what is this about 4-6 mo olds not napping?

[PeepersMom]

I feel like DS is one of the only babies his age I know that has a problem napping.  Except the ladies on here, so obviously there are some or else there wouldn't be a nap forum.......but why are most babies able to nap and some not?  My sister, my friends, my parents, everyone I know IRL think this is odd and something is either wrong with me or my DS and I should talk to the doctor about it.

I mean obviously the common ground on this site is sleep issues, but I find it interesting that over and over again I see the encouragement offered to just get 'through this time frame' and the lo's will finally figure it out. 

I don't know what my point is, just that it strikes me as - different - to have this problem, not as normal.  Does that make sense? 

And please don't take this the wrong way, I am just really trying to have a discussion about it - I for sure have no idea what the heck I am doing and really NEED the advice and encouragement I get here.  Just something I am chewing on and trying to figure out....

 :?

[CaedensMama]

Not sure - we are struggling here too at 6 months.........

I have heard as they become more active and realize there is a world around them napping can sometimes become a challenge as they want to just keep going......

[KellyC]

I know what you mean!  Maybe we know too much - if I hadn't read BW books I wouldn't think there was anything 'short' about a 45 minute nap!  I also have a 3 month old who sleeps from 7pm until 7am so I concentrate on his nap 'problem'.  I don't think many mums I know have a baby who's so good at night so they probably haven't even got around to thinking about whether their baby sleeps well during the day!

Kelly x

[Gage and Sophie's Mom]

oh yeah, I hear ya! I have been meaning to ask the same thing. My family thinks I am crazy! You can tell they think I am an overprotective, method hopping, overindulgent first time mom.  No one really understands. Finally my DH understands and that took a while.

I get really sick of the advice of "just let him cry it out".I get questions like, "So ya ever just lay him on the floor to do his own thing?" Duh, of coarse I do! Do ya think I WANT to pack my child around ALL day? What I love the most is, "That is very odd, when my child was that old she was awake for 4+ hours and slept all of the time." Yeah, coming from a person whos daughter was perdominatley raised by grandma!

I am right there with ya! Sorry for the vent, we are having a rough day! Thank God for this site!

[Taylor's Mommy]

Hi there,

I think some of the otehr posters have said it well in that others don't necessarily "know better" (not meaning to sound superior or judgemental at all  :oops: ).  So that to them a 45 minute nap is not seen as a problem at all.  But those that have done some research, like us on this site, know that short naps are not always best for the child, therefore we try to do what we can to 'fix' them.

I think the reason why a lot of advice is to extend naps until they grow out of them is that for all babies, day sleep gets organized between 3-4 months of age.  So taht by 4-6 months many babies have outgrown and developed further along so that they no longer take short naps.  I'm not a sleep expert by any means, but have read a lot  :?.  So during this organization period, some babies are more prone to take the shorter naps than others for purely biological reasons.  And in fact as many as 18% of babies will get less than 2.5 hours of daytime sleep until they 12-18 months of age! 

Who's to really say what is normal and abnormal, especially considering that every single baby is different.  But I hope you get some reassurance here seeing how many of us deal with babies that take short naps.  Also feel good about yourself as a mom that you have done some research and are just trying to do what is best for your baby and your family.

HTH?

[Aarismom]

Yeah, I agree with Andrea.

Usually when my lo takes a 45 min nap, I tend to freak a little. She has historically been a great napper, and when she does the 45 min nap thing, I *know* she hasn't napped long enough, and I try to fix it. Usually I just end up extending "A" time, which does the trick nicely. But occasionally she goes through phases of short naps no matter what I do, so I get to the point where I tell her "If you want to be up, no fussing because you're tired!" and go about our day (because she refuses to go down again until it's nap time again or bedtime). Like she really understands that...but it does seem to work somehow, and I chalk it up to some developmental phase coming on.

I've also done a lot of research into sleep habits, and for awhile I was obssessed with it. Now I'm obsessed to a certain degree, but I don't panic about it quite as much as I use to. After reading through a lot of posts and watching responses, learning from many of them, comparing it to the research, and comparing it to my lo's behavior, I find that more and more while research is a great guideline when diagnosing a problem and fixing it, babies are vastly different enough that sometimes you have to throw guidelines out the window and just go with your gut, because your lo's problem just doesn't fit into the "research mold".

You know that your lo has had enough sleep by how he/she seems to be when they wake from a nap. If they're crying, then chances are they didn't sleep long enough. If they play happily, then they're fine. While it's always a good idea to at least try and convince them to sleep a little longer so they don't get fussy after only an hour or so of being awake after a short nap, even if they wake happy, as long as they're getting rested most days in your opinion based on their behavior most days, one odd day or two isn't going to totally throw them off.

If your lo has been historically a short napper no matter what you do, then chances are  a) it will iron itself out by 5-7 months and they will magically become a great napper, or b) they'll always be a short napper, and they fall into that 18% category that Andrea was talking about.

Anyway, just some thoughts from my experience.

*HUGS*
Sonya =P

[Taylor's Mommy]

After having time to think about my post I just watned to write one more thing.

Yes, for many young infants (under 4 months of age I mean), the short naps are developmental.  But that does not mean that some babies, ESPECIALLY when they get older, don't fall into the 45 minute naps because of a lack of routine or even a routine that is slightly off.  I just don't want it to come across that I'm saying "if your baby does the short naps than it is developmental and there's nothing you can do about it."

I have seen a lot of little babes almost being forced into the short naps because they are schlepped around in the car constantly, falling asleep at the boob, becoming way overtired before a nap, and the list goes on.

Recently Taylor fell into a routine of 45 minute morning naps for 2 weeks!  I finally changed her routine a bit and extended A time and no more short naps!  At 7 months of age I knew it had to do with routine and not because she was developmentally not able to do KWIM?

HTH!

[Mommy in Moose Jaw]

Us too -- short morning naps fixed by extending A time.  Not every day follows the exact same pattern, but I did find that IN GENERAL our dd prefers to stay awake for 3+ hours then nap for 2.  She wasn't having any of this napping business at the 2 hour mark.  So pm A time includes 2 BF's and now one 'meal' of early solid food as she sleeps 1 hour past her next BF time.  I just think that as long as we're encouraging independent sleep, not feeding to sleep, etc that your baby will develop her own best pattern.