I have 4 month old twins that still like to nap in 15 minute increments throughout the day. The books I've read said they should be getting 2-3 naps of 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hrs. They now sleep though the night and after a long sleep, they are absolutely wonderfull, happy, smiling, plafull little angels but they don't take any quality naps during the day and become cranky little monsters by about 6pm. I can't figure out how to help them transition to the longer naps they now need.
I try keeping them up when it's not nap time and putting them in their cribs a few times during the day but by the gurgling sounds I'm hearing from the nursery, I would estimate they are only getting about 15 -20 minutes of sleep. After about 30-45 minutes, they are done with being stuck in their cribs and start screaming. I've tried letting them cry it out but they never settle down. I've tried going in and calming them then leaving them again but as soon as I leave, they start screaming again.
I also haven't figured out the best times for their naps. I tried taking cues from them but as I said, they just want 10-15 min naps all day. Maybe it's just the times I'm choosing?
I'm at a loss. Please send me some sample schedules with times for feeding and napping that have worked for your 4 month olds and share any secrets that have worked to get them to nap longer.
It's my guess that they want to be physically with you nearly all the time. It sounds like you're not breastfeeding which would make this very easy. I'd just let them set their own schedule as you do when breastfeeding. Babies this young need a lot of mommy & touching time - a lot! they are not capable of self-soothing.
Congrats on your sweeties! You have the all night thing down...HOORAY! That's the best part. At least YOU get a full night 's sleep and are better able to deal with the cranky babes at 6pm. Most babies do get cranky at 6pm, nap or no nap. "Cat naps" are normal infants. I have no advice, just wanted to say good job on the all night thing!
I read the books too and they made me feel crazy b/c my kids weren't doing what it said they should be doing....so I stopped reading the books!
each of my boys has been different by far, but it was an average of about 6-9 months before they were napping and sleeping regularly at night. At 6-9 months they were napping around 9-10 AM, 1-3 PM, and a quick catnap around 4:30 or 5 PM. Then bedtime was around 7:30 or 8, and they were sleeping 10-12 hrs. (but for a couple of them, the naps were short, catnaps, or nonexistant for a LONG time!)
I never found anything that helped them nap longer at a young age, but as they grew we tweaked a few things around the house that has helped them become great sleepers (air purifiers for white noise, room darkening shades, bedtime routines, nap schedule, etc) at ages 4, 3, and 1.
Hang in there Mama!
You didn't say what time they go to bed. At four months, both my kids were in bed by 6:30 at the latest. They still woke up to eat about 8 hours after going to sleep which meant that I had to get up in the middle of the night, but that's when they needed to sleep. My youngest took naps like yours until she grew gradually into longer naps around 6-7 months. It seemed like it took forever, but she finally started sleeping longer during the day. Until she started sleeping longer at naptime, she had a super-early bedtime, because she just couldn't stay awake past 6. As her naps got better, her bedtime got later, but she's over a year and still gets mad if she's not in bed by 7. If yours don't nap well during the day, don't feel you have to keep them up in the evening!
Also, at four months, you can start trying for a nap schedule of a morning, afternoon, and late afternoon nap. Babies that young can only stand two or so hours of awake time comfortably, so you can calculate from their wake-up time to the morning nap. My second never took three naps; she just went to sleep for the night early. I hope they outgrow short naps soon!
keep them awake longer and make them play harder...have you tried that?
Have you tried doing their naps on opposite schedules? So they are not waking each other up, or keeping each other up? What about the room. Is it dark and do you have a white noise source like a box fan? Doing those two things really make a huge difference for nap time!!!
Best wishes!
You have gotten some really good responses! When I had little ones and I would talk about "the books say....", she would lovingly tell me that "the book is fine, your kids just haven't read the book, accept them as they are." I found that to be quite helpful. You're doing a good job. My kids slept in 20 minute swatches of time - it became amazing how much I could get done in 20 minutes!
Just remember that every baby is different - and twins are their own unique beings :) As long as they are sleeping well at night and they are developing, I wouldn't worry about the cat naps. My daughter was a great napper right away. But my son (who is now 16 months) took quite a while to start taking the longer naps. He's now down to one nap per day and it usually lasts 2-3 hours. Then he sleeps 12+ hours at night. But he didn't start napping for more than 30 min until he was probably 9 or so months old (where my daughter started taking LONG naps before 3 months).
So as long as they're developing and getting long periods of sleep at night, I wouldn't worry at all :)
I did foster care for 12 years. After almost 100 children....I discovered that every child is on a different schedule. I never made their schedule. They told me what their schedule was going to be. My daughter stopped taking naps after 12 months. I personally like a power nap of 15-20 minutes. I feel better when I wake up. No child comes with instructions. We are all different in this world. Hang on and enjoy the ride!
Both my children were "cat nappers" until close to 1 year, when they both settled in to one, longer mid-day nap. Of course keep encouraging napping - but that's about all you can do... As others have said, you've probably maxed out on whatever useful info is to be found in the books :)
