Getting on a routine?

[nina]

DS is 3 months old......taking about 4 naps a day and sleeping through the night. I'd like to try to attempt a routine and my peds suggested that DS should get one morning nap, one early afternoon, and one late afternoon catnap. (this is Weissbluth).

This is currently how DS's day goes: wake at 6am, feed, play, nap around 7:15am-9am, wake, feed, play, nap again....etc, etc. He repeats this and gets about 4 naps/day. I've noticed that his afternoon naps are no longer than 45 minutes, at best. Thus, his 2 "big" naps are done around 1pm! His bedtime is around 8pm. I know I shouldn't complain as he IS sleeping and sleeping well..but it would be nice to have a more predictable schedule for the babysitter.

Any advice?

Thanks!
mom to Justin (5/28/02)

[mamahill]

In the 5 months that dd has been with us, I have realized that "predictable" and "baby" just don't go together. My mom kept saying the same thing as your ped, but I just thought "Hey, she's sleeping, and that's good enough for me." Now that she's 5 mos, I've tried to regulate her naps. Monday she had 2 3-hour naps (one morning and one afternoon) and was awake the rest of the time. It was great, but she has refused to do it ever since. Yesterday after being awake for 4 hours, she fell asleep clutching one of her toys in her high chair. And now she is currently "singing" in her crib.

As unhelpful as this is, I just thought I'd commiserate with you - babies are strange creatures. I have noticed that she gets a better/longer nap when I've kept her awake for at least 2 hours. Other than that, though, DD's sleeping patterns changed when I was sick, when she had a growth spurt, when she learned to roll, when she decided toys were more fun than sleeping, and now that she's teething. AAAAAh - the only thing I can predict is that at night she will fall asleep (but I hesitate to write even that, because who knows what will happen tonight!).

Good luck!

[egoldber]

It sounds to me like your baby DOES have a routine. As long as this works for you, I wouldn't make yourself miserable trying to change it. My DD was still taking 4-5 naps a day at 3 months. I remember that sometime around 4 months she went to 3 naps a day, but she did it when she was ready. Then around 6-7 months she went to 2 naps a day. But she still occasionally sometimes takes 3 naps. And today she only took 1 nap. So, like us, some days babies are sleepier than others. It sounds like you already have "healthy sleep patterns" established, so it is more important to follow your DS's clues and make nap transitions when he is ready. I promise that you will be nothing but miserable if you try and force a nap routine on your son that he's not ready for.

[Melanie]

I just wanted to add that I just got the "No Cry Sleep Solution," and in it they mention that a baby's internal clock doesn't coincide with our 24-day until at least/about 40 weeks.



Mommy to Jonah

[Elaine]

I'm just echoing want others have said -- don't force the issue too much. At 3 mo. old, it's wonderful that your son is sleeping thru the night and on a relatively predictable nap schedule. My daughter is 9-1/2 mo. old and still often takes 3 naps a day. I've heard how she is "supposed" to be down to 1 or 2 by now, but I'm not concerned. She has always been a cat-napper. One hour naps are almost all she every takes, often they are only 30-45 min. She has been sleeping through the night since approx. 4 mos. As long as that continues I feel she is doing just fine.

The schedule your son is on now will change, just about the time you think you've "got it down". LOL If your sitter is a good one, she'll go with the flow. :-)

Good luck!