9 month old still doing 3 naps

[mattandcindy]

Abigail is almost 9 months. She is still doing 3 naps. She is starting to do things though to make me think she needs to be transitioned to 2 naps (skipping one of the three naps, taking a very late afternoon nap, waking up early in the morning, etc).
I have tried transitioning her to two naps but it seems I am really pushing her limits and having to keep her up way past being tired to do this.
How do you know when they are ready to transition to two naps?
When she does three naps her day looks like this:
630am Awake
900am Nap
1030am Awake
100pm Nap
200pm Awake
430pm Nap
6pm Awake
7pm Night Night

The days I have tried only two naps she does this:
7am Awake
10am Nap
1145 Awake
300pm Nap
400pm Awake
7pm Night Night

On the two nap days, she is wakes up crying and is REALLY grumpy after her second nap. The problem is I can't really put her down earlier than 3pm because then she will sleep through a feeding and only get 3 feedings a day.

Am I pushing it too soon? I see others on these boards whose kiddos are barely older than Abigail transitioning to 1 nap already. She seems way behind doing 3 naps still. She is happier when she does 3 naps but wakes up earlier in the morning (which mommy doesn't like!)

Any suggestions would be SO appreciated!

[Meg's Mom]

Hi

First every baby is different, so enjoy that your LO likes/needs more sleep.

Looking at the scheudule posted, that does seem like a big jump.

Have you considered 2naps + a catnap?

[mattandcindy]

Hi Michelle-
Thanks for the reply. When you say 2 naps plus a catnap do you mean I would wake her from her third nap after about 30 minutes? Right now she will do 1.5 hrs in am and usually two hour long naps in the afternoon. Should I be trying to shorten the 3rd nap?

[Tammy: Ethan & Kaden's Mom]

Hi Cindy.  My ds is currently on two naps a day.  Before that it was 2 naps plus one catnap.  Which meant that the last "nap" was about 30 to 45 minutes long (1 sleep cycle).  I didn't have to wake him up though, he would always wake up himself.

Our 2 nap schedule looks like this:

6:30  Wake
9:30  Nap
10:30 - 11  Wake
1:30 - 2  Nap
3:30 - 4  Wake
7  Bedtime

With the catnap, it used to look like this:

7  Wake
9  Nap
10:30 - 11  Wake
1  Nap
2:30 - 3  Wake
5  Catnap
7:30  Bedtime

If you want to try and see if she can do 2 naps with no catnap, then you should try to lengthen her A time a few minutes a day, maybe 5 or 10 if possible, then put her down for her nap. 

Also, when are you feeding?  Our feeding schedule is still 7, 11, 3 (or 4), and 6:30 or 7.

[mattandcindy]

Hi Tammy.
Thanks for the suggestions and for your routine.
We are feeding 730, 1200, 315, 630. (Because of the Prevacid, we have to wait 30 minutes in am and pm).
The last two days her problem has been she takes a good morning nap and then only a 30 minute 2nd nap (despite being awake 3 hrs and being tired for that second nap) and then wants to do 1-1.5 hr third nap late in the afternoon. I don't know how to get around that short second nap-I couldn't possibly keep her up any longer.
I guess it is a work in progress.