Dropping CatNap at 7 months - Am I reading this right?!!! Help!!

[sunnysmile]

I was reading on the sample routines that at 7 months the catnap has been eliminated and typical naptimes for a 7 month old on a 7am - 7pm day would be

9.30 - 11am

1.30 - 3pm

But that would mean an A time of 4 hrs til bedtime! Surely not? I would have thought baby would be so overtired they would be difficult to settle and/or be waking early in the mrning as a result of OT?

I also belived that the last A time should be the shortest, not the longest?

I only ask about this as my LO is now 7 months and still having the catnap 5.30-6pm but this is making her bedtime a bit later (about 7.45pm - not a problem really as she settles well and I only put her down later to get a decent space between the last nap & bedtime).

But when I've tried 2 naps (and no catnap) its been
9.45 - 11.15am
2.30 - 4.45pm
bed at 7pm and she's been seriously overtired & woke 2 times in the evening & very early next morning and THAT was only 2hrs 15 as a last A time.

How am I going to manage since I do a school run at 3pm and thought the 1.30 - 3pm and no catnap would be okay to fit in with it but now we've arrived at 7 months it really doesn't!!

I'm gonna be doing this catnap til she leaves for college as I'll have to wake her at 3 soi can collect the other kids from school!!

Help me, ladies....please!

[*Natasha*]

Generally the catnap is dropped when they can handle 3hrs awake time.
When we first dropped the catnap we had lots of early bedtimes until she was able to handle a longer awake time. Both my DD's have thier longest awake time before bedtime.

What you can try is:

7am - Wake
9.30-11am nap
2-4pm nap
6.30/45pm bedtime till the longer awake time is easier to handle.

[Grace's Mom]

My lo couldn't handle 3 hours of A time until 10.5 months....there's no rush 
And she couldn't handle 4 hours of A time until almost 18 months....we never had 4 hours of A time before bed until she was on 1 nap at 18 months.

Her routine was

6am wake
9-10:30 nap
1:30-3:00 nap
6pm bedtime

[sunnysmile]

Thanks.....I'll give that a go!

Won't the earlier bedtime mean an earlier wake up time in the morning as she won't have done 12hrs awake?

Also if I have to get the children from school at 3pm I won't be able to leave her at home to do a 2-4pm nap. She definately won't continue the nap in the car/stroller so I'd be giving her 2 pm naps - 2-3pm & another catnap later.....back to what we do now effectively.

It's also going to be difficult keeping the house quiet enough for her to complete the nap once the kids come home.

I know I should be thinking solutions not problems but this next stage is a tricky one - and it's not as if it's a short term issue.....if it's going to be 18 months before she can do 4 hrs awake (and I think, like Grace she will probably be 18mths before she can do 4 hrs) I have to find a system to take us through the next 11 months.

The 6am - 6pm day may be my only option but I am reluctant to start her day so early as she's quite vocal usually wakes up my younger boys who have school all day - aaaargggh!!

I'm in a real dilemma - I know I should cut out the catnap but my commitments to the other children make it so difficult......

What do you think?

[Grace's Mom]

Do you have sound machines?
Or floor fans?
Those work wonders.
Grace is a really light sleeper so we have a sound machine in her room and a fan outside her door....and we don't have any other kids LOL

Can your older kids have quiet play at least for the first 45 minutes of her nap so that she can get past the first cycle?
Grace always wakes up at the 30 minute mark...if nothing grabs her attention she'll go back off and will sleep deeply for a bit.  Can that be their TV time or home work time, etc.  Something more low key...outside time, etc.

A lo doesn't need to be awake 12 hours....they just usually have a 12 hour day including nap time.
And, not all lo's need 12 hours at night...some 10 or 11.  You'll just have to kind of adjust according to the needs of all your kiddos. 

You are doing a really great job!!!

Melissa