Sample routine for 6+ month old 45-minute napers

[chomer]

Hi all,
Well, yes, I am still dealing with the 45-min monster.  If you are or did around the 6-7 month mark, can you share your routine with me?  My DS is getting 3 45-min naps.  First is around 9 AM, second around 12:30 and third around 4 PM.  He's usually in bed around 7 AM and sleep 11-12 hours.  Would love to hear your routines...
Courtney

[Missy Lou]

I'll give you my routine but it's not one that I'm happy with because my lo  needs more sleep than just 45 minute stretches.  i can't tell from your post whether you're ok with 45 minutes or not. 

Wake at 7 a.m.

E:  7
A: 7-9
S: 9-10:15 - this is actually two 45 minute naps.  I put 10:15 but it's usually  later because after 45 minutes, she'll wake and then go back down about 15-20 minutes later for another 30 or 45 minutes.  I put her back down or spend those 15-20 minutes trying to get her back down because she's cranky after waking.

A: 10:15 or so - 11
E:  11
A:  11-12:15
S:  12:15-2:15.  Usually the same issues at this nap.  Up after 30 to 45 minutes.  Sometimes she'll stay up after only sleeping 45 minutes and is a mess.

A:  2:15 - 3
E: 3
A: 3-4:30
S:  4:30 - 5:30

A:  5:30 - 6:30
E: 6:30
S: 7

This probably isn't super helpful because our routine is crazy now because she has trouble napping recently.  Maybe one of the mods will read this though and be more helpful than I can be.

What is your routine now?  How much A time can your 6 month old handle?

[becky1969]

Hi! My LO is 7 months old. He recently started short napping in the AM (after 30-45 min, wake-up - but I'd often be able to get him back to sleep for another 45-60 min -- but not always!). I figured out he didn't have enough A time. This same thing happened at 12 weeks and for the exact same reason. I really really watch his sleep cues, but honestly as he gets older, they are less distinct! Sometimes there's lots of yawning in the AM, which is confusing. Also, now that he's older he fusses from teething, getting bored, etc., so that isn't always reliable as a sleep cue! Anyway, I accidentally kept him up longer one morning, and lo and behold his nap went back to it's regular length! (1.5 hr).

Here's our current routine:

Awake 7 am
E 7:30 (bottle)
Solids 8:30
S 10-11:30

E 12:00
Solids 13:00
S 14:30-16:00

E 16:15 (try to get this bottle in early since we have another before bed)
Bath 18:15
Bedtime routine: books, bottle, song, bed
19:00 bed

10:30 dream feed (hope to be dropping this SOON!)

This routine is working really well for us now. If the AM & PM nap are less than 3 hours in total, then we sometimes add a cat nap in there to help him make it to 7-7:30 pm. But for the last week or so, the cat nap has been history. At 6 months, he still definitely needed that cat nap as he was only doing about 2.5 hours of awake time.

YOu might play around with that first awake time a little by making it longer in 10-15 minute increments, and see if that helps. When I first did this, he still had a stirring/minor wake-up at the 30-45 minute mark, but his eyes remained closed and he clearly wanted to go back to sleep. After a couple of days, he got used to the new routine and is now sleeping thru without a peep like he used to.

[chomer]

Hi ladies,

Well, my ds is now 7.5 months old and his previous 45 min naps are now 30 mins (if I'm lucky).  Up until about 6 months old I was not OK with these short naps, but now he is in great spirits w/ just a few minutes of shut eye and his 'A' time is around 3 hours.  Additionally, since about the 6-mth mark I've been unable to extend his naps, where as I could previously.  So, yes, I'm OK with them b/c he seems ok with them.  Having said that, this is not my preference and I don't see dropping the late afternoon catnap for a long time to come.  He gets about 1 hr and 20 mins of naps in a day (3 separate naps) and then clocks 12 hrs at night (7 PM to 7 AM).  So, his schedule is:

7 AM up
9:30-10 AM nap
1-1:30 nap
4:30-5 nap
7 PM-ish bed

He has 4 bottles/day and solids for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  He's a pretty good eater.  He just started sleeping on his stomach which is so cute, but he soaked through every morning.  I have to change the mattress pad!  Not sure what I can do about it though...

Are there any other mom's out there who have sub-45 min nappers???  One other question, I am feeling a bit house bound b/c my DS only naps in his crib.  He doesn't fall asleep in the car or stroller.  It makes it really hard to travel any where.  My in-laws are 3 hrs away and the last few minutes of the drive are always spent with screams.  Does this sound familiar to anyone?

[chomer]

Ok, I'll try extending.  Actually, this AM he didn't go down until 9:45 AM and I think I heard him up well before 7 AM.  Nonetheless, he woke up from his nap at 10:15 AM.  So you think extending is the thing to do or just roll with the short naps since he seems happy???  Do you think the short naps are hurting him in some way??

[chomer]

Ok, thanks for your thoughts.  I'll have to get mentally prepared for this :-)  After 4 months of shh/patt and wake to sleep I'm a bit burnt out.  I'd actually found some happiness in the fact that he finally seemed rested.  No doubt, I would absolutly LOVE the freedom...