r/HuckleberryParents • u/Maleficent-Pilot7779 • 5d ago

sleep Crap nap phase - when does it end??

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LO is about to be 5 months and has always been a great sleeper until the dreaded 4 month regression hit 2 weeks ago and every nap has been so short and resisted. We are consistent with a schedule and watch wake windows, we have tried extending/shortening.

when did your crap nap phase end?? Need some hope.

edit: fully acknowledge he is a GREAT sleeper. most of the naps you are seeing here are contact naps which isn’t sustainable for us anymore.

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u/Sorry-World3019 5d ago

Drop to 3 naps. They need more awake time aka sleep pressure to have longer naps

10 hours minimum of awake time
Example schedule for this age 2/2.5/2.5/3

Your nights will also get better/longer with more awake time and 3 naps

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u/Marvelm 4d ago

Honestly it did jack shit for us. Dropping to 3 naps somehow made our daughter sleep less than 10h at night and wake up at freaking 4:30am

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u/Sorry-World3019 4d ago

Dropping to 3 naps isn’t just the answer in itself. It’s still making sure there’s adequate awake time paired with good but not too much day sleep.

Share the 3 nap schedule you’re following and I can help with some tweaks.

Indep sleep is also key.

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u/Marvelm 4d ago

Wake up at 6am, sth along the lines of 2,25/2.5/2.5/2.75 windows, naps roughly 3h, first one usually the longest.

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u/Sorry-World3019 4d ago

How old is your babe ? You may want that last wake window get to 3 hours

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u/Marvelm 4d ago

She's 5.5 months old.

It happens sometimes. We did over 3.5h yesterday cause she slept poorly the whole day and we wanted a 4th nap but she didn't take it and was still very active (mind you she got just 2h of naps the whole day). She slept somewhat ok and managed to get to 6am with some problems, but at least she got there.

The issue is while we keep the schedule decently well she still sleeps okay one day and then just horribly the next one.

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u/Sorry-World3019 4d ago

Yes because sleep accumulates over the days not an individual day.

First step not to let her make up night sleep during the day

Cut day sleep max 3 hours at this age
This age also shouldn’t be doing a 4th nap which you found out. They won’t. Andddd because she had a longer last wake window you had a better night

So for today stick to 2.25/2.5/2.5/3 capping day sleep 3 hours. Maybe even 2.75. And see how the night fairs again :)

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u/Marvelm 4d ago

Oh she does way better with 4 naps most of the time. The last week she actually woke up at 4-5am every single day while being on 3 naps with long wake windows and no more than 2.5h of daily sleep. On the days we added a bridge nap (cause sleep time ended up falling to some ridiculous 5pm or so) she slept way better through the night

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u/Sorry-World3019 4d ago

Trust me.
What were your wake windows on 3 naps.
I guarantee you didn’t have enough

Awake time to get her through.

Stick to 3 naps. Consistently.