When is it too late to take a catnap?

[summersusu]

My LO's wake time is usually only 2 hours sometimes 2.5 at 6 months old.  But for some reason he will stay awake 3 or more hours before bedtime.  I put him in his swing to take a catnap: sometimes he does sometimes he doesn't.  How late can a catnap be? 6ish? For example, if he stays awake but is a little cranky and it is 6pm, can we offer the catnap in hopes to get him to go to bed later? He is an early riser most mornings so maybe this could help him sleep later in the am?  At what time would you say forget the catnap if he hasn't taken yet and just put him to bed?

[ella&jack'smum]

I am no expert on naps or easy!!! But I think you'll need to post his routine so the mods can help you properly.

I know all babies are different, but I have seen a number of threads which indicate in people's experience, the earlier to bed, the later to rise (crazy as that may sound!). In the scenario you outlined, I would have kept both my dcs up and not had a 6pm catnap, but maybe that's because I've always been a bit of a stickler on having a 7pm bath and bed routine.

ALso, my HV advised me in the early days that if you want them to go down well at 7, don't let them sleep beyond 4 - may sound a little 'gina ford' but it always worked for me.

Hope you get some better advice - to see a typical day would be great!

[summersusu]

Typical day
6am wake
6:30 8oz bottle
7:30 cereal/fruit
8:30ish nap
10:30 8 oz bottle
11:30 veggies
12:30ish nap
2:30 8oz bottle
4:30ish veggies
6ish start bedtime 8oz bottle
6:30 in bed and asleep most nights until am

It just seems that if he wakes around 2:00-2:30 from pm nap that he needs another nap before bed which sometimes he takes and sometimes he doesn't.
Yesterday my mother kept him (I'm sure she rocked him and held him through every nap  ) and his last nap woke at 2, I put him in his swing around 4:30ish, he never fell asleep, picked him up and played some more and he was ready for sleep at about 5:45 so we started his routine for bed.  Then he woke at 12am, 3am, 3:50 am, 5:30 am and then up for good at 7:30.  I don't know if it is because he slept to long for naps because he was rocked the entire nap, or he was overtired and should have had a catnap when he was cranky at 5:45pm.
Sometimes when he doesn't get a catnap, he still sleeps through to atleast 5ish or so. 

[ella&jack'smum]

Again, I'm no expert, but your routine looks great to me, if it started nearer 7!! Then his 2nd nap would be ending around 3.30 and he'd probably be okay to go through till 7pm then. The amount of sleep he is getting looks fine to me for is age, and it's great that his first two naps are of a good length.

I don't know if anyone else has any ideas - particularly around how to tweak the morning so it's starting nearer 7 than 6 (says she who has a 2.5 year old who thinks 6 is wake up time for the whole house!)

Sorry I can't be of more help!