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need help with 4 month old naps

Posted by julie on February 15, 2002 at 16:24:41:

i posted another message on my son's night wakings. i have recent problems with that too.

he has never been a good napper. he would sleep for 2-4 hours in someone's arms but always for only 40 minutes in the crib. lately, he won't sleep long in my arms either, although i don't try that very often because it seems he should be learning to nap in the crib.

i read weissbluth and started trying to put him down for naps before he was overtired. he was consistently awake for 45 minutes then would nap for 30-45 minutes. sometimes, i would see signs of fatigue as early as 30 minutes of awake time. periodically, he would sleep for 60 minutes but rarely. sometimes, i would keep him up longer--as long as 2-3 hours, and it didn't affect the naps. also, he doesn't have a meltdown if he is awake longer as long as he is amused (like by seeing all the sights at the mall). at home, he gets fussy and melts down during the time to nap routine if he is awake too long. when he is out, he is fine until he just falls asleep in his stroller after being awake for a long time. so, i don't even really know when he is tired enough to go down at the right time. most often, he wakes from the short naps happy only to rub his eyes and fuss 45 minutes later. sometimes, more often lately, he wakes up screaming.

so, my many questions include:
is he too young to work on his naps? if so, what do i do? weissbluth is very confusing to me. he seems to say to work on naps first. but, naps can come as late as six months old. he says to work on nightime sleep if "naps are in place."

why is he only awake such a short time during the day before getting fussy? am i misreading his cues and he isn't tired--just bored maybe?

when is a nap over? when he wakes happy? what if he wakes screaming?

how do pacifiers fit into a good sleep training if the child is too young to find and insert it him/herself?

any ideas on background noise like ocean waves?

btw, my son is generally a very happy, content baby during awake times. he just won't nap longer than 45 minutes. he also is waking up at night crying--usually in the wee morning hours. he also only has non-tired awake times every other hour during the day. he can become a fussy baby after a short awake period unless kept very amused. so, is he bored or tired? or, is he tired and distracted from being tired by the amusement?

thanks for any advice.

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Archived Infant Sleep Forum5 viewing only. To post a new topic go to the Infant Forum Homepage.
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