering from acid reflux and sleeping flat on his back was causing flareups. Sucking on the pacifier kept the acid down, but every time he lost the pacifier, the acid would wake him up. So, it may not be losing the pacifier itself that's causing the problem, but rather something else. You may want to consider having her nap in a bouncy seat or something else that keeps her a little upright one afternoon and see if that helps her sleep and, if it does, mention it to her doctor.

Sorry to say it, but I think 45 minutes is about right for most 4 month olds and yes she will outgrow it. However, if you baby wakes up fussy and still tired, you can try putting her back to sleep the same way you got her to sleep the first time and eventually she will nap longer without needing you to do so.

Yes, she will outgrow it. I wouldn't worry about the pacifier right now. There is a reason babies/kids love them--they are so soothing. Some kids need to suck more than others. I would let her use it. She is still very young. You might also try a white noise CD in her room. Good luck.

All kids are different some are good sleepers and others are not. My child is not a good sleeper. I stressed out the first year trying to figure out how to get her to nap. She only napped thirty to forty five mins too. After she turned one she finally started napping for about an hour a day. Now she is three and 1/2 and does not napp anymore. She never has slept just really good at night either. So, it will get better but try not to stress too much over it. Kids can be exhausting that is just one of the wonderful things about having kids! :)

Hey C.,
So, I read this and thought, "Oh my gosh, that's me!" I've thought about posting this very question over the past few weeks, but things have gotten better here so instead I'm able to pass along a little advice to you.
My son will be 4 months on the 29th and had been doing the exact nap schedule that you're talking about. I'd feed him, rock him, put him down and it'd be 20-45 mins later and he'd be crying. I'd pick him up and often times he'd fall right back to sleep on my shoulder. I finally went to the pediatrician who treated him for acid reflux. He started taking Zantac and things got a little better. He'd have some days where he'd nap for 2 hours and then there'd be days where he'd nap for 20 mins several times a day and some days, he wouldn't nap at all! Night time was the most difficult though. We'd start the bedtime routine anywhere between 7 and 8 and by 11 we'd finally have him down for the night. He'd go a 4 hr stretch, then every 3 hours til morning. I was growing more and more tired and more and more stressed out. Here's what I've done:
Stopped nursing him to sleep when possible. Obviously, this isn't possible every time, but when I notice signs of tiredness, I put him down.
He is swaddled and sleeps in his carseat in his crib. I know, sounds crazy and I'm sure plenty would disagree with this setup, but it works and I'm gonna do what works right now!
At night and sometimes before the expected long afternoon nap, I bottle feed him his breastmilk. This way I know how much he ate prior to going down and I can rule that out of his reasons for crying. At bedtime I have started giving him 4 oz of formula also. It seems like I can't pump enough milk for him at the end of the day, so this is what we do. My husband does the nighttime routine and he first gives him the formula, then a bath, then the breastmilk (usually 3-4 oz) and by this time he's asleep and done for the night. Most nights he down by 7:30 and doesn't wake again til 4 am!
When he does wake up 20-45 mins into nap or bedtime, we let him cry for 10 mins. This is my max amount of time I let him cry and believe me, it seems like an eternity. I understand some don't like to do this, but again, it's what's worked for us. He normally will cry anywhere between 2 and 10 mins and his naps have lasted as much as 3 hours! We do still have some really bad nap days, but I guess at only 4 months we can't expect every day to be a good one!
Altogether, I believe what's helped us the most is the sleeping in a more upright position in the carseat and letting him cry for a few mins. I've read that babies will wake at times during their nap and just don't know how to get back to sleep on their own. This would be especially true if they are nursed to sleep.
I really hope some or all of this will help you. I was at my wit's end with the short naps! I have a 3 1/2 year old also and was just so completely worn out by the end of the day that I just wanted to leave once my husband got home!
Private message me if you're interested in talking more!
S.

Did you stop swaddling her because she didn't like it or because you felt like it was "time" for her not be swaddled anymore? We have swaddled our girl from birth (she's 17 months now) and it's always helped her sleep for a long time. We stopped swaddling her arms about 3 months ago; it seemed like she wanted access to her blankie and her binkie (yes, we still use one of those as well)...but we still swaddle her legs and she finds it really comforting and it helps her sleep well. We co-slept for the first 8-9 months and then she started sleeping in her crib w/ NO fuss whatsoever. She sleeps from 8pm until 9am and takes about a 1-2 hour nap pretty much every day. I would continue to swaddle her if you feel comfortable with it. I was feeling like we were inhibiting her ability to sleep w/o it for awhile, but posted the question on here and got many good responses from mamas saying that it was just fine to keep doing and that your baby/toddler will let you know when they are ready to quit. Good luck! I should end this with saying that sleep is THE most important thing for all involved. My husband and I both work full time and have since she was 3 months old, so we know what it's like to NEED your sleep.

