Q for those with babies on 'a schedule'

harmonicbabe26

Anybody doing some sort of a 'eat play sleep' schedule? Not asking if you follow BW or any other book etc. just curious about how long other babes stay awake betw feedings and naps... My DD 1 was on a 3hr schedule pretty much from the beginning. Never took long naps, 30 min max, but was able to stay awake longer so we fed every 3hrs and were able to do more stuff with her and as a family. Then at about 7m she went on a 4hr schedule and dropped to 2 naps 1hr each.
This kiddo though... it's a struggle to get her to stay up past the 1hr 20-30min mark, followed by a crappy 30min nap and we're feeding again... 2 hrs round the clock... If I take her outside to explore the yard etc or if we're out 'visiting' with neighbors and other kids, she'll stay up, up to 2hrs (but still rubs her eyes and looks super sleepy in the process) and then we stretch it to 2.5hrs. But it's SUCH a struggle! And it took forever to even get to the 2hrs...
I know I know, each kid is different, she may need more frequent breaks etc but come on! She's already 5mo! She should be able to stay awake for 2 hrs at a time, right? I wonder if I should even bother and try to stretch her awake times or just let it be and do the rinse repeat every 2 hrs.... At this rate she will be a year old eating every 2 hrs and sleeping 5 times a day. O_O I just can't entertain her in such an intense way all the time, between school drop off/pick up, making dinner etc... She'd need to 'work with me' and stay awake out of her own will at times... Know what I mean?

Any ideas, tips, comments? Should I push it or keep going with 2hrs with the thought 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'?

mattandlora

Go with it for now. My DS was always a little behind the "supposed to" nap schedule. Most kids settle into 3 naps per day around 2 months. He took 4 naps and it wasn't a regular schedule until 3 months old. Even now, he's almost 2 and still takes 2 naps. Most kids drop to 1 nap around 18 months. Whatever. As long as he keeps a routine, I'm not worried.

Have you heard of the 2-3-4 schedule? Morning wake-up, down for a nap in 2 hours. Next wake-up lasts 3 hours. Next wake-up lasts 4 hours, then bed. It never worked for my son because his naps were usually 30 minutes long. Unfortunately it sounds like your LO is the same.

One other thing I heard: you're either blessed with a good napper or a good night sleeper, not both. I hope it's true for you and you at least get some good nighttime sleep

rspalding001

I agree that for now just follow her lead. Its so hard when you are in the moment but I guarantee you she wont still have this schedule at 1 year old Our DD prob took naps every couple hours at this age too if I recall correctly but I think around 8 months things started to stretch out and sleep at night got better at the same time too. Hang in there!

mandyreads

We don't have a daytime schedule with our LO. She goes down after being up an hr. Eats about every 2-3hrs. But I just lay down with her in my bed for naps. And once she is asleep I get up and do my stuff. Her naps fluctuate in time.

At night she wants to be in bed around 7-8pm. But two nights ago she went down at 6:30p. And then last night took a late nap at 5 and woke around 6:30 just long enough to change into night clothes and top herself off with a little bottle. So I guess you can technically say she was in bed at 5p lol

She usually sleeps until around 1-2am. Eats and then back to bed.