Short naps = overtired

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Infants

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amother

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 10:43 am

Baby is almost 4 months. Until now, most naps were contact and could go on for 2+ hours, but I really want to have her fall asleep in her crib, so I've been either rocking her to sleep in the crib by jiggling or rocking her in my arms and then transferring.

Either way, she only sleeps 40 mins max and I have yet to be able to resettle her. She's clearly still tired when she wakes up and then can only go about an hour before being sleepy.

Is this normal? How do I get her to sleep longer?

We have blackout curtains, white noise, transitional swaddle, the works.

ETA: it's currently about an hour since she woke up and she's falling asleep while nursing.

baked ziti

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 10:52 am

Very normal. It's the 4 month sleep regression. Babies go through a lot of developmental changes at this age and it affects their sleep. Their sleep cycles also change from their newborn type of sleep. I wish I can tell you how to fix it but it settles with some time. Sounds like you are doing everything right already.

amother

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 10:56 am

baked ziti wrote:

It's been like this pretty much from the beginning Sad

So far BLI AYIN HARA she only wakes up twice overnight.

amother

Mayflower

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 12:25 pm

At that age, a sleep cycle is about 40 minutes, so it just means she wakes up and doesn't know how to go back to sleep, which is normal at this age. Just keep trying. You can also let her cry for a few minutes (not too long at this age) to see if she falls back asleep herself, but she might not. It does get better. Just give her lots of naps in the meantime. We also use sleep sacks at this age, though I'm not sure how much it really helps them sleep (but they are too big to swaddle and it is cozy). You could also try adjusting the temperature in the room to see if a bit warmer or a bit colder helps her sleep better, this helped us. Just remember that if you make the room warmer and/or use a sleep sack, that the baby isn't too warm / overheat.

amother

Vermilion

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 1:27 pm

amother OP wrote:

Babies nap naturally lengthen at about 6-7 months. Cat naps are really normal under that time so may just have to wait it out or do a contact nap to lengthen it.

tichellady

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 1:32 pm

My kids only took cat naps until around 6/7 months and didn’t sleep well at night either. It’s rough!

amother

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 1:55 pm

But does it make sense that she's not rested even after a nap? Everywhere I see says that at her age babies can go around 2 hours, but she would just be overtired.

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