catnapping

[joshiesmum]

hi,
Does anyone out there have a baby that will self settle to selp no probs but wake after only a short time (30-40mins) and will not resettle ? he sleeps great at night (10-11hours) so i guesse i shouldnt complain but i can tell he is still tired.

[Aprilsmum]

My DD used to be a catnapper. She would put herself to sleep and then I couldn't resettle her at all. I found that going into her room when she woke-up only made her worse. I would say that she did it from the age of 7wks til about 12 wks - then one day she just started having 1 - 1 1/2 hr naps. Weird, but true! I had tried everything that was recommended by "professionals" and nothing worked. Looking back I think it was just a phase that she was going through.

I'm sooo glad its over. It takes some getting used to, and just when you have it all figured, your bub will change again. :D

[joshiesmum]

Hi bess
yeah he first started to catnapp at two months.At three months with wrapping him tightley he was ok, then at five months i decided not to wrap as he was getting close to rolling, this took three weeks and then he was ok. At six months i ditched the dummy as i found he just lost interest in it and he was then again ok. This month he was catnapping on and off and after my winge today he has been down now for 1.5 hours yes your right it changes all the time!

kate 24
DF 26
Joshua 25/03/05

[tickle]

My ds used to catnap all the time when he was little. Over the months (he is now 15months), he has slowly gotten better and now sleeps in the morning for 1 hour and the afternoon for 2 hours.
The catnapping used to drive me nuts because it seemed like as soon as I would start to get some housework done he would wake. Better than not sleeping at all I guess.

[Aprilsmum]

LOL Joshiesmum - April has decided to catnap today! :rolleyes:

[joshiesmum]

he ended up sleeping for 2.5 hours must have heard me having a sook and wanted to prove me wrong!

[still in pjs]

Hi Aprilsmum - my dd is 6 wks old and has started catnapping exactly as you describe. She'll sleep 45 mins (nearly to the exact minute!) then wake crying and won't resettle herself. If I go in to her, she only screams all the louder. If I let her cry it doesn't seem like she'll stop. I find the only thing that works is picking her up and holding her until she sleeps and once she's sound asleep I can put her down again. Is there anything else you did to resettle your dd in her catnapping period? Looking forward to this period being over! :) Thankfully she doesn't do this at night time, she goes straight back to sleep after her night feeds!

[Snugglepot]

Hi All,

I am no expert at resettling a catnapper, my DS is one! But this is what I do. I usually rub bubs forehead and I use a dummy (if he wants it) and his musical mobile to settle him. If he is quite distressed I pick him up and rock him till he is calm and nearly asleep and I pop him back in the cot, wrapped for him to fall asleep himself. I always sing the same song and say nigh nigh, its time for sleep. He really learnt to like his head been rubbed after I baby massaged him a few times, it is a strong sleep signal for him now.

Still in PJs, I would consider ruling out any reason why your bub is waking up screaming after one sleep cycle. DS was diagnosed with silent reflux, that is why he always woke up crying his heart out. We have the reflux under control now, but he is still in the catnap pattern. I try to resettle him once then just get him up if it does not work and let him nap in his chair. I hope that like Olivers mum, he will eventually grow out of it (and at 4 months he sometimes sleeps longer now so I am sure this is true!)

Good luck settling your bubs, Kez

[joshiesmum]

help!
Josh woke up during the night last night for first time in well over two months!
He is somehow managing to turn himself right around sideways in his cot and ends up with his head jammed against the rails and kicking the wall!
He has continued to do this during the day today as well.
During the night i just had to turn him around and he went back to sleep but he normally resettles himself. Hope this doesnt become a prob he isnt mobile yet not even rolling so ive still got that to look forward to!
any suggestions anyone?

me kate 24
DH 26
Joshua 25/03/2005

[Aprilsmum]

Hi Aprilsmum - my dd is 6 wks old and has started catnapping exactly as you describe. She'll sleep 45 mins (nearly to the exact minute!) then wake crying and won't resettle herself. If I go in to her, she only screams all the louder. If I let her cry it doesn't seem like she'll stop. I find the only thing that works is picking her up and holding her until she sleeps and once she's sound asleep I can put her down again. Is there anything else you did to resettle your dd in her catnapping period? Looking forward to this period being over! :) Thankfully she doesn't do this at night time, she goes straight back to sleep after her night feeds!

Hi Still in pjs,

Unfortunately, none of the resetteling techniques worked for us. I was however, doing the whole "patting thing" all wrong. I've since learned that you need to cup your hand, and pat bub quite firmly and fast on their nappy. So, if bubs is on his/her belly then you pat her bottom, and if they're on their back then you need to pat the top of their nappy. I was told never to pat their skin directly and to always have my hand cupped so as not to hurt bub in any way. The idea of patting really fast, is to break-up the baby's crything rythmn. At the same time as the patting, you could also try "ssshhhhing" really loudly.

Like I said though, none of this worked for us. I think that it was just something that April grew out of. She also never did this at nightime. It really is so frustrating when they are doing this - but it is amazing how quickly you learn to do 100 things in 30 mins.

Best of luck

[Aprilsmum]

help!
Josh woke up during the night last night for first time in well over two months!
He is somehow managing to turn himself right around sideways in his cot and ends up with his head jammed against the rails and kicking the wall!
He has continued to do this during the day today as well.
During the night i just had to turn him around and he went back to sleep but he normally resettles himself. Hope this doesnt become a prob he isnt mobile yet not even rolling so ive still got that to look forward to!
any suggestions anyone?

