refusing last nap of the day

[shem2005]

HI everyone
My DD has been on EASY since about 6 weeks - she is now 5 months. She feeds every 4 hours and has 2 x 2 hour naps and then one catnap in the late afternoon. Over the last 2 weeks her catnap has been about 1 hour and we have had to wake her from this.

Over the last 2 days she has taken 30 minutes to settle for her catnap late in the day. It is so weird cause we have worked so hard for naps and now she goes down with little crying and gets herself of to sleep, we plonk her in her cot and off she goes. Well the catnap over the past two days has been dreadful. Any ideas why this would be?

I thought she may be wanting to drop it but that would mean she would feed at 3pm and then be awake until her 7pm bedtime which is way to long. Should i just persist and hope it gets better?

[wilsmum]

Im also experiencing a similar problem (my DS is 5 months old).  He only seems to want the last nap every second day but if he misses the third nap he is overtired and difficult to settle for the night.  I have posted further down in this section "difficulties with late afternoon/early evening" but am waiting for replies.

[shem2005]

thanks for your quick reply. I would love DD to have 2 naps but she just isn't ready. She can only stay awake 2 hours max in the middle of the day so there is no way she could stay awake 4 hours.

I hope people have some suggestions for us.

[cashar]

Hi 

My DS did this exact thing at 5 mths. All of a sudden he decided he did not want the late afternoon catnap. He is now 6 1/2 mths and it depends on the day as to whether he naps or not.

I believe he was starting to not always need that nap. If he was a bit cranky we would try for it and at least have quiet time in his cot but if after 1/2 - 45mins no sleep I would get him up.

Going with the flow each day was all I could do. I found that increased mobility was also a factor, ie: interupted sleep as he was not keen on being on his tummy and lacked the strength to get back if he was wedged in corner of  his cot (this is still an issue).

The advice I received from other mums was that yes indeed some lo's may start to drop this nap as early as 5 months others much later.

Good luck.

Cas

Proud mum to 'spirited' Harrison

[Paulsmama]

Hi, I hope Meg's Mom doesn't mind, I am excerpting below some good advice she previously gave me about the catnap.  My DS is 7.5 mos and still takes his catnap.  Even when great sleeping on the other naps, he has been fighting the catnap literally for months but almost always eventually takes the nap -- has only missed it twice in recent memory.  I've actually found since DS has become much more mobile in the past week or so, he is getting tired more easily and better about taking the catnap.  So, I plan to keep offering it to him until, as Meg's Mom suggested --

Anyway, I think you should follow your instincts and stick w/ your current routine until:
1) he refuses his catnap for several days in a row
2) refuses other naps "
3) catnap gets so late that bedtime is moved back again...you are on the verge of getting too late.
4) nightwaking come back or increase.

PS: when he does drop the catnap, he won't go 4hr till bedtime...you will increase A times between the 2 naps so it is more like 2.5/3.0/3.0.