do short naps really matter?

[kirsty everson]

Hello, I have a 6 and 1/2 month old who, since about 3 months old, has only ever had short naps. Our routine is fairly predictable - wakes about 7.30am and then every 2/ 2 and half hours she has a 30 min nap, following the EASY routine. She will nap in various places, preferring to be in her pram.

She has 4 x 30 min naps a day and goes down well at 6.45pm, waking only for the DF.

So, is this really a problem? I have tried various methods for getting her to extend her nap at lunchtime (including CIO)  ???with varying success, generally causing me great stress and anxiety and ruining the day.

She is on solids now and generally has 3 good meals a day at 8, 12 and 5pm.  Milk feeds going well too, breast at wake up and bed, and a bottle mid pm and the DF.

Should I just accept that this is how my baby's cycle goes?

[~Sara~]

Well, I would say that if her short naps are not affecting her night sleep in a negative way, and she seems happy, active, and thriving, then it could just be her biorhythm   With short nappers, you'll usually find that you have to sneak in an extra nap to lengthen out the day, which is what you're doing.  As far as I can tell, I don't think it's a problem for her.  Naps usually lengthen on their own between 6-7 months.

[Chicane]

Hi Kirsty - I agree with pp but you might find it more convenient if she was moving towards two naps per day or at least 3. Ultimately, its up to you. The thing that jumps out at me is her A times could be pushed a bit longer. At 6 months they can start to head towards a 3 hr A time...you could experiment by extending A times in 10 min increments over a few days and see if that gets you longer naps..what do you think Sara?...however, if you are happy with how ot is now then leave it. ....who knows!

[koe2moe]

i also agree with pp's.  I used to get so stressed out due to those short naps and tried so very hard to extend them to no avail.  It's best to just go with the flow and with short naps, you can go anywhere with the pram!  When the time comes, LOs will nap longer.  Now DS sleeps 1 nap of 2 hours per day. 

[~Sara~]

The thing that jumps out at me is her A times could be pushed a bit longer. At 6 months they can start to head towards a 3 hr A time...you could experiment by extending A times in 10 min increments over a few days and see if that gets you longer naps..what do you think Sara?

Well, you could try gradually increasing A time.  But I would say start with only the first A time because at her age, an A time of 2.5h after a 30 minute nap would be just about right.  If she's in fact taking UT naps, then if her nap lengthens after pushing out the 1st A time, that will let you know how to adjust for the rest of them.  The best way I've found to lengthen A time is to do something low-key for an extra 10-15 minutes.  Then, let LO get used to that new A time for 2-3 days and repeat until LO is taking long naps.

Just a thought.

[okinawamama]

I for a long time (still occasionally do) thought my Lo was a "BAD napper", even though he went down easy and woke happy (most of the time). I thought "the books says, or the message board says....." so I felt I had to try and "fix" it. I stressed over it so much and had so much anxiety, and I look back now (with regret), and realize I spent so much of his infancy fixing a problem that might not have needed fixing.  I now view a "bad napper" as a child who short naps and is unhappy and OT. If that's not your child, you are doing everything right!

Unfortunately, my child short napped basically from 3mo-12mo, we would have some long naps sprinkled in there, but nothing consistent. having said that, we are pretty much done with the 2:1 transition, and my little guy usually takes a decent (1.5-1.45min) nap now.

You're doing a wonderful job, and sounds like you're keeping naps/sleeping in perspective. You're little one is happy and healthy, I'd say things are going well

[yhcole]

Okinawamama~ so good and reassuring to hear that. My LO is 3.5MO and i feel as though I am worrying his infancy away! He usually takes short naps (some random longer ones sprinkled in every once in a while) but wakes happy and alert. Sleeps well at night too...did yours?

[tarakay]

I've been keeping an eye on this thread b/c I was curious to see what others would say about this.  My LO is also a chronically short napper.  At 6 months she still often does 3 naps of 35-45m a day, but STTN 12 hours.  She's been doing this since she was about 10 weeks old (STTN came a little later around 3.5 mos).

Anyway, like Okinawamama said - I totally stressed myself out trying to 'fix' my LO for a few months... then I decided why worry as long as she's happy and STTN? 

That said.. now days she'll often do one longer nap a day (1h20m+) and 2 short ones.  I keep playing with her A time to find one that works well w/o being OT.  Currently we are having success with 2:20/2:25.

[yhcole]

My only big fear with my short napper is that it will affect his nighttime sleep. He usually sleeps 11 hrs/night, but I don't know if he would continue doing that if I don't hold him so he will nap well during the day. If he still slept at night, I think I wouldn't care at all about the length or frequency of his naps! I have heard many mommies say that when their LO doesnt sleep a lot during the day, they won't sleep a lot at night...

