| Author | |
insegnante
Forum All-Star
Joined: April 07 2006
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1143
|
| Posted: July 06 2009 at 11:12am | IP Logged
|
 |
|
Remind me -- when babies start sleeping less during the day, do they usually keep several short naps before they consolidate it to a 2-hour-or-so midday nap that they'll be taking at least through toddlerhood?
Or if my 10-month-old rarely sleeps much longer than 30 minutes during the day, am I likely not going to have a toddler who takes the nice 2-hour (or even 1-hour) nap?
These days, her pattern is something like this: night sleep from a very variable time (anywhere from say 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.!) to usually somewhere in the 8 to 10 a.m. hours depending of course on her "bedtime." She does wake once or twice for nursing and goes back to sleep easily enough but other than that, just briefly when something disturbs her.
During the day, it depends on when she woke up, but it might be very roughly typical for her to nap for 20 minutes around lunchtime. This earliest nap of the day seems most fragile and even if it's interrupted when it's barely begun, she seems happy to stay awake. Then she may nap for half an hour or so, maybe 40 minutes, closer to dinnertime. She usually has an evening nap, and this may be longer, 30-45 minutes or even an hour? If she goes without the evening nap for long enough, it may just turn into an "early" bedtime.
I enjoy her company but right now am also really enjoying her nap and thinking it would be great if, say, that early evening nap would shift and become part of a longer early afternoon nap.
__________________
Theresa
mommy to three boys, 3/02, 8/04, and 9/10, and a girl, 8/08
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Barbara C.
Forum All-Star
Joined: July 11 2007
Location: Illinois
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 882
|
| Posted: July 06 2009 at 2:10pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Back when I read The No Cry Sleep Solution I copied out the chart of how much sleep a child needs at different ages. Age 9 months=14 hours total (11-12 at night, 2 naps = 2 1/2 to 4 hours sleep together). Age 12 months= 13 to 14 hours total (including one long or two shorter naps).
That being said, every child is different. My oldest has always tended to need the higher number, but she stopped napping completely at age 2. She'd go, go, go all day and then sleep, sleep, sleep all night. My second daughter needs less sleep at night and since age 2 only naps every third day or so.
I recommend seeing if you can tweak the situation. Maybe set a certain morning wake-up time no matter what the bedtime was.
Also, if you already co-sleep she may not be napping well if you are not there with her. My oldest would not sleep more than 30 minute without me laying next to her. With my 14 month old I can leave her for about an hour, but if she gets into light sleep and senses I'm not there she'll wake up completely. If she senses me there then she'll stay asleep. This is both a curse and a blessing. 
__________________
Barbara
Mom to "spirited" dd(9), "spunky" dd (6), "sincere" dd (3), "sweet" dd (2), and baby girl #5 born 8/1/12!!
Box of Chocolates
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
LucyP
Forum All-Star
Joined: Aug 05 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 791
|
| Posted: July 07 2009 at 2:40pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Our daughter stopped napping completely about the age of 1 year - a shock as our son still napped for at least an hour a day at four. She just never needed as much sleep as she was "supposed to" - she gets 11-12 hours a night and that seems to do her.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JodieLyn
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006
Location: Oregon
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 12234
|
| Posted: July 07 2009 at 2:56pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I would try to push back the earlier nap and see if the later nap won't be longer and help you get more stable sleeping times all the way around. Those transition periods are always so hard.. going from two naps to one nap and one nap to no nap.. there's always a period where a nap is too much but no nap is not enough. 
But I agree with Lucy, the "should sleep" times are really an average.. which means some children simply won't need that much sleep. I found that mine will sleep LESS at night when they nap during the day past about 2 yr (several earlier) and I need that evening down time to unwind before I sleep and then I need enough sleep so a long night sleep is much preferable to a nap and then a short night sleep.
__________________
Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Maggie
Forum All-Star
Joined: Dec 01 2007
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 712
|
| Posted: July 07 2009 at 3:07pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I second the "No Cry Sleep Solution" and the "No Cry Sleep Solution For Toddlers"...available at most libraries :)
My 1st dd rarely slept...took catnaps...nursed all the time.
My 2nd ds was much more predictable...and still naps. His sister gave up naps altogether by 25 months...
All babies are soooooo different. Wish it were easier...
Maggie
__________________
Wife to dh (12 years) Mama to dd (10) ds (8), dd (1), ds (nb) and to Philip Mary (5/26/09), Lucy Joy (12/6/09), and Margaret Mary (3/6/10) who entered Heaven before we had a chance to hold them.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Kath
Forum Rookie
Joined: May 31 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 66
|
| Posted: July 07 2009 at 4:57pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I highly recommend the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth. It is not an AP book, but it does have extremely valuable information regarding typical sleep cycles at different ages, how long your baby can stay awake before getting overtired, typical sleep problems, etc. I'm sure the library has it.
For instance, I think a 10 month old would usually take a morning nap (about two hours after waking), an afternoon nap, and sometimes a very short third nap in late afternoon. My two boys have fit this pattern for the most part but I know other babies that don't--playing the guessing game with babies sleep is so hard!
__________________
Katherine
Mom to ds 8, ds 5, and ds 3
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
insegnante
Forum All-Star
Joined: April 07 2006
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1143
|
| Posted: July 07 2009 at 6:15pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Thanks for the thoughts. I know we have that No Cry Sleep Solution book but haven't consulted it yet with this baby.
I'm not really bothered by her daytime sleep pattern and I find her night sleep pattern delightful; just wondering whether the way she naps now is an indication that she probably won't nap very differently when she's 1 or 2.
