Really short naps and fussy babies

The boys have been taking really short naps for about a week now. 20-30 minutes is typical, although some days they have slept 45-60 minutes, but only at one nap and not at the same time. They are wirh a nanny during the day Mon-Thurs so we've been comparing routines and trying to get a schedule down for consistency. The boys did well last weekend when DH and I worked with them, but this week with the nanny they're off again and so fussy in the evenings that we've put them to bed early every night. They sleep great at night thankfully.

Weve been using techniques in Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I have a question though about these 30 minute naps. In the book it sounds like we should get them up after a 30 minute nap and try to put them down again at the next nap period. When we did this they would be so so exhausted and overtired that it was hard to get them down again later. We've tried soothing them back to sleep but it rarely works. Would you try letting them cry for a while after these short naps? For how long considering they did sleep a little? What about the tired cues? They're going to act tired for sure so I'm not sure if we keep trying to get them down or we wait until next nap period. It's hard to go with our instincts when we need to give instruction to the nanny. What would you do?

 

how long do they stay awake before they go down for nap? 60 mins? 90mins? 2 hrs? at that age, I always put them down after 90 mins awake or i saw their tired signs (less eye alertness like they stare to nothing, their eyes dont move lol, their body movements slow down. If you see they rub their eyes, too late too late)

I consider each nap should be at least 1 hours normally. When they wake up, they should try to put them back to sleep. put them on their sides, pat their butts, rock them,... I say try for about 5-10 mins. If it doesnt work then take them out.but if you take them out, then try to put them back earlier (ex: your awake time is 90 mins, then put them back down like after 60 mins) i think the first nap is so important. if it messes up, the rest of the day will be hard.

we had such a hard time with napping around 5.5-6.5 months too. Mainly, they were teething. And there were alot going on for them at this age: recognizing the world, rapidly hitting milestones, teething,..the cat napping is just a phase. it will soon pass. So hang in there and good luck!

 

I agree with PP...if they have only been napping for 30 min and you cant get them back to sleep after 5 min or so just get them up. But then you will need to probably put them down after 45-60 minutes.

I think the biggest thing you can tell your nanny is watch for sleepy cues. For mine, 2 hours is too long to stay awake, except right before bed.

 

Two hours seems too long to me as well, although they have gone that long between naps a few times when she watches them. I think when she is working with one baby and the other is quiet, she lets the quiet baby sit awake and playing, even though the quiet baby is often getting sleepy. I feel like we have a good nanny, but situations like this are so frustrating for me. I always feel like I could do a better job myself. I just hate that my babies have been so fussy and tired in the evenings. They are pretty easy to soothe and comfort because they are ready for bed, but that just eats into the time I get to spend with them after work. They are going to bed about 45-60 minutes earlier than usual.

 

Until 8 months old, all babies usually get tired and fussy in the evening lol. I know what you mean. It was a long time I always got fussy babies at night lol. But they grew out of the night fussiness around 8 months so hang in there.

Also you need to give her strict rule: put them down after 60 mins awake (example), not let them play until they drop. And of course mommies always do the best job lol.

Oh you might ask her come over the weekend so you 2 can work out sleep train and sleepy signs. And you can give her specific orders for specific situations.

 

This kind of fussiness is new for them. Maybe it's a phase, but up until about a week ago, they were usually just fine in the evenings.

Another question - sometimes they wake from these short naps and just lay there quietly for a long time, or sometimes talking to themselves, but not crying. Would you just let them lay there awake? Or try to rock or soothe them back to sleep again?

 

Its a phase for sure.
If they are not crying, I'd just let them lay there until their naptime is up (like you expect 1 hour or 1.5 hrs). Even though they are not sleeping, but they rest in their crib. And you also give them a chance to put themselves back to sleep. I would say if its not neccessary, don't rock. I do believe from 6 months, they are able to smoothe themselves and they do know so well how to get you come to them. So watch out for bad habits.

 

Are they teething? Also...mine started needing an earlier bedtime a couple weeks ago too. THey are 5 mos. They were going down aabout 7:30...but now they are asleep for the night by 6:15!

 

Yes, they are teething too.

 

My girls went through a phase EXACTLY like this just a few weeks ago, probably at the same age as yours are now. It was extremely frustrating, they were only taking two 30 minute naps ALL DAY! Which in turn made for really fussy unhappy babies. I think partly because their teething and they are starting to become somewhat mobile and developing a lot of new milestones. I was going INSANE, but we didn't really have a set routine up until this short napping episode, I decided it was time to develop a schedule. As soon as I started implementing a schedule everything got so much better and they started sleeping so GREAT! As long as I keep them on their schedule we do fantastic, but on days their schedule gets messed up it turns into a very long day and NO NAPS!. The best advice I can give you is take a few days and develop a schedule that works for you, follow that schedule consistently everyday and make everybody who watches or takes care of the babies follow your schedule. I am finding right now the best thing for my babies is to stay consistent. You need to work with the nanny so you are both on the same page and following the same routine for the babies and things should get much easier. I would maybe type up your schedule of what you do with them on the weekends and have the nanny follow that. Good luck and I'm sure this will pass in a short time.