Day sleeps

My dear boy is 6mths old and hes always been a 3x3hr day napper. Suddenly about 2 weeks ago he decided he wanted to cut down on his sleep and he handled this ok for the first week but this week he is so very very grumpy! Hes only sleeping for an hour a time and hes waking up grumpy and staying grumpy.

How long does it last until they sort themselves out? When will my happy boy come back? Any tips on how to entertain a grumpy baby?

Hi Anna,
Is he waking up grumpy after the hour because he can't resettle himself or is he just wide awake ready for play???
I suppose the main thing you have to be careful of is that you don't over stimulate him and get him too over tired as he will then be more grumpy.
Is he teething is that why you think he may be grumpy????
Maybe just try persavering with an extra sleep and see how he goes, they say the more sleep he has the more sleep he will want, (don't know how true that is though).
Are you putting him back to bed when he first shows signs of tiredness, there is a fine line to catch them on isn't there.
Otherwise I am sure you are doing a great job, some little ones like to go through these little stages just to confuse us then they go back to being good again.
Oh the joys, atl east they keep us wondering.
Talk soon
Janelle

I think its just one of those weeks. As I said, hes normally such a happy baby and an excellent sleeper but this week he's a terror.

He can resettle himself, he just wont. He is wide awake but he's grumpy. No smiles or anything when I look in his cot yet if I try to put him back to sleep i.e. tuck him in again and do the "sleep time" ritual, he just starts bawling.

I think he is teething. He has a big lump on his lower gum but nothings come up yet so I wouldnt' be suprised if that is giving him grief although hes had it for a few weeks so who knows. Giving him panadol doesn't seem to improve the mood or sleep.

He tells me pretty well when hes ready for bed but Im confussing his signs this week because it seems to be so much earlier than it has been of late. Hes usually a 1-1.5 hour awake baby but at the moment its anywhere from 40min-2hrs.

As Ive said before, I think its time for us to be getting out and about and getting some sanity!

Hi Again Anna,
Have you tried him with Bonjela rubbed on his gums.
You feel so sorry for them when they are like this, I'f only they could talk, wink
I am not looking forward to when mine start teething 2 at once >:-<

Ah yes, you're right. Ill think myself lucky!

I tried the bonjela once but it seemed to have no effect. Not sure if teething is the issue but I cant think what else it would be. I suppose he could be just changing sleep pattern and hasn't figured out yet what he needs.

Hi there,

I had the same drama and a friend suggest I try and resettle my girl as she would only do one cycle of sleep (45mins) it took a few days but now she is in her cot for a min of 1 and a half hours. She sometimes still wakes after about an hour but i just go in (sometimes a few times) put the dummy in and retuck her and she will normally go back to sleep. Sometimes she looks as if she is ready to play after one hour and smiles at me when I go to resettle her, I dont make eye contact and just ut the dummy in (it is hard because I want to smile back) and leave the room - more often than not she will go back to sleep even if she has been wide awake.
Hope this helps -
Abbi's mum

Thanks for that Abbi's mum. My little one is only catnapping for an hour at a time. She is usually up for 1.5 - 2hrs between sleeps. When I go in after the hour she is wide awake & full of smiles. It doesn't take long for her to be grumpy aftre she has been up though unless she is carted around - loves to be moving. I really need to push her a bit more to sleep longer than an hour don't I?