smum -
i decided the 12:30 nap time b/c we've been on a set noon lunch schedule for months and months now so it seemed that 12:30 or post-lunch would be the most logical time for me to put him down for a nap. sometimes it's 12:30, sometimes it's closer to 1 or 1:30 it all just depends on when he wakes up and how active we've been that morning...but i've found after a few weeks of experimenting with A times that if i keep him up past 6.5 or 7 hours than he'll do a short 1.5 OT nap. also, when we were on 2 naps a day, his nap was at 10am and 3pm so 12:30 or 1pm seemed like the middle of the road. like i said before, i would keep him up past his first nap, eat lunch and then right after lunch put him down. when we were on 2 naps, he was always able to handle less A time in the evenings then in the mornings, so for us only 4.5 to 5 hours of A time post nap usually works for us, but probably wouldn't work for most babies. i just don't know if i should shorten his overall day so that he would be going to be earlier than he is now, but i fear an even earlier wake-up. someone suggested a 13 hour day so if he's up at 5:40, then he would be in bed for the night at 6:40...all that to say, i don't find that realistic b/c my son needs so much A time in the mornings now...that could be the answer to our problem, but i've never been able to get him to fall asleep before 7:30pm. anyway, last night he only did 10 hours so i guess that is our magic number...10 short hours. most of the kids in my playgroup are sleeping a good 12 or 13 hours a night. i guess our kiddos are on the "less than average" sleep needs.
