is 2.5 hours too long for pm nap?

[Colesmom]

LO had a 1.5 hour nap this morning. (with some help)

He woke after 1hr 15 this afternoon and i helped through until 2 hours...and now he's still sleeping...it's been 2 hr 20...should I wake him?

He's on a 3.5 feed sched and should have fed 20 min. ago...but I'm moving him to 4 hours so if he can sleep another 10 min. is that okay?

yikes, will 2.5 hours ruin his night sleep?

edit:  since no one has responded I'll ask something else.  If your lo does have a good long nap do you find you need to extend the next interval of awake time?  Just had trouble settling him for his catnap...i didn't do a full wind down because we were in the car.  so i'm not sure if that's why or b/c i should have added maybe 15 minutes.  just curious.

thanks

Traci

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

I actually find that when my lo has a good long nap (although not TOO long!), she goes down easier for the next sleep (either nap or bed) and I try to keep the time pretty consistent.

I'd be inclined to wait and see how it affects his night...if it's a problem, you'll know for next time!  :wink:

(Probably didn't help you much...sorry!)

[Travis' Mom]

Since he is 5 months old, I would already have him on a 4 hour feeding schedule.  Something to work on is a 2 hour feed/wake time and then a 2 hour nap time routine.  The second nap should also be 2 hours as well and then only 45 minutes to an hour for the last nap of the day before going down for the night.  It doesn't sound like you will have too much trouble as your LO seems to be setting the scene for you!  When you are working on this, yes, wake your LO if it is going to go past the feed time.  That has to stay consistent!  No, long naps don't ruin the night time sleep...just the opposite....it helps them sleep more restful.
Good luck!   :wink:

[Noelle]

You should be just fine     Zoe took a 4 hr nap today (11:30-3:30) and I had to wake her and she couldn't wait for bed time at 7pm.  Granted, she only slept 45 minutes this AM.  I find though, that the better the naps, the better the night time sleep.  Enjoy!!! 

...just wanted to add that zoe a lot of times will sleep 3-3.5 hrs because she takes a short morning nap (today was the first 4 hour one)...and it's never been a problem.  I guess we'll see tomorrow if 4 hours was too long  :lol:

[Colesmom]

after the 2.5 hour nap he had a 45 minute catnap ending at 6pm.  Now, maybe this was stupid of me, but i tried putting him down at 7:30 for the night, because he seemed so tired.  rubbing eyes, inchworming up me etc.  I JUST got him to bed, and it's after 9:30.  no more long naps for my little one.

I'm really having trouble with the routine when the naps throw it off kilter.  Just not sure how to adjust A time if there is a shorter or longer nap and i suck at reading cues apparently.  I just about LOST it just now.

anyway, i suppose i should have some dinner before the DF.  i sure hope he settles better after that!

[Travis' Mom]

I noticed he is a textbook baby, which is wonderful!  It was not stupid of you to try and put him down for the night at 7:30pm.  He is physically capable of sleeping for 11 to 12 hours now.  This is just different than he's used to so you have to guide him through it.  He will pick up the new routine very easily, being a textbook baby.  The hours I would shoot for is as follows:
wake up at 6:30 or 7:00.  keep up for two hours.  put down to sleep and work on napping for two hours.  use pick up/put down method.  if he wakes early, just let him rest/play in his crib until the two hours is up.  Get him up and feed at 10:30 or 11:00 (which s/b the four hours).  Keep up for two hours, then down for another nap.  Get up after that and feed at 2:30/3:00.  Down for a catnap around 4:30/5:00 for 45 minutes to an hour.  Up again but don't feed until around 6:00 or 6:30.  Then back to bed for the night around 7:00/7:30pm.  This routine worked for us with not much effort.
How much are you feeding him at each feed?