I might try a little adjustment though -- I certainly prefer when the environment doesn't lead to an evening nap and she's down for the night earlier! We actually have not been co-sleeping at night anymore (she's in a crib in our room now) but she is very often napping on my lap, as she still usually nurses to sleep unless she falls asleep in the car, so her missing my presence during the naps is not why they're short. Her afternoon nap(s) are usually spent close to a Mommy who is gratefully relaxing at the laptop :) She's also often on my lap for quite some time after she begins her night sleep. But she's been doing well in the crib too.
I am pretty sure I now remember that our oldest started taking the one long afternoon nap after dropping the more frequent but much shorter catnaps. When our boys were toddlers, it was always a good idea to try to get the nap to happen earlier (like right after lunch)rather than 3 p.m. or beyond... oh, the dreaded "dinner is late and he just fell asleep at 6:30 p.m." scenario!) or else it will be hard for them to fall asleep at a reasonable hour. Our younger boy is almost 5 and we still have to exercise care not to drive too long at certain times of day and to keep him awake if he looks drowsy at home in the late afternoon or evening if we don't want him to be wide awake waaay too late.
__________________
Theresa
mommy to three boys, 3/02, 8/04, and 9/10, and a girl, 8/08
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Barbara C.
Forum All-Star
Joined: July 11 2007
Location: Illinois
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 882
|
| Posted: July 07 2009 at 9:10pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Just thought I should note, that the chart is really about the only thing of value I remember from No Cry Sleep Solution. I wasn't recommending the book necessarily, just citing my reference.
Of course, the greatest thing about babies and sleep is that just as soon as you think you've got the working pattern down they hit a developmental spurt and it all changes. 
__________________
Barbara
Mom to "spirited" dd(9), "spunky" dd (6), "sincere" dd (3), "sweet" dd (2), and baby girl #5 born 8/1/12!!
Box of Chocolates
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JodieLyn
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006
Location: Oregon
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 12234
|
| Posted: July 07 2009 at 9:14pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
My one cat napper as a tiny baby did move to a single longer nap a day as a young toddler.. but she also gave up naps by age 2.
__________________
Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
anitamarie
Forum All-Star
Joined: Oct 15 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 819
|
| Posted: July 08 2009 at 9:02pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Kath wrote:
I highly recommend the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth. It is not an AP book, but it does have extremely valuable information regarding typical sleep cycles at different ages, how long your baby can stay awake before getting overtired, typical sleep problems, etc. I'm sure the library has it.
For instance, I think a 10 month old would usually take a morning nap (about two hours after waking), an afternoon nap, and sometimes a very short third nap in late afternoon. My two boys have fit this pattern for the most part but I know other babies that don't--playing the guessing game with babies sleep is so hard! |
|
|
I second this book. It is excellent.
I have actually gone to a pediatric sleep specialist about 2 of my babies with poor napping skills. The morning nap should start between 2 and 2 1/2 hours after wake up (if 8 is wake up then between 10 and 10:30). And the second nap should start 2 1/2 to 3 hours after the waking from the first. So, if baby went down at 10 and woke at 11, between 1:30 and 2:00 would be start of second nap. With my last baby, the sleep specialist told me that by 9 or 10 months, if they are still taking a 3rd nap it's because second isn't long enough.
She always says that people wait too long to put baby down and then they don't sleep well.
Also, first nap should be about an hour to an hour and a half and second should be same maybe longer.
After getting a sleep plan for each of these children, we were able to teach them to nap. The older napped until he was 3 1/2 almost 4. Even after 4, he would nap occasionally. At 6 months he would only nap for 1/2 hour at a time a few times a day. He is still nap champ. We'll see if the younger outdoes him. The younger one is 2 1/2 and still taking a 2 to 3 hour nap everyday, and sleeping 10 hours at night.
One funny thing, make sure she's comfortable. When my dd (2 1/2 now) was a baby, she went from taking 2 great naps to taking a great morning nap and a very short afternoon nap. I looked at what was different and it turned out to be pajamas. She was still in them at morning nap, but not in afternoon. I suspected she was getting chilled. We started putting her back in pjs at second nap, too, and VOILA - napping baby. So, you never know.
Like everybody said, every baby is different, though. Good luck. PM if you want even MORE detail or have any questions.
God Bless,
Anita
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
insegnante
Forum All-Star
Joined: April 07 2006
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1143
|
| Posted: July 24 2009 at 12:04pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Anita, I've remembered what your sleep specialist said about the third nap and been making an effort to promote longer earlier naps for my baby. I'm not sure what else may have played into it, but she does seem to be taking longer naps earlier in the day. She just woke up from an hour and a half nap, her first of the day, whereas her first nap of the day was usually about a half hour if not less. I guess one reason may have been because I just accepted that she was waking up when she first stirred, but now I will try to nurse her back down.
Also, it surprises me that noise from her brothers seems like it may interfere with her napping more than that 20-30 minutes. I guess the other kids were heavier sleepers during naps -- but she has much less interrupted sleep at night than they did. When my husband or mother has said something about not wanting to wake any of them up from naps with everyday sounds, I've always been like, "Oh, that doesn't happen." But with her it apparently does. A couple of times when it was unusually quiet here she fell asleep for naps totally off her usual schedule. Maybe she associates the quiet with sleep time since it's usually only so quiet at night after the boys' bedtimes (not that she never spends any significant time awake after that!)
__________________
Theresa
mommy to three boys, 3/02, 8/04, and 9/10, and a girl, 8/08
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: question about baby/toddler sleep
