Help - Catnaps, 3-hour feeds & 2-hour max wake times...

Hope that subject didn't confuse anyone. I seriously need help. Everything has been going really smoothly for the past 4.5 months but the past few days I have really felt confused and at a loss of what to do. Recently we changed the girls to a faster flowing nipple because they were eating very little at each feed and needing to feed very frequently (like every 2hrs15min). Now we have them on a strict 3-hour feeding schedule (7:30am, 10:30am, 1:30pm, 4:30pm & 7:30pm). It was working out fine when my DH was home for a week last week. Now, this week is a different story. Here is our schedule over the past couple of days:

7:00am - wake up, get dressed for the day
7:30am - first bottle
7:45 - 9:15'ish - play (activity mat, songs, etc
9:15'ish - nap for 30 minutes
9:45'ish - wake up, play until next feed
10:30am - second bottle
10:45am - playtime
11:45am - nap for 30 minutes
12:15pm - playtime and "try" to keep them occupied until their 1:30pm bottle (VERY difficult)
1:30pm - third bottle
2:00pm - nap for 20-30 minutes
2:30pm - playtime
4:00pm - in need of another 30 minute nap because they are VERY tired at this point because they have been awake for almost 2 hours
4:30pm - fourth bottle
4:45pm - 7:30pm - some playtime, some quiet time, a 30-minute nap
7:30pm - bedtime bottle
8:00pm - bedtime

It just isn't working though. I think the biggest problem is that they are catnappers. They do not and will not sleep for any longer than 30 minutes no matter where they are (crib, bouncy chair, our bed, quiet room, loud room, dark room, light room etc). They also still can't stay awake for more than 2-2.5 hours or they get cranky so this messes up our whole 3-hour schedule too (like between the 1:30pm - 4:30pm feed).

This just isn't working right now. There is a lot of crying on their part and on my part because I feel like I just don't know what I am doing. I feel like just saying "screw this" to the 3-hour schedule but I know at this age they really should be able to hold off for 3-hours.

If you have read this entire post, thank you! I would love any suggestions. Suggestions on how to hold them off for 3 hours. Suggestions on how to get them to nap longer.

Okay - I must go have a good cry.

Thanks for reading my novel!

 

how much are they eating at each feed? mine are just a week older than yours, and i BF, but they do get a bottle before bed and at the sitter, and are at about 6.5 oz there. they are eating every 4 hrs. or so, except in the evening they eat at 6 and then a little after 8. DD is a fairly good napper- 2 naps of 1-1.5 hrs in am and early afternoon and a catnap late afternoon, around 5:15 or so. DS on the other hand, is like your kids i think. he will go down to nap, then eyes WIDE OPEN about 15-20 mins. later. in am, i can hold him and get him back down another 30 mins. or so, but i have not had the same success in early pm. he will really only nap in my arms (babysitter has the same problem!) his catnap late pm is ok.
anyway, all that was just to give you an idea of what we are doing. the 2 things i would probably look at are the amount they are eating- are they getting enough? and how are they sleeping- are you following a routine at each naptime? swaddle? darkness?music? the routine idea really worked well when transitionig DD to the nap schedule (again, no success with son- little bugger!).
good luck. it is driving me insane as well. i just wish they would both nap at the same time for at least 40 mins., so i could get SOMEthing done!!!!

 

I was also going to ask how much they eat at each feeding. I also wanted to add that my boys are still up for 2 hours between naps. I think 2 hours is normal.

Are they tired when they cry to wake up from a nap. If they have closed eyes and are crying, that is a sign that they need to continue their nap and they are not ready to get up yet. I struggle with getting them to go back to sleep. Sometimes I let them cry and they fall back a sleep but not often. I feel for you with short naps. That may improve as they get older.

 

s! Sorry you are having a rough time, and I am not sure I can really help, as our schedule was ALOT like yours at that age. It wasn't until I stretched them to 4 hours between bottles, that they started taking 3 "normal" naps, at about 6-7 months! By 8 months, we were down to 2 longer naps a day. Hang in there!

