Please give advice on sorting out naps!!! Long with LOTS of info!!

[Luke-n-Me]

hello!  My DD, now 5.5 mos. has been doing 45-minute naps from 7 weeks.  After 7 weeks of trying to extend without success I just gave in to the 45 min naps and got her up after she awoke.  Well, about a month ago, she began to wake from her naps just talking to herself rather than screaming.  For her morning nap, I would always leave her talking for about 15 minutes-30 min. more until she had been in bed for at least an hour and if she didn't fall back to sleep (which she never did), I just got her up. 

For her p.m. nap, I would let her go longer, like 45-minutes just talking to herself and she would fall back to sleep.  Over the last 1-1.5 weeks, her p.m. nap has lengthened to 2-2.5 hours as a result.  However, that morning nap continues to be short and now I'm noticing that after that short a.m. nap, she gets up happy, but she's still tired and is wanting to take a nap again within 45 minutes.  THerefore, she wants to nap when I need to feed her and then she's grumpy and difficult to feed.  So, today, I thought that maybe since we got the p.m. nap lengthened, I need to work on the a.m. nap-----------the result..................she put herself back to sleep after 45-minutes of talking to herself this morning, but for her p.m. nap, she only slept 20 minutes, woke and talked to herself/fussed a little for 45 minutes and then went back to sleep.  SOOOO.......

My question-----do I just settle for the short a.m. nap and get her used to that even though she needs it to be longer and then be happy that she gets the long p.m. nap or do I tough it out for a few weeks and do this for all naps and hope that they both lengthen, what would you do?  TIA, I really appreciate anybody taking the time to read this and helping me figure out what to do!

[Taylor's Mommy]

Hi nancy,

First off, your post wasn't that long!  I've seen a lot longer including some that I've written! 
anyhow, gosh, this is a predicament you're in huh?  Bravo on getting that pm nap sorted out!  2-2.5 hours is amazing.  I would say to leave things be since like Stacy said, some lo's do start taking a shorter am nap and a longer pm nap (mine included), but since you say she isn't really making the stretch with the short am nap, you may want to try to lengthen it a bit.  But let me first ask you, does she perk up at all and get a second wind with a feeding or a change of scenery?  I just know that at this age their cues can be so confusing and sometimes they are acting tired but really just want a change of scenery or need a pick me up with a feed.

[Luke-n-Me]

Thank you Andrea and Stacy.  Your input really helped me.  I was actually at work today thinking about this and wondering how she did today at the babysitters and I decided to just stick with the short a.m. and long p.m. and not to mess that up.  She had her short a.m. and 2 hour p.m. nap today at the sitters, so I really am grateful that we've at least gotten this far.  She really struggles a bit after that short a.m. nap, but you know, Andrea, she does get  a bit revived after I've fed her and can stay awake a full 2 hours without a ton of fussing, so I'm just going to let her adjust to this and if she eventually starts taking a longer a.m. nap great-if not, the schedule we have is certainly a pretty good one too!  Thanks so much for your time, I was afraid my post was too wordy!!!

[Taylor's Mommy]

That's great Nancy.  It does sound like you guys are doing great and if she seems to perk up after a meal in the am, then leave well enough alone huh?  If it ain't broke don't fix it right? 

[LŠuren]

I would go with the flow, it seems to be working for you both