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newmomnyc
09-03-2003, 01:09 PM
Sometimes my 6 month old naps for 3 hours total per day, but usually it's 1.5 to 2.5 hours. Today she slept 1 hour in the a.m. and then only 45 minutes in the afternoon. Unfortunately, the second nap ended at 1:45 p.m. I guess I have to keep her up, somehow, until 6:30 (I don't like her going to sleep earlier than that). I don't see how we can get another nap in, as she wouldn't be sleepy again until 4:30 at the earliest, and that's way too late for a nap.

I'm wondering how others handle this. Please share your schedules and experiences! Thanks.

August Mom
09-03-2003, 01:53 PM
Well, I can relate. I keep reading posts from people who are complaining that their baby's naps are no longer 3 hours and I'm thinking my baby doesn't nap 3 hours in an entire day. DS usually sleeps 1-1.5 hours in the morning and then 1 hour in the afternoon. Sometimes it's shorter and sometimes it's longer, but he never naps more than 2 hours at a time. DS used to nap at around 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. but recently changed to 11 a.m. and 4 or 4:30 p.m. He made this change on his own and I was concerned about this affecting his nighttime sleep, but it really hasn't. He doesn't usually go to bed until 8:30 p.m., though. I generally follow his cues and put him down for a nap if he's acting tired, but even if he isn't giving classic signs of tiredness, I put him down for a nap within an hour of his normal range.

If she's cranky and you think she needs a nap (but she doesn't want to sleep), I'd try taking a stroller ride or a car ride or putting her in the swing. That way, she'll most likely take a cat nap but it won't ruin her nighttime sleep. HTH

newmomnyc
09-03-2003, 02:13 PM
You know, I must have the only baby around who doesn't nap in the stroller or the swing! Not even in my arms! Actually, I was going to start a new thread about this. Part of the problem is that I stopped trying stroller naps a while back. Now, when she gets sleepy in the stroller she becomes really really cranky and fussy, but doesn't sleep. I wonder if I persist and keep walking if she'll sleep? But in the meantime, she's creating a big scene, people are staring, I feel horrible for her, etc, so I always plan to be home for her naps now. Hmmmm...

So, how long does your baby stay awake at a stretch at one time? We were up to three hours (longer at the end of the day), but we're back down to 2.5 again. I don't like her sleeping past 3:30 because I like her to go to sleep before 7:30.

Sorry to babble. Sleep is the be-all and end-all for this mommy. I'm obssessed!

LucyG
09-03-2003, 02:21 PM
Oh, I could have written your post!! My baby is the same way. At 6 months, she sleeps 45 min. - 1 hour in the morning, and about 1 hour in the afternoon. I know she needs more sleep, but I am at my wit's end on how to help her get it. At least I know that I'm not the only one dealing with this!

MartiesMom2B
09-04-2003, 07:34 PM
How do you get your baby to sleep so early? Even if she stopped her naps at 3:00 she still wouldn't go to bed around 9:00 - 10:00. And then she's overly cranky. Last night was horrible. It was our anniversary and she refused to go to sleep until probably midnight. She would fall asleep while nursing and wake up maybe 15 minutes after I put her down crying.

Sonia
Proud Mommy to Martie 4/6/03

newmomnyc
09-04-2003, 07:41 PM
Well, she gets tired about 3-4 hours after waking. Our routine also seems to help--bath then bottle then bed. When she's out of the bath she seems to know it's bedtime.

During the day how long can your baby stay awake happily? And how long does she sleep at night?

MartiesMom2B
09-04-2003, 08:00 PM
This is her "normal" routine starting from bedtime.

She goes to sleep b/n 9 - 10 pm and wake up b/n 7:30 - 8:00 for a feeding and sleep until 9:30. She'll go down for an afternoon usually around 1:00 and wake up around 2:00 - 3:00. However today she slept from 2:00 - 6:20 so she's still up.

And during the day I can put her in the crib and she'll go to sleep on her own, but at night she has to nurse to sleep which I guess is a habit I need to break.

Sonia
Proud Mommy to Martie 4/6/03

newmomnyc
09-04-2003, 08:12 PM
Our days are pretty different. She usually sleeps from 7:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. or so (sometimes earlier, sometimes later). When she's up in the a.m., she's up for real. At that point, it seems as if she's had enough sleep for the night. (That said, she recently went through a phase where she was up at 5:30. EEEEK!! When that happened I was able to get her back to sleep occasionally, like 10% of the time. Oh well.) Then she stays up and naps around 9. Lately that's a longer nap. Then the short nap at 1 or 2. But this varies SO much. Recently, the morning nap was really short and I could get her to sleep longer in the afternoon. But sometims both naps are short. (Obviously, we don't have a clear schedule!) Also, sometimes she has trouble getting to sleep with her naps.

I'm just trying to relax and 'go with the flow' which is really not my nature.

Just goes to show you how different babies can be! By the way, I try to limit her naps to 2 hours these days (she's 6 months old now). That's a long nap your baby took this afternoon! I know it's hard to wake them up. Sometimes I don't wake her, because I figure that she's sleeping because she's just tired!

Sorry to ramble again. I'm sleepy myself.

newmomnyc
09-04-2003, 08:13 PM
P.S.

Sonia, Martie is such a cutie!!!

:)

MartiesMom2B
09-05-2003, 06:51 AM
So last night she went to sleep at 9:40 woke up around 11:00 and didn't go back to sleep until 1:00 AM. AAAhhh, it was the same the night before. I'm going to write her schedule down today.

Sonia
Proud Mommy to Martie 4/6/03