 

OH my gosh, I could of written your post. I feel your pain . Mine only sleep 30 min at a time it messes up our whole day. I don't know what to do either. Maybe I should keep them in their crip after they wake up and let them CIO because I know their still tired . But their soo young, I hate to do it, but it's hard to handle 2 fussy babies. My boys can't go 3 hours inbetween feedings, but they are BF. So no advice there either. I feel like life would be so much easier if they could nap and not be tired all day. I wish us luck jess

 

I too could have written this post!
I am ready to pull my hair out! 25 minute naps. I put one down, and just as the second one goes down, the first one wakes up. And they are still tired!! But they won't go back to sleep and I feel like they are too young to let them cry.

When do they start napping longer?

 

I have two suggestions. On the napping, something that has worked for me and others on the board (although, I will be honest here and say that it DID work, but I'm back to nap problems because of teething around here) is this:

For about a week, go to their room just before they would typically wake from the nap. Sit there until you hear the VERY first signs of stirring. Then, do what you need to to settle them (shush pat, sing, even pick them up and walk or rock -- hard with two, I know). The goal is to catch them before they wake too much and lead them back into deeper sleep. I had reasonable success (I'd say 75%) getting them to sleep through their usual wake up. After a week or so, they started sleeping longer on their own. (If only they were doing that now!)

My 2nd suggestion:

quote:

This just isn't working right now. There is a lot of crying on their part and on my part because I feel like I just don't know what I am doing. I feel like just saying "screw this" to the 3-hour schedule but I know at this age they really should be able to hold off for 3-hours.



Say it! There is no sense torturing yourself and them because the "should" be able to do something. Mine have often been on a nap schedule where regularly spaced feedings just don't make sense, so they just feed when it does make sense -- sometimes after 2 hours, sometimes after 3. You don't have to stick to the magic three hour span if it makes things harder!

Kim

 

Ditto. Naps are crazy around here, usually 30-45 minutes, if they nap. Every once in awhile they will go 1 hour, and it's a miracle if they go 1 1/2 hours. Like pp, they have the uncanny ability to not nap at the same time. So for napping, I have no advice, but hope to see some here.

As for holding them off: we do a 3 hour schedule, and I think having a lot of things to do keeps them interested. We talk, sing, read, have blanket time (they are almost rolling over and are really going at it), and play with toys. We have swings, bouncies, exersaucers, and a playmat. If all else fails and they aren't happy I try the mobile in the crib.

All their stuff takes up a lot of room, but I don't see how we could do without any of it, we'd probably be on a 2 or 2 1/2 schedule too!

Good luck, I hope you get some good advice on napping.

 

quote:
12:15pm - playtime and "try" to keep them occupied until their 1:30pm bottle (VERY difficult)


If they are getting hungry an hour before that scheduled bottle, I would go ahead and give them a bottle. Our pedi always said to feed them if they were hungry... when you think about, you eat when you are hungry, right?

At that age, my guys naps were all over the place as well.

Have you added any solids to their diet? At 4 months mine were getting fruits in the morning, and sometimes cereal before bedtime. It helped keep them more content, and not so hungry so quickly after each bottle.

 

I could've written your post too!!! Mine are almost 10 months (OMG!!!) and they STILL are catnappers. They wanted to eat sooner than every 3 hours too and I was worried about it at first, but after trying my hardest to hold them off, I said forget it!! If they're hungry, they're hungry! This stage will not last forever and soon they'll be eating solids and will be able to go longer. Don't stress!!! There are plenty of other things to stress about. GL!

 

I'm so glad to be reading this...cuz till now I thought I was the only mom on TS without a normal nap/bottle schedule still at 5 months! I mean, the schedule I have, but the babies don't keep to it. I think the problem stems from not wanting to finish their full bottle at one sitting. Going to try the suggestion of getting faster flow nipples. Thanks! And good luck!

 

Thank you SO much to all of you for your replies.

As for the questions on how much they eat per feed. We give them a 7oz bottle but they usually only finish it with their first bottle of the day. The rest of the day they will take anywhere from 4oz-6oz.

As for the suggestion about solids. My doctor said not to give them any until they are 6mos. She said they weren't ready yet (probably because they aren't eating their full bottles).

NYCMom, thanks for the suggestion on napping. I will give it a try.

Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate your suggestions.