You could try wrapping him to keep him contained?

[catnapjack]

Hi there, My son is nearly 4 months old and has been diagnosed and hospitalised three times already with significant reflux and oesophagitis. The discomfort from this affliction seems to have passed but I am still having to manage the behaviour of waking after only half an hour of sleep. He would be lucky to have a total of 2 hours a day as it gets increasingly more difficult to settle him as the day progresses and he gets more tired.

I have tried everything including 2 weeks at Torrens House, but he resists when it is time to resettle after half an hour. What I am discovering however, is if I let him nap for half an hour after morning bottle and play, I then get him up and go out where he can tire himself out looking around. He is having so much fun he doesnt grizzle. (ie go shopping, meet friends,walk along esplanade) After another one and a half to 2 hours he is tired enough to then sleep at least 1 to one and a half hours. After the next bottle I keep him up for one and a half hours then resettle. He generally naps again but putting emphasis on the middle sleep seems to be helping make the day easier.

I truly hope this can help as it is extremely difficult to keep smiling when your day is consumed with babies sleep issues. :)

[joshiesmum]

Hi Catnapjack,
That seems like a good plan i have tried so many things but everyday is different!

I find now that if he wakes up talking not crying after 1/2 hour i let him go for a while even if this means he doesnt go back to sleep at least he has had a rest.
This seems to be working as he has begun to go back to sleep without me going into his room. (on some occasions not always!) Sometimes he will talk for 1/2 hour but then go back to sleep for a hour or so. On the days where this doesnt work now i just get him up and go out somewhere and he usually flakes it when we get home.
Does your baby have a dummie? some babies really need the sucking but i found it was stopping josh from settling as he likes to sing himself to sleep. They are all different hope i havn't bored you to much!

[catnapjack]

Hi Joshiesmum,

I like your idea about letting him talk to himself. I have always wrapped Jack and now summer is coming I am trying to wean him. I have also found that he is quite content to lie in his cot for a short time playing with his hands but needs that wrapping cue to go off to sleep still. Once I have weaned him from the wrap I will definately try your suggestion.

I use a dummy as a part of the going off to sleep cue in the day but have always avoided it at night. As a consequence he takes it or leaves it even in the day now which is fabulous.

I have still tried different things to prolong that middle sleep including holding him and yesterday I lay down next to him on the bed as I was exhausted and we both got 3 hours :cool: The trick is to keep trying in the cot then do different things for the middle sleep if that doesn't work (so one thing doesn't become a habit)

P.S I dont think that anything a mother says is boring anymore ( That would have been a different story before I became one though ) ;)

[joshiesmum]

Hi,
Gosh looking back jack seems to be very similar to josh with his pattens at that age. I started to wean him from his wrap at approx five months as it concerned me that if he began to roll he wouldn't be able to get his hands free. (still isn't roling yet though!) I to was told josh had reflux at a young age however i had no idea what to do about it. It doesnt seem to bother him to much now but i still have to have a bib on him all the time as he thows up a lot!
Back to wrapping i think its a slow process which took me about four weeks and can make resettling even harder. I started with one arm out for a week then both untill he was being wrapped around the waist for two weeks.
Now it is so much better i walk in put him in his bed and walk out (not that he always stays asleep that long) im starting to learn things really do get better with time!
Good Luck
but if you decide you want to leave it a while i used really big muslin wraps which were light weight so he didn't get to hot.

[JanetF]

Very young babies have a normal sleep cycle of about 45 mins give or take for individual kids. If this is predictable you can whip in there around that time and help them settle. I found that if I reached my son as he started to stir and then bf him back to sleep that he would sleep more deeply in the next cycle and not stir for another 1 1/2 hours roughly. It's perfectly normal and just a part of their developing brains. They go through stages where they startle as they start to develop the ability to sleep more deeply and will wake up a little shocked and crying. But still, it's perfectly normal. :)
Try this for a whole lot of explanations about normal infant sleep.
http://askdrsears.com/html/7/T070200.asp

[sasholi]

Hi April's Mum and Still in PJs (great name!)

I have to say that my DS (now nearly 8months old) was a major catnapper. It was an absolutely nightmare from the time he was 5 weeks old (to the day!) until about 6 months of age.

He would have exactly 45 minute sleeps to the dot. We tried *everything*, and I mean everything. Patting, shhhing, holding him through the 45 minute period, going in just before and trying to pat him through the natural sleep transition. Absolutely nothing ever worked (occassionally it would but nothing that we could absolutely rely on you know?).

Now my son has a big 2 hour nap in the morning and then a 1/2 to 1 hour nap in the afternoon (we are usually out in the afternoon so it is often a short nap).

I think it is just something that he grew out of, you know? I kept battling and battling and it really really stressed me out. Sometimes he would cry but other times he would be really really happy. I sometimes wish i went with the flow a bit more, but it is just soooo hard when you know they need more sleep and then don't sleep enough!

Good luck everyone.

OH: another tip I received - make sure the room is really dark even for day time naps. Some babies sleep really well with light during the day, and mum bubs will now, but when he was younger, and up until about 6 months, we had to have the room as dark as possible and even in the car pop a little blanket over the capsule. sounds bizarre i know! But babies from about 3 months get very stimulated. When you go in at the 45 minute mark, try putting your hand over their eyes (don't touch their eyes though) so when they wake they just see dark.