Don't drive yourself crazy about naps

[Heather99]

I just wanted to pass on my experiences to you Mums with younger babies. When my LO was about 3 months old she started taking 45 minute naps. I drove myself nearly crazy trying to get her back to sleep, followed advice on here and in the BW book. In the end, after about a month I decided to give up and go with the flow.

I just put her down for a nap when she was tired, she'd sleep for 45 mins and then we'd start again - it wasn't always EAS but we were both happy. She wasn't tired and I wasn't frustrated. We settled into a routine of 4 lots of 30-45 minute naps per day that continued until she was about 6-7 months old, when she moved to one am and one pm nap.

All the way through she continued to sleep through the night, we followed all the other BW guidance to the letter but I stopped concerning myself about the naps.

We're now 8.5 months old and she's started taking 1.5 hour naps in the afternoons again. Without any PU/PD or worry on my part.

Please, please don't do what I did and beat yourself up because you haven't got a perfect 4-hour or 3-hour EASY. It'll all work out in the end. I'd also advise you to look at page 201 of Tracy's book "The Baby Whisperer solves all your problems" - Tracy herself says that not all babies need long naps.

Better go - she's just waking from her lovely long snooze. Your baby will get there too, in the end, but you won't do them any favours by getting yourself in a tizzy in the meantime!

Heather

[Ollie76]

Wonderful wonderful advice!!!!  Just thinking that I need to stop worrying so much about my DD having "perfect" naps all the time!   

[* Paula *]

Heather, thanks for your advice.

We have bad days and I totally get my knickers in a knot, but thanks after reading your post, it does make a lot of sense.

[Lana]

Actually in BWSAYP Tracy does say that some babies do fine on 45 minute naps.  Good for you that your read your little ones cues and responded to them 

[mommy2mason]

I second that Heather! My ds also began his 45 minute naps around 2.5/3 months and I really let it get to me at times. I tried everything but I really think for some it is just developmental. I know how hard it can be during it and I thought things would never change. He is now almost 7 months old and doing great. The 45 minute naps suddenly disappeared at about 5.5 months. Now he usually has two 1.5 hour naps and is extremely happy!

[momtothomas]

Amen!  I stressed out SO much about short naps until a few weeks ago, until I finally realized that no matter what I was doing, I couldn't get my DS to sleep any longer.  I just accepted the 30-45 min naps and did a lot of them during the day.  Now that he's approaching 9 months, it looks like he MAY be getting closer to consolidating naps more often.  I've found a trick that works for us, and we're still testing it, but so far so good.  Anyway, we just have to remember they're only little once, so enjoy every minute you have with them while they still want to hang out with us (before they're teenagers and don't think Mom is very cool).