Are long naps bad for STTN?

dbertagni

I am so torn about Jocelyn's naps. She does 1 1/2 or so hours in the morning and then 3 hours in the afternoon, if it is an early afternoon nap, she can't last past 5:30 or 6:00 at night without another short nap around 5:00. If I keep her up, she is done for the night by 6:00, I can force it to 6:30 sometimes.  Right now she has been sleeping for 3 hours and I feel like I need to go wake her. Ugg. She will STTN most nights but is up by 5:45 or 6:00. The other night I thought she was going to take a nap at 5:30 and didn't give her a bottle (she was literally falling asleep on me) and she slept until 4:45 the next morning, had a bottle and then went back to sleep until almost 8:00. Everyone I tell this too is shocked that she sleeps so much, does anyone else have a napper? So far no one else I have talked to has a baby that sleeps so much.

QCBride06

If she sleeps well and naps well, I'd just leave well enough alone.  It most likely varies from baby to baby.  Will naps about 1.5 hours in the morning and afternoon but I won't let me him nap past 5:00 to make sure he is in bed by 8:00.  But for him it doesn't matter if he naps a lot or a little, he still sleeps the same at night.  Like yesterday, he didn't nap at all in the afternoon, so he was up from 1:30 until 7:30 and he woke up once in the night.... The day before he got in 2 good naps and still woke up once.... So it doesn't seem to matter either way with him.

mrsmikey

Eli used to nap alot, and I found the better he napped the better he slept at night.  I stopped trying to alter his schedule and just followed his needs.  He used to nap every day after we got home at 5.

SpeedGlenn

I used to follow Ben's lead.  I would try to make sure he didn't nap past a certain time in the afternoon - I think 5pm, so that he was up for at least 2-2 1/2 hours before bedtime.  Ben always woke up pretty early though.  Usually between 6:30 and 7.

alchris

Sorry I can't help -- maybe Jocelyn and Kira average out?  At that age she'd go 14 hours straight without a nap, as much as I tried!  Good luck!!!

Jules_NC

alchris:

Sorry I can't help -- maybe Jocelyn and Kira average out?  At that age she'd go 14 hours straight without a nap, as much as I tried!  Good luck!!!

Same here.  Emily just started taking regular morning naps.  Sometimes I get a 30-45 minute nap in the morning and then nothing the rest of the day.  Typically she's down for the night at 8pm and up around 7am (although she's woken up to eat at 5:30am a few times recently).  It seems like some babies are big nappers and need lots of sleep and others just don't.  My mom really doesn't understand Emily's lack of naps and she drives me insane about it (another reason she keeps pushing me to feed her solids sooner... no way!)

dbertagni

Thanks. I was out with a friend who has a 8 month old and she was saying that her mom (who watches her son during the day) keeps him up during the day on purpose and gives him only a 1 1/2 hour nap a day, and that is why he sleeps from 8-8, she said I should try keeping Jocelyn up. There is NO way, even if I tried, that she could stay up, she is so pitiful when she is sleepy. I feel better now, I was starting to worry I was letting her sleep too much.

NatPhoto09

I'm jealous...my LO will take two naps one in the morning (30-60 mins) and then one in the afternoon (1-2.5 hours).  and cut out his 3rd nap about a month ago.  He goes down at around 7pm and is up for the day at 7-7:30am but he wakes up like 2-5 times a night.  We are sleep training this weekend...I can't take it anymore. 

alchris

dbertagni:

Thanks. I was out with a friend who has a 8 month old and she was saying that her mom (who watches her son during the day) keeps him up during the day on purpose and gives him only a 1 1/2 hour nap a day, and that is why he sleeps from 8-8, she said I should try keeping Jocelyn up. There is NO way, even if I tried, that she could stay up, she is so pitiful when she is sleepy. I feel better now, I was starting to worry I was letting her sleep too much.

Sleep --> sleep, and no sleep --> no sleep.  Now that she naps most days, Kira's best napping days are usually her best overnight and vice versa.  In other words, keeping her up during the day would likely backfire anyway!