Nap length question for 2 naps a day

[Baileysmom31112]

Hey there! My boy just turned 6 months old on feb 25 and is a pretty good napper. However, I'm trying to figure out if his naps are effecting his nights. He is waking up twice a night and always resettles w a NF. For naps, he seems totally ready to do 2 a day and will sleep for hours. Sorry if this already exists as an FAQ and I just couldn't find it but if he is on two naps a day, is there a recommended cap for each nap or a goal for total sleep hours during a day? He seems to wake up a lot at night rolling around and talking to himelf like he is undertired. I've tried capping his naps at 1.5hrs each and it hasn't made a difference...

Example day:
WU: 6:30-7
Nap 1: 9:45-11:15
Nap 2: 1:45-3:30
BT: 6:30-7

He probably wakes up 2-3 times a night sometimes for extended periods and if i go in and nurse him he seems ravenous and then goes back to sleep. This usually happens between midnight and 2am and then again around 4:30. There is no other way to resettle him at 4:30. If you try anything else, he just wants to hang out with you, wide awake...if there is a third waking, it is usually earlier in the night and he doesn't get upset he just plays around for 45 min and then falls back asleep.

I'm so confused! So today i decided not to cap the first nap....yet. He is already at 2hrs 20 min. So i guess i should probably wake him soon!?!

[newkidontheblock]

Hi hun:) just my thoughts on the matter. Your morning A seems fine but I think that instead of capping naps, you should push your second A time before the pm nap to the same as morning. What do you think?

At 6 months, my DD was doing 3.20A with 2 naps of 1.5 hrs each. Soon enough though, we started capping the pm nap at 1hr. By 7 months, we moved to 3.40A & one long morning nap+ CN. Do you think that is where you are heading?

[Baileysmom31112]

Thx for the response. It's definitely possible! Yesterday I decided not to cap naps and it went pretty well:
WU 6:15
Nap 1: 8:45-11:35
Nap 2: 2:20-4:10
BT 7:20

Only one NW at 3:30. Woohoo! He woke up st 6:45 this morning.

His A times today were just over 3 hrs and just under 3 hrs so we'll see how the night goes. I think that i might have stretched his A times a little too soon a few weeks ago but now he's capable? He's very easy going so it can be hard to recognize OT with him. My oldest was always a wreck when he got OT so this is definitely taking some getting used to!

[newkidontheblock]

Great news:) yes, you can slowly stretch the times out but if you are getting good naps, should be fine for now. One NF is absolutely fine at this age and as the solids get added on, that too should stop.

[Baileysmom31112]

Spoke to soon. He is back to 2 or more NWs. And now i feel like he is falling into a sleep deficit because of all the night wakings. Today his naps were similar to the schedule above. He woke up from his second nap at 3:15pm. by 5:15pm he was rubbing his eyes and looking tired so i scambled for an early bedtime. He fell asleep at 5:50pm but then woke up 40 min later at 6:30. I got him back to sleep but 15 min later he was awake again. He seemed tired but wanting to be awake and i ended up turning the light on low and letting him see because he was so upset.  He's been rolling around cheerfully ever since. It is now 8:10pm. What do i do??

[Baileysmom31112]

P.s. It seems like the second nap is starting later like 2:30 and becoming shorter as well. His morning nap is pretty consistent and around 2-2.5 hrs

[newkidontheblock]

Do you think he needs another push in A times to extend the naps? Previously you were doing 3 hours to bed, right? Were you getting wakings after bed then too? Usually I would say that wakings after bed indicate OT but in this case, it feels almost like he is treating BT as a CN..

[Baileysmom31112]

So typically he's been waking up sometime between 11pm and 1am  and then again between 4-5. He will go right back to sleep if i nurse him. That night he woke back up at 7, he ended falling back asleep on his own around 8:30 and then slept until 5am! Nursed and then fell back asleep until 7. It was awesome.

The Next day his afternoon nap was on the late side due to a dr appt and his afternoon nap ended at 4:50 (my mom woke him up) and he went to be bed around 7:30 finally falling asleep at 8. He had NFs at 3:45 and 6, woke at 7:20 today. His naps today were 9:30-11:45 and 2:20- 4pm. He really resisted bedtime at 7 though he seemed tired and after fussing on and off he finally fell deeply asleep at 8pm...

I thought the 11-1 wakings might mean OT so i was trying to shorten his wake time before bed but i don't know?!

[newkidontheblock]

Go with your gut, hun. Many babies need a short A to bed, my DD included. However OT for us shows in wakings soon after BT, mostly 45 minutes later. Are you sure it couldn't just be that he is hungry? 2 NFs seem reasonable, and if he is going right back to sleep after eating, then could that be it?

[Baileysmom31112]

I guess it could just be hunger but it basically means that most nights, he doesn't go more than 4 hours without having to eat but then sometimes he will go 9 hours without eating. I've also noticed that during the day, he sometimes can go longer than the four hours because he is so busy and distracted. I have a feeling he is making up his calories at night :-( Just makes for a tired mama!

[newkidontheblock]

{{hugs}} honey. Yes, they do make up the calories at night if they don't eat well during the day. That's why I am super particular about her feeding well during the day. Since she was 4 months old, we nurse in a dark, quiet room. I don't wait for her to ask to nurse either, as she simply does not bother. I nurse her at WU, after nap 1, again before nap 2 and at BT. Could you try that?