How long does it take your LO to go to sleep at naptime? 6.5 months old

[Tweakster]

Finn is 6.5 months and I was starting to get somewhere with his A times and naps - we had EW, NW and chaos for quite a while there.  Still in the midst due to teething and the big fat spanner it throws in the works.  But nevertheless we continue to plug away at EASY the best we can.

I am trying to work out the average time it takes him to go to sleep...even with the same A time his drifting off is not the same.  Some days he will just roll over and kind of drift off when I nap him, other days he will babble for another 20 minutes thus increasing the A time.  I find it hard to judge when exactly to put him down so that his A times will remain consistent. 

Just curious how long it is taking your LOs to get to sleep at nap time...should it be instantaneous by now or is it normal to fluctuate between going off quickly or babbling and playing until drifting off?  He has started doing this babbling playing thing at bedtime now too which he never used to.  Is it developmental?

Normally I would suspect that he was UT but his A times are really pushed out as far as they can go at the moment and he is Touchy with sleep so I need to be careful of OT.  He eventually goes off to sleep and can give a 1.5 - 2 hr nap so I don't think UT is it.

[lilac83]

Hopefully some other moms and dads will chime in, but usually taking 15/20min is completely normal. It sounds like he's taking good naps once he falls asleep, so I wouldn't worry about changing his A time. I usually have wind down completed and DD in her crib about 10/15min before I want her to nap and about 20min before I want her asleep for the night.

[~Jen~]

Hi Wendy,  
It started taking Kieran about 10mins to fall asleep about this age.  It used to be much quicker (as long as I had the right A time). I'd literally put him in his cot and off he would go.  I found that right around 6.5mos, he started taking some extra time in his cot to settle himself.  During our naptime routine, he would push away from me when we were having a cuddle and he just didn't want to be held.  So I started putting him down earlier and letting him settle himself.  I just adjusted our nap time routine and made sure I put him in his cot about 10mins earlier than I wanted him asleep.  He usually takes at least 5mins and up to 10mins.  If it starts taking 20mins then I know I have his A time wrong.  If he is happy and rolling, babbling it is usually UT.  If fussy and mantra crying, usually a few mins too late and slightly OT.  
HTH!

[b0nni3]

It takes my LO about 5-10 mins for naps at home at home, not sure about naps at day care (they say "it takes a little while" so I don't know if that means 10 mins or 20 mins or what). I think they shh/pat him at day care but at home I just put him down after a 5 min wind down of book + cuddle (though at 11 months he is resisting cuddle and just wants to mess around more with the book). If he's not asleep after 15 mins of being in the crib then something is not right. Although last week we had some craziness in naps of him taking 40 mins to fall asleep (after much struggling/crying/moaning).

[*Jo*]

Hi Wendy, Caleb needed 10 mins wind down and 10 mins in cot at this age!

I just wanted to say that YOU Wendy are an inspiration to me! I have seen quite a few of your posts and although things arent peachy for you for most of the time you are always there to offer support and advice, you mostly have a great attitude about it all. Thanks for being you!!! 

[Tweakster]

Thanks everyone.  Awww Jo you make me blush hehe.  No things are never peachy around here lol...I suspect you will see me on the toddler boards in about 6 months time going 'why won't he sleep???'  But if I can help even one person from my BTDT story it feels good.   

But he's a little button bless him.

Anyway, I have built in 20 mins so having him asleep by the 3 hr mark.  Seems to be working so far.  I did about a 10 min wind down with him kisses, cuddles and Twinkle Twinkle.  And then put him down.  He protested a bit and did the mattress kicky thing and then went off by the 10 min mark so 20 mins total.  So let's see.

I also took out the crib toys, I have been leaving them in there and he just babbles and plays with the soft crinkly book and throws the cuddly toys about.  Oops hehe.  So today he had nothing but his lovey and it took less time :-)