Cranky Catnapper 8.5 months old!

[littlelove]

I'm hoping someone has some advice for my gorgeous son. Since birth he longest day sleep he has ever had is 1 sleep cycle ie.40 minutes. This used to be fine as he would just have 4 of these catnaps per day and be very happy and content. We have always comforted or fed him to sleep. The problem now is that he no longer falls asleep while feeding and resists rocking/cuddling/patting and all other forms of comforting. He is crawling and very active so basically just does not want to be held still. It can take up to 40 minutes to try and comfort him to sleep and still sometimes we cant get him to have more that 1 or 2 catnaps during the day. His night sleeping is okay, as he will do a 9-10 hour stretch most nights and can be resetteled up to 11-12 hours. If I thought he was happy I would be fine with this but he is just so grumpy and frustrated within an hour or two of his daytime nap/s.

It just gets so hard to know how to comfort to sleep when it seems that it is taking longer for him to settle each day and he is not enjoying the process. Should I be trying something else to get him to settle more quickly and hopefully have a longer nap so that he wakes up on 'the right side' of the bed!My bubba sling is out of the question as he weighs almost 12 kgs now. He did sleep in an Amby Baby up until 4 months but still didnt nap any longer...actually it probably resulted in shorter naps. He will fall asleep in the pram/carseat after a fairly long walk/drive but still will not sleep longer than 1 cycle.

Any gentle ideas on how to settle my little monkey and how to change his catnapping???

[Lucy]

This age is a tricky one.......I remember when Charlie was 8-9 months his teething started so he was very cranky and like your DS, Charlie refused to be patted or rocked or cuddled.......

Could your son be having tooth issues?

Also, when they start crawling, they seem to get overtired so quickly, but it does pass once they get used to the new level of physical activity....

I know that because Charlie wouldn't be comforted to sleep I would feed him and then bounce him (in his hammock) for a minute, then give him his favourite little soft toy and he would play with it and chunter to himself for up to 15 mins, then nod off......so I had to let go of the feeding to sleep......sadly.....

In terms of the catnapping, do you use music? A CD (like PeaceBaby or similar: 60 beats per minute, over 45 mins in duration, on repeat) may work through the day? It works for some, not for others..........but worth a try?

[Roryrory]

Littlelove, I have an 8 month old cranky catnapper LOL!!

so I had to let go of the feeding to sleep......sadly.....

Lucy I am experiencing the same thing with my DS - how I wish to have those easy times back.....