[~Sara~]

yhcole--I think there are a lot of variables to consider when it comes to LOs and short naps.  Some babies are chronic short nappers, some even from Day 1.  They can take a few short naps during the day, are happy, and sleep well at night.  For these babies, the short naps happen regardless of A times, wind downs, httj and/or w2s.

However, there are other babies who short nap because of a routine/prop issue. 

There are babies who, starting around 3 months, start taking the 45 minute naps bc they have to learn how to transition through the light sleep phase of the sleep cycle.  These babies usually tend to WANT to sleep longer, but just have to learn how.

It's sometimes difficult--especially between 3-6 months--to figure out what kind of napper your LO is.  I like to err on the side of caution and try to extend naps either by a routine tweak, httj, or w2s.  If none of those things are working, and the nights are still good, then usually LO is a chronic short napper.

You mentioned that you don't think your LO would take long naps if you weren't there to hold him.  If you're referring to using httj, it can sometimes take a while for LO to learn to sleep on their own.  We had to use httj for every nap for ~2 months for DS.  He was the developmental 45-minute napper...and then one day, he grew out of it and started taking 1.5h naps on his own.

If your LO isn't sleeping well at night, and you think it's a nap issue, please don't hesitate to see if we can be your sounding board. 

HTH a bit!

[okinawamama]

hey ladies, sorry, I always get that error message when I've been logging on.

My little guy sounds a lot like yours. He usually napped poorly, but his nights were good and while he was awake he was a happy baby. I wish i would have taken the clues that he was giving me and just "went with it." I was obsessive about extending the naps and tweaking with A times, and nothing but time "worked" for us.

I am not here to discourage you from trying to extend those naps, just keep it all in perspective

   

[mrsfabmoretti]

He was the developmental 45-minute napper...and then one day, he grew out of it and started taking 1.5h naps on his own.

Do you think that this was a result of HTTJ, or your LO getting older?

My LO is 3mo and has about 5 40 min catnaps a day, sleeping 12 hours at night with a DF and one other feed. He is such a happy and contented baby, I have decided to leave him be. Don't get me wrong-I have tried tweaking A times, HTTJ and W2S and at one point, did get a little anxious about them not working, but the most important thing is that he's happy.

I think the BW is great- my son has gone from no naps to all in his cot using her techniques. However, it annoys me that nowhere in her book does it mention that short napping can be down to age, and that it *should* get better at 6 months. She puts it down to 'accidental parenting'. If I had known earlier that longer naps are a developmental thing, I would have saved myself a lot of worry! I think the book is very idealistic and we shouldnt feel bad if, despite our bad efforts, baby just wont conform.

[~Sara~]

However, it annoys me that nowhere in her book does it mention that short napping can be down to age, and that it *should* get better at 6 months. She puts it down to 'accidental parenting'. If I had known earlier that longer naps are a developmental thing, I would have saved myself a lot of worry! I think the book is very idealistic and we shouldnt feel bad if, despite our bad efforts, baby just wont conform.

She talks more about biorhythms in her 3rd book, "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems."  The way I see it, "The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" outlines her general philosophy/techniques very well.  She goes more in-depth in TBWSAYP, though, which was more helpful for me personally (bc I'm a little *cough* a lot Type-A).  I'm trying to find a pg # for you.

I don't think Tracy intended for people to feel bad...some babies do respond very immediately to her w2s and httj techniques.

Quote from: ~Sara~ on April 26, 2010, 05:14:43 PM
He was the developmental 45-minute napper...and then one day, he grew out of it and started taking 1.5h naps on his own.

Do you think that this was a result of HTTJ, or your LO getting older?

I think it was both, to be honest.  I used httj as a tool to help him learn not to wake up during the light sleep phase; and when his body was able to catch-up, he had the skills in place and could make the transition on his own.  But during those months when I was doing httj, he slept well most of the time and was a happy baby, slept great at night.  All in all, I think it amounts to the same thing: he's still a great independent sleeper!

[kirsty everson]

Hello all, thank you so much for the replies to my original post. I have been on vacation, and have only just got back on this thread.

I think I will start to relax more about the naps. I have had lots of stress and tears over them in recent months and its just not worth it. The other day I spent half the day trying to extend naps to no avail - what a waste! My LO still sleeps through the night and is happy between her short naps so I will just wait for them to lengthen naturally. I am trying to increase the A time as well - this helps with her going down well, but 30 mins later - she's awake and ready for the next cycle!

I do find that going to bed with her in the afternoon and holding her will lengthen naps, but don't want to encourage this habit, so only do it when I'm tired myself.

Thanks again for the assistance from all those who replied - very helpful.