7 month old won't nap

[psimpson3-5]

I posted this previously in the sleep forum on someone else's thread. I'm very curious about your opinions on my son's nap issues. Please let me know your thoughts.

I work FT and DS goes to daycare 4 days per week. On Fridays, DH takes him to his parents home. He is currently 7 months old. His sleep schedule makes me think we're causing him harm. We get him to bed most nights around 9PM, and most of time he sleeps until 6:45AM. On most Saturdays, he goes to bed later and will sleep in a bit on Sunday morning. Sometimes he'll wake up overnight but we can usually get him back to sleep w/o me having to nurse. He just needs his pacifier.


At daycare I will be lucky if naps for half an hour around 10:30AM and again around 2PM. That's it! 2 half hour naps. He does the same thing to us on weekends. So it has nothing to do with being at home in a darker and quieter room vs loud and bright daycare. At home or at MIL's house, his 2 naps will maybe stretch to 45 minutes, but that's about it. The only time he'll sleep longer is if we're in the car running errands on weekends. He always falls asleep in his carseat.

Also, on weekdays he will usually also sleep about 30-40 mins on the way to daycare (8AM - 8:40AM) and virtually the entire drive home from daycare for just shy of 1 hour (5:20PM - 6:10PM).

Overall DS seems very happy. He doesn't cry very much. The daycare staff used to complain about how much attention DS needs because he liked to be entertained most of the day. He seemed so unhappy they thought there was a problem because he wouldn't nap longer than 30 minutes each time. Ever since he started "doing the worm" (propelling himself forward using his knees rather than actually crawling), the daycare staff tell me he is much happier and enjoys playing by himself.

I told the doctor about this at his last visit (6 months). I explained that I was concerned because DS doesn't nap much compared to other babies. The dr said that some babies just need more sleep than others and not to worry. I still worry though, especially when I read other posts that say other babies sleep longer than DS. I just hope we aren't causing DS any long term problems....

[PZMommy]

Both of my boys have been terrible nappers! My oldest started taking better naps once he moved up to the toddler room at daycare and all kids took a nap from noon until 2:00. That eventually transferred over at home as well. My youngest is 14 months and he takes several cat naps throughout the day, most not lasting more than 45 minutes. I'd say if your son seems happy and isn't overly cranky and is sleeping okay at night, I wouldn't stress too much about it.

Dawn

[amom526]

If he's happy and not bothering anyone, you don't need to worry about it. If I understand your post correctly, he is actually taking 4 shorter naps a day, and sleeping almost 10 hours at night. That definitely falls within the range of normal.

If you want him to nap longer during the day, there are 2 things you could try doing:

-try an earlier bedtime
-try to limit naps in the car which i realize may be impossible

Will DS go to bed any earlier? If he sleeps more at night, he may be able to make it to daycare without napping. At which point, he might be nice and ready for a longer nap around 930. Then hopefully he would take another afternoon nap at daycare, and not fall asleep on the car ride home. Falling asleep on the car ride home is probably keeping you from getting him to bed any earlier so it turns into a cycle...

but if his current schedule is working for everyone, there is no need to stress over trying to change it!

[llama8]

My DD1 stopped napping at 6 months. She is now almost 3 and she has never taken a nap since 6 months old. She is perfectly fine and daycare has learned to adjust to her not needing to sleep, She does sleep through the night like a trooper.

DD2 needs her nap and at 16 months, she still sleeps for 1-2 hours a day. I didn't realize babies do actually sleep.

I wouldn't be concerned about DC not napping. Some kids drop the nap pretty young and are fine.

[psimpson3-5]

...If I understand your post correctly, he is actually taking 4 shorter naps a day, and sleeping almost 10 hours at night. That definitely falls within the range of normal.

If you want him to nap longer during the day, there are 2 things you could try doing:

-try an earlier bedtime
-try to limit naps in the car which i realize may be impossible

Will DS go to bed any earlier? If he sleeps more at night, he may be able to make it to daycare without napping. At which point, he might be nice and ready for a longer nap around 930. Then hopefully he would take another afternoon nap at daycare, and not fall asleep on the car ride home. Falling asleep on the car ride home is probably keeping you from getting him to bed any earlier so it turns into a cycle...

but if his current schedule is working for everyone, there is no need to stress over trying to change it!


You're right. He is getting those extra naps during the car rides.

I'm sure he might go to bed earlier, but I get home around 6:15PM and I nurse him, then cook and eat dinner. We would really hate to get to spend no time with him by putting him to bed right when I get home. If he were so unhappy I would, but he doesn't seem too upset. I will admit however he gets really fussy around 8PM and starts rubbing his eyes. We give him dinner around 7:45PM and then immediately start the bedtime ritual.

I really wish I could keep him awake in the car, but he seems so miserable when he can't fall asleep due to traffic and my disability to keep the car moving.

[psimpson3-5]

It is definitely reassuring to have other moms share their similar experiences! Thank you!

