early morning naps

2terps

Does anyone elses DC take an early morning nap? My boys are both ready to go for a nap about 2 hours after getting up in the morning. They tend to wake up between 5-5:30 (bed between 7-7:30). They will nap anywhere between 45 min to 1.5 hours. I am trying to get through the Ferber book and it seems as though this early morning nap is not a good thing? I can't fight them when they need to nap or I will pay for it....does this sound abnormal? They still seems to need at least a little snooze after 2-3 hours of awake. Should awake time be longer yet? So confused.....

TakYelgif

It may be that they just weren't ready to get up for the day, DS will wake around 5am take a bottle and go back to sleep for another 2 hours.

muppet.fan

DD is a lot younger, but she is usually ready for a nap about 2 hours after she wakes up. But my sister's DD is 11 months old and she gets up at 6 a.m. and is down for a nap usually by 9 a.m.

If only I could nap three hours after I wake up. My work day would go much smoother!

efooey

At that age my dd was only awake for 3 hrs before going down for a nap.  Also, if she would wake up at 5am she would normally eat and go right back down until 7am or even 8.  Maybe try putting them back down after that first nap and see if they will sleep in more!

 E 

pamela-matt

Mine still does this and at this point (15 months) it drives me nuts.  We have tried pushing back waking time, etc and nothing has worked.  I just roll with it and figure it will stop at the latest (next week) when he starts day care

choco_lab

I love the early morning nap!  Gives me time to get breakfast, start laundry, take a shower, read the paper! 

DS wakes up around 5:30.  I go in his room around 6 and give him a bottle. We play for about 30-45 minutes and then he wants to take a nap around 7 or 7:15.  He'll sleep for about an hour and then gets a bottle at 9.  After that, he's usually awake for 2 hrs at a time so this is pretty close to it.  I think in the morning nap it's just an extension of his night sleep. 

I'm not sure why you think this is a bad thing?  If that is their routine, I think it's perfectly normal! 

I had posted this the other day about awake time (I think I got it from babywhisperer.)  They are pretty close to that most of the day and 2 hrs for the first nap seems very reasonable!  I don't think the Ferber method would have an issue with an early nap?  If they are going down and happy, I'd just let it be...

Awake time for babies
Newborn 50-60 mins
1 month 60 mins-hour and 15
2 months 1 hour and 15 - 20 mins
3 months 1 hour and 20 - 30 mins
4 months 1 hour and 45 - 2 hours
5 months 2 hours - 2.25 hours
Late 5 months/early 6 months 2.25-2.5 hours
6.5 - 7 months 2.75-3 hours. Some are getting more.
8 - 10 months 3 - 4 hours. Some are getting more.
11 - 12 months 3.5 -4.5 hours. Some are getting more if moved early to 1 nap

charmcitygirl

We heard Jacob cooing in his crib at 5:45 this morning.  We gave him his paci trying to get a couple more minutes of glorious sleep and got him around 6:30.  He went back for a nap at 7:50 after falling asleep in our bed.  He's been asleep for an hour now, which is actually an excellent nap for him.  He generally does go down for a nap in the 8 o'clock hour.  I'm hoping that as he gets older, he'll push it back later.

skoorbnibor

depends on your school of thought.... Tracy Hogg, the Baby Whisperer believes that 2 hours is normal....
For me, E still takes a nap 2-2.5 hours after he wakes. Despite my long conversation with Skimmy the other day about dropping this nap, I am not ready for dropping it and neither is Ethan. Since about 9 weeks old, he has taken his 1st nap within this time frame and it works for us. He will sleep for 45 to 90 minutes and then he will be awake til 2 ish, and then sleep for 45 to 120 min or so...  He also sleeps 12-13 hours at night.

Do what works... for us, it DOES NOT affect his nighttime sleep