When to drop evening Catnap?

[cookie cookie]

Hi ladies!

Just wondering if anyone can tell me at what age usually do the babies drop the last evening catnap of the day? My DD is 4 1/2 months and has skipped it twice in the past week. I'm not sure if I just missed her sleepy window or if she just doesn't want to nap at that time.  :?: Is 4 1/2 months too young to only have two naps a day? I'm thinking that I must have just missed her sleepy window but just thought I'd ask the question to see what other 4 1/2 month old babies are doing. Thanks. Sydnee's Mom.

[Jadynsmom]

Hi,

I think my lo dropped it around 5 or 5 1/2 mos.  It took me a long time to get her to take a 20-30min catnap and sometimes I had to do it in a sling or a stroller, so we just dropped it.  As long as your lo is not overtired by bedtime.  I also used the guideline of, if she woke from her last nap around 3pm, I'd put her to bed around 7 or 7:30.  If she woke from her last nap before 2 or 2:30, I might give her a 20 min catnap in a sling or moved her bedtime to 6:30ish.  Are you on 4hr routine?  When does she take her 2nd nap & how long does she sleep for it? Also what time is her bedtime?

Kathy

[cookie cookie]

Hi Kathy,

Yes, we are on a four hour routine in the daytime but we've been cluster feeding in the evening. She usually has her last catnap between 5 and 6pm and goes to bed between 8-9pm. She is also having the short 40 minute naps in the daytime now too. She did that at 2 1/2 months and it got better around 3 1/2 months but now she back at it again. I'm trying so hard to watch her cues but sometimes I just miss them. Today she woke from her afternoon nap at 1:30pm and didn't go for her evening catnap until 5pm and it just happened that we had to go out so it was the car that made her fall asleep. But I'm sure she couldn't have stayed awake much longer... or at least one wouldn't think!! Babies sure are hard to figure out sometimes! Sydnee's Mom

[HeatherC]

These past few weeks, I have had a very hard time getting Kelsey to take a 3rd nap.  She recently started taking at least one 1.5 hour nap (usually a 30-minute napper), and while she's better rested, she's not totally exhausted until just in time for her last bottle (7:30).  I try to get her to take a nap around 6 (previous nap ending around 3:30), but she fights me, and if she does sleep, it's in my arms.  I know she needs that last nap, but the struggle is unbearable sometimes.

[Tammy: Ethan & Kaden's Mom]

My ds is 5 months old, and absolutely HAS to have that last catnap between 5 and 6 p.m.  He is one grumpy bugger if he doesn't get that in.  He is also not a good napper, although the past few days have been better.  He has usually been a 45 minute napper, with me struggling to get him to extend his naps.  The past few days (knock on wood) he has started taking anywhere between 1 hr 15 min and 1 hr 45 min naps.  Hallelujah!      (I'm sure I say this, and tomorrow will be a nap day from he!!). 

I usually just lay my ds down in his crib around 5 p.m., and he'll take a quick 30 to 45 minute nap.  If we have to be out and about, he will usually fall asleep in his carseat.  But if he doesn't get that nap, he is such a grumpy butt.  But that catnap seems to get him through until bedtime.

I will say this for ds's naps, and I'm by no means any sort of expert, but maybe it will help.  First, as he got closer to five months, I absolutely have to keep him awake for 2 hours between naps.  He may act sleepy earlier than that, but if I put him down, it is a 45 minute nap, and nothing longer.  Second, I used to let ds catnap between 5 and 6 p.m. in my arms, but that proved to be bad news as he got a little older.  He started fighting the catnap.  But once I started putting him in his crib, he would go straight to sleep.

Maybe that helps a bit!  Good luck!

[Jadynsmom]

I agree with Tammy on extending wake time to at least 2hrs.
When your lo takes the catnap around 5 or 6pm, how long do you let him sleep?  I  woke mine up after 30-35mins so that she wouldn't get any more in habit of waking at 45mins (does that make sense?)

Could you post your sched so we could get a better idea?  You said you are clusterfeeding in the evening, do you DF as well?

Kathy

[cookie cookie]

Hi again,

It seems like she is back to cat napping so I think I must have just missed her sleepy window those two days she skipped it. Right now our routine looks typically like this:

7:30 feed
9:30 nap (usually only 45 min but sometimes 1 1/2 hours)
11:30 feed
1:30 nap (again usually only 45 min but sometimes 1 1/2 hours)
3:30 feed
5:30 catnap (around 45 minutes)
6:30 feed
8:00 feed and to bed

Of course each day is a bit different but mostly like the one above. We don't do a dreamfeed and she sleeps through the night from bedtime around 8 until next morning around 7-7:30.

I'm assuming most of you would suggest we keep the catnap... but for how long? Should we drop it in a month or two? Or will DD just let me know when she's done with it by resisting it? I'm going to keep trying right now to keep it. Thanks for all your posts... really helpful. Sydnee's Mom.