[LizLemon]

I also wonder if an earlier bedtime would help. That is what Weissbluth suggests, and I found that it was generally the case for my daughter. She in general had a harder time sleeping at daycare but at that age was sleeping around 12 hours at night with 2 long naps during the day (if she was at home). If she was at daycare, it would be 2 naps, but shorter, generally 75 minutes or less each.


I'm sure he might go to bed earlier, but I get home around 6:15PM and I nurse him, then cook and eat dinner. We would really hate to get to spend no time with him by putting him to bed right when I get home. If he were so unhappy I would, but he doesn't seem too upset. I will admit however he gets really fussy around 8PM and starts rubbing his eyes. We give him dinner around 7:45PM and then immediately start the bedtime ritual.
We would find ourselves in this predicament at times. Our daughter is very agreeable and would stay up later if we kept her up, with minimal fussiness, such that we could find ourselves at times drifting to 9:00 or later bedtimes. However, it was clearly not the best things for her, like with your guy there were subtle signs that she was tired, so we worked as much as possible to get her to bed earlier, between 7 and 8. However, it is all what works for your family. My husband and I stay up late, so we would generally cook and eat after the baby went to bed so the time after work and before her bedtime could be focused on her. Starting solids really slowed things down, though because it seemed like all she did was eat and bathe in the evening!

[Smillow]

My DS was a terrible napper as a baby - just awful - he never slept for more than 45 minutes until he went down to one nap @ 11 months (and then it took months for him to get into a loong nap). He was also a horrible night sleeper - waking 4 times a night to nurse. I, too, was extremely worried that he wouldn't develop properly due to his lousy sleep habits (and I was extreme in protecting his right to nap!) - He's fine. Hang in there!

[logan's mom]

Your post sounds like DS1 to a T! Even the naps in the car on the way to and from daycare. He was always a happy baby so we just went with it but after having DS2 and do a little more reading on sleep issues, I am quite sure DS1 was exhausted all the time. :bag
I hated going back to work with DS1-cried every morning when I dropped him off at daycare. I felt very similar to you in that I wasn't sure what I could do to get him to nap more/longer since I was not willing to sacrifice what little time I got in the evening with him. And I was not willing to let him cry it out, I had enough mommy guilt just leaving him everyday.
If you are interested in seeing what other options you may have, I would suggest Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It really explained a lot about sleep patterns and restorative sleep.
Whatever you decide, just know that you are doing the best you can for your family right now. Good luck ; )

[BabyBearsMom]

Some kids just aren't big nappers. DD1 only did short naps at 7 months and it was next to impossible to get her to sleep. She became a really good napper when she switched to one nap a day (a little after a year) and then she started napping for 2 to 2.5 hours at a time.

[Philly Mom]

I was also going to suggest an earlier bedtime. FWIW, DD did not nap at daycare at 7 months but on the weekends she took two LONG naps (1 3 hours and 1 at least an hour), and slept 12-13 hours a night. Even though I also got home at 6 and she was a happy kid, easy going, I almost always had her in bed by 6:45/7 (when I was home with her, I put her down later because she napped in the car more). I had dinner afterwards. It sucked because we got no time together. Flash forward and once she was in the toddler room, she started napping at daycare. Most days she takes a two hour nap from 1-3, whether at daycare or at home. She now stays up until 7:30 or 8. It is great to have that time with her. Again, I feed her when I get home (we make dinner for her in advance) and I eat after I get her down. She still sleeps 12-13 hours a night. On the other hand, DH stopped napping all together at 8 weeks, yep 8 weeks. MIL says he was a relatively happy kid who just needed to be entertained or be active all the time. He went down at 7 every night and slept 12/13 hours.

[psimpson3-5]

I appreciate the input. You guys are probably right. I should be putting him to bed earlier. I have to admit that many times while I'm feeding him dinner he seems so tired, rubbing his eyes and the such. I guess we're being selfish because we want to spend that little time we can with DS. :bag

I wonder what his new schedule would look like... His current schedule is:
approximately (later on weekends)-
7:10AM - nurse
9:15AM - solids (cereal & fruit)
10:30AM - bottle/nurse
11AM-nap
12:15PM - solids (usually cereal & veggie & fruit)
2PM - bottle/nurse
2:30PM - nap
4PM - bottle/nurse
6:20PM - nurse
7:45PM - solids (usually cereal & veggie & fruit)
8:30PM - nurse
8:45PM - sleep

My concern is whether or not I should drop the 6:20 nursing and go straight to feeding solids.....?

Also, we used to have some really bad sleep issues. DS wouldn't sleep through the night once he hit the 4 month sleep regression. After we made it through the regression things were great, until he got croup. Yes croup. :sick: UGH! Then he would wake up several times again. We just very recently (maybe 2 weeks ago) got him sleeping through the night except every couple nights where we have to go give him his pacifier as he'll wake up and start crying. I'm terrified we'll end up having to let him nurse over night if we put him to bed earlier. On second thought, however, I'm sure we should try before I make the assumption that he'll wake up overnight.