How long of an "A" time for 6 month olds?

[Sydney]

Hi everyone

I was just wondering for any of you with a 6 month old, how long their "A" times are?  I noticed lately that my dd starts yawning after 1 hour of "A" time and then is pretty crabby by 1 1/2 hours.  I would expect her to get at least 2 hours.  She sleeps 11 hours at night, so I don't know why she gets tired so quickly.  Her total nap time is about 3 - 4 hours and she still seems to need that catnap?  normal???

Just curious what others are experiencing.

TIA!

[HeatherC]

I was going to say that my dd had about 2 hrs of A time at 6 mos or thereafter.  However, the morning A time tends to be the shortest, so if your dd is tired after 1-1.5 hrs, go ahead and put her down then.  If she has a good 1st nap, then she might be able to stay awake longer for the next A time and then have another good nap.  Even if she is still tired after another 1-1.5 hrs of A time, go ahead and let her nap then and the catnap if she needs it.  She'll let you know when she's ready for a change.  Some babies need more sleep than others.  There really is no "normal" when it comes to babies.  By the way, are you including the time it takes her to feed in her A time?

[Sydney]

Thanks, HeatherC. Yes, I am including the time it takes to feed her.

[deenz]

Just wanted to add that I find yawning sometimes is not a very reliable indicator of tiredness... for my dd2, it's more the crabbiness that shows me she's ready for bed.  My dd2 is a bit older (few weeks) but I've found the first morning awake time to be around 1.5hrs (is just lengthening very recently) and then the next one to be more like 2hrs, or a bit longer.  My dd2 too still usually has a short catnap before bed (often in stroller/ car seat).

[Intransit]

My DS is 10.5 months old, and from morning wake up to first nap is about 1.45-2 hours. Somedays it is more near 2, others 1.5.....My son has always needed a lot of sleep. he has 2 naps a day one of 1.5, and the other an hour...and he sleeps through the night. If we miss a nap, or it is shortened for some reason then we always see the effects.
On the other hand, I believe Calums Mom has a LO who goes for quite a while between waking and nap..so it really does depend on your LO.
HTH

[Sydney]

Thanks everyone. Your input does help.  I just wanted to make sure it wasn't that odd that she couldn't stay awake yet for 2 full hours.  I think you are right in that she just needs a little more sleep than some 6 month olds.

[LŠuren]

DS goes 3hrs + of awake time (inc E time)  I think he is frightened he willl miss something when he is sleeping 

[*Natasha*]

From 5 months until a few weeks ago DD was going 2.5-3hrs awake time between naps. But lately Awake time is 3.15-3.5hrs and she is showing no signs of being tired most of the time i just don't let her go past 3.5hrs. I think Catherine is like Calum she is too busy playing and might miss something if she goes to bed.
I think we will be switching to the 1 nap early 

[corrina01]

At 6 months, my DD could only be awake for 1hr 40mins if I pushed it.

At 7 months 2hrs- 2hrs 20minw.

Then at 8 months, wham, she could stay awake for 2hr 30 mins before her 1st nap, and 3hrs the rest of the day.

We are now coming up to 10 months, and still she can only stay awake 2hrs 30mins- 2hrs45mins before her 1st nap, and then 3hrs - 3hrs 15mins before her 2nd nap and 4hrs before bedtime.

[johnc]

hmmmmm.... i am concerned after reading the threads we are keeping our lo up to long, he generally wakes in the morning at 6, then we dont put him down for a nap until 10.30 and he only has 45 mins.

should we be thinking of changing this?

john

[corrina01]

When my DD wakes at 6am I put her to bed around 9.30am and that stretching it a bit.

I would say put him down round about 8.30am -9am, if he is 6 months.

How old is he?

[johnc]

he is 6 months and 3 weeks.

basic routine

wake 6
was n dressed 6.30-7.00
breakfast 8.30 till 9.00 usually porridge followed by 5 oz bottle
activity till 10.30
sleep 10.30 till 9.10 usually
activity till 12
lunch 12-12.30 pureed veg and pudding
activity till 3, bottle 5 oz
sleep 3- 3.45 usually
activity till 4.30
tea 4.30 till 5.00 veg and pudding
activity till 6.30
bath routine 6.30 till 7.00
7.00 bottle usually 7-9 oz then bed

wakes usually at 2, then 4.

john

[HeatherC]

Although I tend to think babies of his age need more day sleep than that, some are perfectly fine on very little day sleep.  I would almost wonder, though, if he is overtired and that is causing the night wakings.  Does he take a feeding at both 2 and 4?  I think you could probably use BW sleep training techniques to change this waking habit and get him to sleep through.
Have you taken the baby temperment quiz to find out what personality type your lo has?  That could make a huge difference in determing why he doesn't sleep as much during the day and whether or not we could help you tweak your routine to help him get more sleep.