length of activity time for 4 month old

[Mason's Mum]

How long is the A time for your 4 month old?  Mine is about 1 hour 15 minutes.  I am wondering if this is too short?

[calebs mommy]

Usually about 1.75 to 2 hrs., but every baby is different.   If he starting to have shorter naps it may be time to extend his activity by 5-10 min every few days until you find a time that works. 

[albertasweetpea]

Hi Mason's Mum - I too am a Mom to Mason!! My guy is about 10 years ahead of yours though!!

If you check out the EASY Schedules for 3-6 month olds, I'm sure you can find some guidelines there. I think it's under the Activity heading, then EASY Forum.

[Missy Lou]

i think my LO had between 1.5 and 1.75 hours of A time (longer as she got closer to 5 months). 

but like stephanie said, all LOs are different.  however, i would consider increasing his A time a bit especially if sleeping has become an issue.

[Grace's Mom]

My dd has always had shorter A times than most babies her age and by about 4.5 months was when we started to get 2 hours of A time and 2 hour naps give or take a few minutes here or there. We just upped A time a few minutes every couple of days by having quiet A time in her room with the lights off (lamp on) so not to over stimulate.  I still followed her cues but tried to guide her to stay awake just a bit longer. 

Melissa

[Mason's Mum]

He has been napping for 45 minutes for at least a few weeks.  Yesturday was awful - I tried to extend his A time by about 15 minutes and he freaked.  By 3:00 in the afternoon he was in his crib kicking and flailing his arms.  I tried everything to calm him so he could sleep and nothing worked.  By 5pm I decided to get him up because I was going to loose it and my DH was home.  I was successful at putting him down for a nap at 5:30 and it took almost an hour to get him down for the night.  This morning he was awake for 1 hour 30min. and went down for his first nap ok.  Thanks to Melissa for the quiet A time advice.  How do I know if his A time is too short?  Will extending his A time help with naps? 

[Grace's Mom]

Mason's Mom:

This may sound odd, but if Grace is not going to sleep right away and is getting all worked up I will get her up and take her in to my room.  We will lay on my bed and have quiet time (she normally rolls around and such).  We do this for a few minutes and then when she seems ready again for a nap I go back into her room (already dark and quiet), sing our nap time song again so she knows its still nap time, lay her down and leave and she usually will be able to go right to sleep.  I hope this helps.

Maybe extend his A time by 5-10 minutes instead of 15 and see how that goes.  15 extra minutes may have just been too long for him.  I know for Grace I had to do it very gradually most of the time. 
-For my Grace (a bit spirited) I have to make sure that she doesn't get too overstimulated early on after she wakes or she will be tired early for her nap.  It is such a fine balance, but your best bet is to make sure you are following his cues.  Some days depending on whats going on he may be tired early or may be able to stay awake a bit longer. 

It probaby took an hour to put him down at bedtime due to being over tired from the previous nap.  Once the naps get worked out it won't be so bad at bed time. It will just take some time as he gets use to staying awake longer and then his naps will slowly lengthen.  If his A time is too short, he will have a short nap and will wake up happy and ready to go. 

Let us know how it goes over the next couple of days. We are here for you.

Melissa

[Mason's Mum]

OK, this is really wierd.  Mason's day has gone something like this:

E: 8:30-9:00
A: 9:00-10:00
S: 10:00-11:00

A: 11:00-12:00
E: 12:00-12:30

I tried to put him down at 12:45 or so and, just like yesterday, his little arms were flailing and legs were kicking.  I tried shush/pat for about 1/2 an hour (usually works to calm him, although lately he's been calming himself to go to sleep).  So, I got him up and took him into the living room where he happily kicked at squirmed and squealed with delight on a blanket on the floor until he got cranky at 2pm.  Then I took him into his room and laid him in the crib. He went right to sleep.  Have I been mis-reading his signals?  Can he really handle longer A times and he is simply not tired when I put him down?  I feel so frustrated and stupid!

[taliawellington]

Hi, I'm new here but just wanted to offer some words.

I believe that a large part of being a mother is feeling frustrated and stupid.  Alanna is 15 weeks and i am finding life very difficult here lately.  She doesn't seem to want to nap, but gets really cranky awake as well.  If i am lucky enough to read her cues she goes right to sleep but sometimes, i guess when she is cranky for reasons other than tiredness, i totally mess it up.
  What do you do...

Talia

[Grace's Mom]

You all are doing a wonderful job.  Don't be so hard on yourselves.  I know it is hard but I think part of our jobs as moms is having to guess daily and just try to figure out what is best and works best for that particular day.  It never fails, once we think we have something figured out a milestone occurs or they get a cold and we have to figure out everything all over again.  Sometimes cues are really hard to read and that is not your fault and it definitely doesn't make you stupid.  You did the right thing today and have figured out something really neat.  You are doing so well.  Great job.

Melissa