1 to 1 1/2 hour nap all day?

[mango_baby]

No matther what I have tried My SPIRITED 15 mo old will not sleep more than 1 1/2 hours for his daytime nap. He seems ready for only one nap but the problem is his wake up is 6-630 so he is ready for a nap mid morning. I try to put him down for another nap but after 1 hour of stuggling to settle him, I give up. I have tried everything : hand on back, holding him down, leaving the room  etc. For his short nap I have tried wake to sleep  but htat does not work at all.
He usually goes to bed at 6-7pm. So he is getting about 10-12 hours of sleep a night ( depending on the night with teething etc)
My question is, is this short daytime nap enough?
He is often unsettled during the night for his sleep, waking up and resettling when I go to him and place my hand on his back. Sometimes I don't hear a peep until 5 am( he always wakes ayt this time) or so. At this time I nurse him ( since it has now been 12 hours since food and I think that is a long time) and put him back in his crib where he sleep until 6-6 30.

Should I worry about my situation or is he getting enough sleep?

Any thoughts would be appreciated,

Melissa

[kim&savannah]

Melissa~

I can completely relate to your situation.  My crazy little spirited girl has kept me on my toes with her sleep from day one.   :roll:   She also only sleeps 1-1.5 hours many days and only sleeps about 10-11 hours at night.  But since she seems happy, I let it go.  We do everything we can to encourage her to sleep and provide her with plenty  of time to get enough sleep, but there isn't much else you can do.

About the early nap--at that age, I still put her down for a second nap in the afternoon, which she stopped going to sleep for, but she would play in her crib for an hour most days (that last for 3 or 4 weeks after dropping her second nap, I think) which gave me the break I desperately needed and seemed to give her enough "rest time" (she was NOT resting--it sounded like a zoo in there most days! )  Within a few weeks, she was able to stay awake a little longer and that ended our pm rest time.  Now, I just make her stay up until 12:30 or so (as long as it wasn't one of her 5 am wake-up days) and she tends to nap ok.

Some kids just don't need quite as much sleep--although some days she crashes and sleeps longer (about twice a month we get a good night and/or nap :roll: )

[LindseysMom]

Hello.  Lindsey's ped said that babies her age need a minimum of 12 hours of sleep per 24 hours.   I think he is ok, especially since he is older than Lindsey.  I am happy if she gets 13 hours per 24 hours.

[mango_baby]

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences.
Two quick questions though.
When you have the 5am wake up, what time does she go for her nap then?
For her quiet(haha) playtime in the pm and a break for you ( that is what I am finding I need) What do you do, just put her in her crib with some toys?? doesn't she cry when you leave?
thanx so much, I feel so much better and I have been wanting to just let this go and not worry. Thanx for the stress relief!

Melissa

[kim&savannah]

When she wakes really early, I just go by what she seems to be able to handle.  If she's get fussy or acting tired, I'll put her down early--maybe 11:30.  Some days, though, she falls asleep when we're out for a walk as early as 9.  Those days are the hardest cause then I have to struggle to get her to take a second nap, since the first is usually only 45 min. tops.

For her play time, at that point, she didn't really cry when I left the room.  We'd gotten to the point where she was playing a little before naps anyway, so the only difference is she just never went to sleep for that one.  And she was very happy to play with the few stuffed animals that are always in there. 

Now, she won't do this anymore--since her nap is from about 12:30 to 2, that is it for the day and I just have to enjoy the time I get to myself

HTH!

~Kim