How to tell if the nap was long enough?

[CaedensMama]

Okay - I have been working with Caeden on getting him onto 2 naps a day at set times (roughly) rather then just napping 2 hours or so since the last one. I needed to get a better idea of when his naps were, etc. So far he is doing pretty good at the times (we are aiming for 9-9:30 and 1:30-2 for going down times) BUT we are really struggling with the lengths. Morning is typically 30 minutes, with help back to sleep and then another 30-40 and then afternoon is about an hour and maybe will go back for another 20-30 with help.
My struggle is he is often up by 3-3:30 and this is a push to a 7-7:30 bedtime, but I am having trouble pushing the naps any later. He is typically awake by 7 and so by 9:30 is really ready for a nap.
I have tried closer to 10 and it didn't make a difference in the length, I just had fussy baby the last 45 minutes before the nap.

Any thoughts here........should I keep going and see how he does - we have been doing this for about 2 weeks now.
Or do have any sugestions for anything to tweak ot try to change?

Thanks a miillion.

OH - BTW - Caeden is 6 months..........

[CaedensMama]

We have tried and the only way I can get a catnap is if we are in the car.........I have tried putting him down and we just fight going to sleep for the entire hour and then I finally stop when it is getting late enough that he really should be up.

At what age do they typically stop the catnap?

Is 2-3 hours of nap during the day enough for a 6 month old? I was thinking it should be closer to 4........

[Caroline-Charlies Mummy]

Hi Jennifer,
How long is Caeden sleeping at night for? I think a catnap is the way to go (I know, I know, the hardest one to put them down for :roll: ). Have you checked this out:
http://www.babywhisperer.com/forum/typical-hours-of-sleep-for-ages-1-week-to-6-years-vt3195.html
For his age, 2 naps a day probably isn't enough, so that would explain why he's struggling to get to bedtime.

If you really are struggling with the catnap, Tracy did describe it as a 'freebie', meaning that you can take it in the car (OK not always practical), but also does he sleep in the pram? Could you just take him out for a little walk for half an hour in the pram/sling? I know that's cheating, and not the ideal solution, but if he's doing well in his other naps, it won't do any harm, and a couple of weeks doing this could get him into the habit of sleeping at this time, and make it easier to try catnaps in his cot again.

HTH

[CaedensMama]

Okay - I checked out the thread you attached. There it says for 6 months - 2 naps of 1 hour and 1.25 hours is "norm". And for 9 months it goes to 2 naps of 1.5 hours each (and goes from 12-11 hours of night sleep)
My goal in my mind at this point was 2 naps of 1.5 -2 hours each. He is sleeping about 12 hours at night.
And according to that thread the catnap is dropped between 3-6 months.
Should I maybe just be okay with his hour morning nap and try for a 1.5 hour nap in the pm and figure he will be getting better at it over the next couple weeks?

At this point he is getting the catnap maybe 3 times a week cause we are out anyway. And it is too cold right now for walking - hasn't been above about 20 degrees for a week now. Maybe I will try just holding him for a 30-45 minute nap?

What do you think?

[Colesmom]

Hi Jennifer,

If he is getting 12 hours of night sleep then he may not need 4 hours of day sleep.  Some babies will do this, but not all.  I think you have a good strategy in going with the hour long morning nap and trying to extend the afternoon nap.

Getting rid of the catnap is not written in stone.  Some babies don't drop it until about 9 months, my DS included.  I tried dropping it for a few weeks and I ended up with a very tired baby waking every hour at night.  Fortunately for me he goes down very well for this nap.  So you may want to consider keeping this nap for a while longer if he seems to need it.

As for holding him for the whole nap, I'm not sure it's such a good idea.  I don't think you'd want him getting used to you doing that.  Maybe Charlie's Mummy will have an opinion on that but my first instinct is to try to have him sleep independantly, but not in his crib as mentioned above.

[Paulsmama]

Hi, just wanted to let you know that for us it took quite a while to drop the catnap.  It is just now on the way out (DS is 9 mos) and he's been fighting it for months.  When he started moving around more around 7.5 mos the catnap was easier for a few weeks because he would tire himself out.  Most recently for a couple of weeks in the transition I did hold him until he fell asleep for the catnap.  I would put him in the crib and if he wanted quiet time there, great, but if he started yelling or getting worked up I would pick him up to calm him down and he'd fall asleep on me.  Then I'd put him in the crib and get him up after 1/2 hr or so total sleep time.  Then there were a few days where it seemed he'd just need to doze on me for 10 min or so to recharge.  For the past week now he's taken a long enough afternoon nap (until 3:15-3:30) to make it to a 7:00 bedtime, as opposed to 7:30 with the catnap.  However, we still do "quiet time" for 1/2 hour after supper and before his bath or he'd be exhausted.  Hope this helps a little, and good luck!

[Caroline-Charlies Mummy]

Hi again,

I think if you are really struggling with the catnap, I would try extending the other two naps, and then see what happens, maybe he will be OK without the catnap, or he will be less overtired and go down more easily for it. I would concentrate on this, rather than holding him for his catnap. I understand the theory behind it, but I'd be concerned that he's realise how nice it was, and start wanting it for other sleeps (dangerous as it's so close to bedtime :wink: ). BTW - my ds still has a catnap at nearly 9 months, he couldn't make it to bedtime without it, so don't feel pressure to make your lo stay up when he doesn't seem to be able to.

You mention that he gets a catnap maybe 3x a week when you are out - how is he then? Less overtired at bedtime? Less cranky? If so, then he still needs it.

I think the best thing you can do is work for 2 solid naps a day of 1.5-2 hours, and the idea of a 'quiet-time' is a great one. What are you trying to extend naps? Do you need help with this?