[Colesmom]

Hi there,

He is breastfed and takes about 15-20 minutes to feed.  Not sure how much he eats.  Right now we're on a 3.5 hour EASY, working up to 4 hours.  He woke up today from his catnap at 4:30 (after 2x 1.5 hr naps and 45 min catnap) so i'll be doing final feed at 5:30 then I'm going to try to stretch him until 7:00.  He's done 2hr, 2hr , 2.25 hour awake time so far today...is 2.5 at the end of the day too much?  I'm worried he'll be way overtired and he'll be tough going down.  I'm keeping it very low key...will do a very good windown.

thanks

Traci

[mommycarrie]

:shock:  :shock:  :shock:

colesmom wrote:

but i tried putting him down at 7:30 for the night, because he seemed so tired. rubbing eyes, inchworming up me etc. I JUST got him to bed, and it's after 9:30. no more long naps for my little one.

I'm really having trouble with the routine when the naps throw it off kilter. Just not sure how to adjust A time if there is a shorter or longer nap and i suck at reading cues apparently. I just about LOST it just now.

Tracy, I had the same kind of night last night :!:

DS started the day at 6:30am, had a 1.5hr & 45 min nap by 12:15.  In the afternoon, I lost track of time cuz I was on the computer :oops: and he was sleeping still at the 2 hours.  I got him at 2.25hrs and then he had another nap of 45min that ended at 6:30pm.  I fed him and got him ready and off to bed by 7:30.

He went to bed a bit grumpy and then it got nasty :x until 9:45pm.  I was shocked :shock: cuz this has NEVER happened b4 and he was just screaming mad :evil: several times until 9:45.  I was able to give him the d/f but he woke up screaming again at 12:15am....what the heck??? :?   (I thought it was because of the longer nap and that I actually tried to catch up on some sleep b4 the d/f...DH was out and the house was completely quiet---not out of the orrdinary.  I know it's silly, but I really thought that.)  I figured I was in for a rough night, but he slept til 6:45....whew!

I'm not sure how tonight will go but I don't know if I can handle a repeat of last night.  oh, i even checked to see if he was teething, but he is my 1st and each baby is different so as of now, my observations say he is not. :? sooo confused

carrie[/quote]

[Colesmom]

well, Cole went down within one minute just now!  I kept him up 2.25 hours since he woke from his catnap.  Not sure if I could have pushed it longer, but I wasn't willing to risk it.  I have to admit, I needed a night where he went down without fuss, and I figured, what's 15 minutes!

He slept through last night but wasn't asleep until 9:30, i hope that's no indication of his ability to sleep through.  If it is I'll have him up til 9:30 every night!  Naps have been great today so I'm just hoping we've really turned a corner. 

My only concern now is that he only poops every two or three days :shock:   Doesn't seem to bother him but I can tell he'll need to go soon...I just hope it's not during/after his DF or early feed tonight!

good luck with bedtime tonight.

Traci

[Aarismom]

Yeah, a lot of doctors say that babies can never sleep too much.

I sooo say they're wrong!!

However, my lo has slept 18 hours in a day before and never had any trouble with going to bed at night. I usually chalk days up like that to either catch-up sleep from a bad nap week or growth spurt time.

I never let my lo sleep more than 2 hours in the am, but the early afternoon one I have left her go as long as 3 hours and have been ok for night time. I'd rather she take a shorter morning one anyway...makes it easier to move her to one nap later (which I can't WAIT for...).

I think it really depends on when the last nap ended. I think I was reading somewhere that when the last nap ends, count on your lo being up 3 hours or so before going down for sleep for the night. It certainly holds true for us, and she's pretty textbook. I can not get her to sleep any earlier. So I never, ever let her sleep after 4 pm, since she wakes between 6:30 and 7am (I'd like her to get at least 12 hours of sleep).

*HUGS*
Sonya =P

[Colesmom]

aarismom:  that was the issue.  nap 2 ended at 3:00, catnap ended at 6:00 and i tried to put him down at 7:30 because he looke tired.  oh well, live and learn.  tonight he went down in 1 minute flat and I am going to go have a wonderful relaxing dinner!

[Noelle]

I just wanted to add.....I never let a catnap go so there's less than 2 hours before bedtime (even if that means it was only 20-30minutes)....I make sure there's enough time to be tired enough for bed