5.5 mo old, awake only 1hr in am, 45 min naps...

[Jessi]

Hi there,
  I'm trying to determine the best way to approach adjusting my dd to a more regulated routine.  Right now, she's 5.5 months old. She sleeps well through the night and generally wakes around 7.  The thing is, by 8am, she's yawning and totally ready to go back down.  Then she does the 45 min thing.  Actually, most of her naps are 45 min and I haven't tried to extend them, as I have a mad 2yo running around.  The past couple of days, she has actually taken the a two hour nap in the afternoon, so I think she may start to straighten herself out, but the morning times are different.  She seems so tired after an hour that I put her down because I don't want her to get overtired.  Should I try extending awake time by 15 min or so every few days?  Would that help encourage a longer am nap?  She's an angel baby and pretty adaptable, so I'm not anxious about trying new things, just curious about the best way to approach this.

TIA!
Jessi

[corrina01]

Should I try extending awake time by 15 min or so every few days?

Yes you should do this.

Could you post your routine and we will see the best way to approach this.

[Jessi]

Hi Corinna,
  Thanks for the reply.  I tried the 15 min of extending awake time this morning.  DD did okay and fell asleep right away when I did put her down, then woke up her usual 45 min later.  She was WIDE awake and happy.  Took her and ds for a jog and she slept another 45 in the stroller while I was running.  Our day today looked like this:

6:30 awake and BF
7 cereal
7:45- down for nap
8:30-up and happy
10-10:45- nap in stroller
11:00 - bottle
12:30-2:15-Nap! 
2:30-bottle
5:30-cereal, bath,etc.
6:30-bottle
7:00-asleep

This evening wasn't typical.  She still usually takes a catnap then goes to bed around 7:30.  We do the best we can with her schedule with her older brother running around, but this type of day is pretty usual for us.  This week she has either taken a long nap in the am or in the afternoon.  It feels like she may be working it out on her own, but I was just hoping that there is something I can do to help her along.  She was definitely overtired by this evening.  How long do they typically hold on to the evening catnap?  Usually it's between 4 and 5.  I don't remember from ds!   Anyway, whatever input you could give me would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks,
Jessi

[corrina01]

Keep on extending the morning wake time 10mins every few days.  She could last about 2hrs awake time at this age.  As her morning nap is only 45 mins, this means she is not tired enough to go that extra sleep cycle.

They normally drop the catnap at around 6/7 months.  My DD dropped it when she was 8 months.  When they do drop the catnap, keep offering it as they may need it, just to get through to bedtime, then the longer she is awake you can drop it completely.  Generally they have to have about 3hrs A time to drop the catnap.

HTH