Sleeping FAQ: 4-6 Months – Lunchtime Nap

What else can I do with my 4mth son who often wakes after 45mins at lunchtime?

My son sleeps well at all other times and manages 10.30pm until 7am. He does wake but settles himself back easily. He cries at lunchtime after 45mins. Some days he does resettle, some days he doesn’t but will cry until he’s due to get up. It doesn’t affect the rest of our day or night if he only sleeps 45mins but I am keen to get him to sleep longer at lunchtime. In the other letters it talks about retraining and I have done controlled crying with him but he continues to cry until he has to get up (although I never pick him up when he’s crying). He won’t sleep being cuddled or held in order to retrain him, the only method is driving and that would involve driving for 2 hours every lunchtime – expensive and tiring! He’s not hungry or seems to have any other problem, and I have cut his morning nap to 25mins. Should I persevere and is my only option to continue with the controlled cry, I have been doing it daily for 2 weeks to gain some consistency?

My son is fully breast fed. He has full feed at 7am, 10.45am, 2.30pm, 6.15pm and 6ozs of expressed milk at 10.15pm. He weighs 16lbs 2ozs and I am thinking of starting to wean him next week.
He naps at 9-9.25am, 12-12.45pm and 4.30-5pm. He settles at 7pm.

Getting your son to sleep for longer at this lunchtime nap may well improve once he is established onto solids. This seems to sometimes happen. Although you feel he isn’t hungry, have you tried offering him a top up expressed feed before going down at midday? This can make it easier for a baby to settle themselves back to sleep should they wake after 45minutes.

Rather than letting him cry for long periods of time, if you know he is not going to settle it would be better to get him up. When he wakes after his first 45 minutes you may like to leave him for 15-20 minutes to see if he is going to settle back to sleep. Make sure he is firmly tucked in and the room is fully dark. If he continues to cry persistently after 15 minutes get him up. Let him have some quiet time sitting in his chair if he does not want to kick on the floor. On the days when you have had to get him up early then offer him his feed at 2.15pm and let him have a nap from 2.45-3.15pm. He will still need a nap later in the afternoon; it may only be for 15-20 minutes but should prevent him from being exhausted when he goes down at 7pm.

Going down when very tired could be another reason for his unsettled sleep. Some days, if he woke earlier in the morning, your son may need longer than 25 minutes at his morning nap. On the days when he sleeps until nearer 7am you can cut it back a little. Be guided by your son’s needs each day, and make small adjustments to accommodate them.

The lunchtime nap is worth persisting with and you may find that suddenly it will fall into place.