Well, my 3-month old son has unpredictable sleeping patterns during the day. At night, he's out for as much as 8 hours straight (or else waking up briefly and lapsing back to sleep). It wasn't always like this. During the first month, he woke up often for diaper change and to eat. Also, he hated sleeping on his back. Starting at about 2 months, he began to sleep longer. I then found out I could get him to sleep on his back if he was lulled first. I think now, my son wakes up often at daytime because he gets PLENTY of rest at night. It night be the same with your daughter.

Here's what I do to make him sleep longer. First, I nurse him for a long time. It helps a LOT especially when he's fussy. It's not enough to nurse for just a few minutes though. I would wait longer (seems like 20-30 minutes though I don't really check the time). I'd also make sure he gets plenty of milk by alternating between both breasts several times.

Second, I start nursing him near the crib. This keeps the movement at a minimum when it's time to put him back in it.

Third, I make sure he gets LOTS of play time. I notice when he has played a lot (tummy time), he gets hungry, eats a lot and then goes to sleep for maybe 1 -2 hours during the day (though this doesn't always happen).

Fourth, when we need him to sleep for a longer stretch, I find it helps to supplement with formula. With breast milk alone, he nurses very often. (I supplement with about 2 bottles a day, one at noon and one before bedtime.)

Fifth, I make use of my baby's favorite sleeping positions and associations. For example, he likes being held. One of us would hold him while we're watching TV, for instance. Or, we'd let him doze off in our bed for a while. As for sleeping positions: We often put him on his side when he was younger. He preferred that to sleeping on his back, and I wouldn't let him sleep on his tummy. Nowadays, he is okay sleeping on his back IF he is lulled to sleep first.

I will admit though, this doesn't always work. Sometimes he'll wake up not even 10 minutes later! LOL

By the way, my son used pacifiers during the first two months, then started spitting it out. Or it could be his tongue reflex doing that.

Good luck!

Hello C., I have a baby that just turned 5 months and I too "use" a pacifier to help her sleep at night and you are so lucky, even though it doesn't feel that way, but my baby doesn't sleep for longer than 20 min during the day - unless she falls asleep in the car or we lay with her but we have to keep putting the binky in her mouth to help lull her baby to sleep.. Unless she is so deep in sleep that the binky falls out, then she will sleep for a couple hours without it at night. I know this isn't very helpfull but I would love 45 minutes of rest during the day! Try giving her the pacifier after the 45 min wake up and see if she goes back to sleep for any amount of time! Best of luck!

You've had some good suggestions about how to get her to nap longer, but I think 45 minutes is normal for a baby her age. My son always napped for exactly 40 minutes until he was about 8 months old. I could set my watch by it. It was terrible because that's about how much he slept at a stretch at night, too, and I was soooo tired. 40 minutes is NOT enough time for mommy to take a nap (as you know).

Both my girls did EXACTLY the same thing- 45 minutes to the second! Around 5-6 months, each of them suddenly started sleeping through that 45 minute wakeful mark and began sleeping for an hour and a half fairly consistently (maybe half the time at first, then for most naps by 6 1/2 or 7 months). I definitely think it was just a developmental milestone type thing because literally each of them did it the exact same way, and it just happened out of the blue one day each time. (they are 2 1/2 years apart)

I would continue to use the pacifier if that helps her sleep. Mine never took one, but there were SO many times I was wishing they would! I'm betting your baby will just grow into longer naps. It's hard in the meantime, though! Good luck!

Updated

Oh, I also forgot to say (i just wrote the previous reply) that I think putting mine down on their sides helped too. (not tummies) I know not everyone will be comfortable doing that since many docs recommend back sleeping only, but I felt it was safe and that may have been part of what helped them sleep through the 45 min mark. I put small pillows behind them so they wouldn;t roll over and wake them themselves up, and of course I obsessively checked on them. hope that helps!

Why don't you just try to take a nap together to see how that will work? Good luck!

First thing I would do is go back to swaddling. It really is about feeling secure. If she's able to find and insert her binky, leave one hand out, if not, swaddle both and try to get it back in before she fully wakes. Good luck.