6.5 month old day and night sleeping

[Gabiascher]

Hi

My almost 6.5 month old
Naps 3 times a day.
 1st nap 915/930-10 if longer then has early wakings
2nd nap 1220/30 sometimes 2 hours and soemtimes 45 min.
3rd nap length depends on other naps

How many hours a day is he supposed to nap at this age?
He used to nap too many hours which made him very wakey at night.

His awake times are 2.5-3 hours. More on the 2.5 hour side.
He goes to sleep between 615-7 depends on last nap. I feel that if he naps long in morning and lunch nap then he wakes up at night alot! How long should awake time be before sleep? Should it be the same or longer? I know methods that say the last awake time should be longer??
Besides that, i think my lo eats too much at night  10, 1, 4.
I think there is habit and self settling prob.+ Gas from trying new foods. Only on purees now.
Helpppp he wont eat when wakes up. Only at round 830/9 which ruins the lunch nap because he is hubgry in the middle of it and then wont settle back .
 Thanks.

[creations]

Hi there
Sorry to see you didn't get a reply yet.

At 6 months the most common routine would be an A time of 3hrs and 2 long naps of either 1hr 30 or 2hrs.
Looking at your current routine it's probably time to drop a nap, this might be nap 3 if it's usually a CN or you might drop nap 1 which is already only short, then move nap 2 (which becomes nap 1 !) earlier than it is currently.  Looking at 3hrs after morning WU.

I know methods that say the last awake time should be longer??

This is not part of BW.  With BW routines are worked out dependent on the individual LO so whilst we have some guidances times and ages we only use those as a guide not a rule.  Certainly some LOs like a long A time before BT but many will hate it and it will only cause OT and then NWs.  Some LOs like the last A time to be the same as the others with a lot of consistency in the A times across the day and some like the first A time of the day very long and the last one very short. My own DS needed a short last A time.
I would suggest starting with what you currently have, then increasing to get it a bit more age appropriate but also record your EASY times along with LOs mood and ease of settling and sleep etc so that you have a gauge to work out if things need to be a bit longer or shorter for him.

With regards to the night feeds, it is quite normal for a BF LO to feed a few times at night.  Make sure you offer all the milk feeds as normal during the day, do not reduce milk at all in the day time.  After solids you might like to offer a top up of milk, Tracy suggested this in her books and I found my DS initially needed milk right after solids (mine was formula fed but still needed a milk top up right after the solids despite having already had his fill of milk at his usual E time).  Also offer water when solids are offered.

Helpppp he wont eat when wakes up. Only at round 830/9 which ruins the lunch nap because he is hubgry in the middle of it and then wont settle back .

Mine would generally not eat right after waking so I fed 30 - 60 min later but it can still be worked around naps. The main aspect of when to feed is to avoid a feed to sleep habit rather than it being vital to feed after waking.  If you offer a milk top up right after the solids you may find he is more comfortable for the nap and not waking for a feed.  I would suspect that it may be something other than hunger waking him mid-nap though, possibly routine.

hope this helps. Let me know if you have more questions.

[Gabiascher]

Very helpful thank you!

[Gabiascher]

Been having horroble nights these past nights so he woke up at around 610
Nap at 910-1020
Nap2 at 110-3

Asleep at 615 and all of a sudden woke up at 635 and crying til 9. Felt like he took a nap amd cpuldnt go back to sleep. I tried everything but it was like he was fighting sleep. What do i do? He was tired earlier but then if i put him fpr 3rd nap will that br too much sleep? And for how long? E was already tired at 5 which 2 hours awakw time ?

[becj86]

Asleep at 615 and all of a sudden woke up at 635 and crying til 9.

20min of sleep then waking and crying for hours is far more likely pain than OT. Sometimes 20min wakings can be overstimulation too but unusual to then cry for hours on end. Have you recently started a new food? Is he teething?

Nap at 910-1020

This is a slightly UT nap - you could make your day a touch longer by pushing this A time by 10-15mins and seeing if that helps. If you get another 20-30min of sleep, you've added 30-45mins to your day and he's then likely had 2 good naps which is what he needs when he drops to 2 naps initially.

[Gabiascher]

Hi yes actually he has been teething for a while on and off.
But moving slowly so not sure yyet if the tooth is cutting now.

Today he woke at 625 put him down at 925. Was very very tired by then  especially becauee of the evening before.
He was ready for the first nap after an hour awake but i didnt let that happen. Didnt want it to connect to the night sleep.

[Gabiascher]

Anotger question... Lets say he wakes at 630 am sleeps 1st nap at 925 and sleeps for 2 hours when should 2nd nap end latest? Becausebif he sleeps from 230-430 that means hes in bed at 730 and not 630-630. Does this make sense? Isnt 2 naps for 2 hours alot of sleep for a 24 hour period?

[becj86]

Lets say he wakes at 630 am sleeps 1st nap at 925 and sleeps for 2 hours when should 2nd nap end latest? Becausebif he sleeps from 230-430 that means hes in bed at 730 and not 630-630.

That's fine. A 12hr day is pretty unrealistic after about 4-5mo when the usual day is more like 13hr with an 11hr night. Obviously this changes a bit as days extend with longer A times and then shorten with dropped naps. 

Isnt 2 naps for 2 hours alot of sleep for a 24 hour period?

Not when you consider that 'normal' at his age is nominally 2x1.5hr naps and an 11-12hr night, so 14-15hr sleep in 24. You're really just doing 2x2hr naps and an 11hr night which is 15hr in 24...

[Gabiascher]

Ok!
Thanks!
If lets say second nap goes wrong and is shorter do i do 3rd nap? If yes, for how long?

[Gabiascher]

So he did first nap 1.45 second nap 1.45 is that fine?
925-1105
1400-1545

Which means bedtime 645.

Will see what will happen tonight.

[creations]

So he did first nap 1.45 second nap 1.45 is that fine?

Sounds good to me

[becj86]

Yep, that's absolutely fine I think of sleep a bit like one thinks of division of responsibility with food. Parent responsible for providing consistent opportunity to sleep at appropriate times, with suitable environment and furnish child with necessary skills. Child to take the sleep they need. When their naps get really short or things go off with the early hours of the morning, that's generally the child telling you what you're offering is no longer what they need and its time to shift the routine

[Gabiascher]

So we had only 2 wake ups for feeds 12 am and 450 am the feed at 450 was a huge feed...
Usually he wakes at 630 but he didnt, my husband amd i got up at 715 for work and he was totally sleeping i felt that i had to wake him up cause i didnt want him waking too late. Was that a good idea? I want to be consistent.

I knew he was hungry when he woke up at 720 so i waited and he still wasnt very hungry he fed a little, pooped and dint want anymore. Guessing hell be hungry in an hour.

[Gabiascher]

Just as i thought i was doing something right
Ugh thisbis so frustrating!
His naps werr horrible yesterday hes always tired at the same exact hours but he woke up later so amni supposed to put him down whenbhes used? I feel that i shouldve. But i did the 3 hour awake time and he slept horroble during naps. 1 1015-1130
2 225-330 it was 30 min then i re settled him and slepy another 30

Went down at 630 although he woke up at 715.

Now its the middl of the night, hr woke at 22, 24 and still up and its 2 am and he is now only starting to cry for me. This is so annoying. It happens too much and o dont understand why there are so many days like this. I really want to scream

[creations]

Could be teething causing the horrible sleep.

Has it settled down now?