Advice needed for 7mo naps

[wendi]

Hi

My DS is almost 7mo and is currently taking two naps and one catnap a day. He sleeps well for the morning nap, not so good for the afternoon nap (45min) and always with a struggle for his catnap. His routine is as follows:

6:30 - 7am wake
7:30am Bottle 7oz
8:15am Breakfast
9:15 nap (1.5h usually)
11am wake
12 noon Lunch
1:15pm nap
2pm wake
3pm bottle 7oz
4:15pm dinner
5pm catnap
6:30pm bath
6:45pm bottle 8oz and bed.

He used to sleep through until 6:30 - 7am, now he wakes anywhere from 5am, not crying just babbling for half an hour or more and might fall back asleep for 15-20 mins then awake again for half an hour up until I go into him at 7am.
Because of this early waking I have to put him down for his morning nap quite early, hece the early afternoon nap and still the catnap as no way could he last from 2pm - 6:30 (or even 6).

Any advice on what to do to improve my lo's routine so that I can drop that catnap and get two good naps? Can't really do PU/PD for afternoon nap as he wakes up happy and smiling!!

Do you think if I could drop the catnap his early waking might stop? Or maybe, as I suspect if I gradually try push out his morning nap, he might sleep a bit better around 5am,,,,,,,
Thanks a lot.

[malialeanne]

Hi there, welcome to the boards!

45 minute naps can indicate undertiredness. If he is waking from his first nap at 10:45 - 11 and going down for the second at 1:15, he's getting less than 2.5 hours of A time in between. It's normal for the first activity period of the day to be shorter, but after that you could aim for 3 hours of A time, gradually increasing his awake time to get there. Extending A times to 3 hours and extending that second nap will help you to drop the catnap.

Then your routine would look like
6:30 - 7am wake
7:30am
8:15am
9:15 nap
11am wake
12 noon Lunch
2 pm nap
3:30 wake
6:30pm bath
6:45 - 7 pm bottle and bed.

HTH (hope this helps), Malia

[Cari]

Hi Wendi,

How are things going with your 7 month old and napping??  My DD is also 7 months  old and has been doing the same thing!!!  She seems tired after 2.5 hours and is yawning and rubbing eyes, so I figure it is time to put her down but then she only sleeps 45 min (this is for the afternoon nap)  So she wakes at 2:30/2:45pm and certainly can't make it to bedtime, so I try to put her down again, and I don't know if she sleeps or not.   Sometimes she does, but only for 20 min and then other times I am sure that she is just up there sucking her thumb   She has also been waking earlier than usual, anywhere from 5:30a-6:00a and then sometimes go back to sleep, sometimes not.  Its funny, the other night I skipped the catnap and put her to bed at 6:00pm, she woke up at 6:45pm, took a little bit more milk and then slept all the way thru until 7:00am.  I think my LO is overtired, but I am still not sure about what to do with that middle of the day awake time and how long it should be.  Let me know how you get on, and what works for you and I will do the same.  Good luck!

[malialeanne]

Hi Wendi and Cari. After about 4 months or so, a lot of moms find cues a lot harder to read. A lot of babes yawn and rub eyes an hour or two into their A time, but that doesn't mean they need to go down immediately.

I would encourage you to just gently try and strech that middle A time about 10 minutes or so per day and see how it goes. You can always move it back. When we stretch A times we have to walk her around the house in the Bjorn for the last 30 minutes or so, otherwise she'll fuss.

Skipping the catnap is a sign that your baby is ready to increase A time--they just aren't tired enough to go down for the catnap. But because they can't quite make 3.5-4 hours in between the afternoon nap and bedtime, you need to move bedtime up for a bit.

BTW, the afternoon nap develops between 5-8 months. The a.m. nap develops first, so both your babies are totally on target for their age and the p.m. nap should get sorted out soon too.