When did your LO start taking longer naps, uninterrupted?

noahchristopher

I am coming over from 3-6 month board hoping to get some insights into this one.

Our son is 5 mos and chronically wakes at 30-40 mins into his naps.  We did some sleep training around 3.5 mos where we wouldn't go in for 15-20 mins and he learned to settle himself both for the nap and at night too. 

He will usually always settle himself in the middle of the nap, however, sometimes he cries, sometimes he just talks, and sometimes he just moves around and is back to sleep.  Lately, though, these wakeups have been more intense and he's taking longer to settle, getting upset more frequently.  Although, right now, he's just woken after 28 mins and is talking LOUD, no fussing.

I've read many different opinions about this.  He's going down over tired , he's going down undertired, it's developmental, etc.

For those who have gone through this and now have better naps, can you give me your thoughts?  Thank you so much.  I'm at a loss.  This has gone on for 3 months now.

Ernie52408

DS was a chronic catnapper. He used to only nap for 30 minutes and wouldn't go back to sleep. Around 6 months we did sleep training so he was at least putting himself to sleep for naps but he would still only sleep 30-45 minutes.

Around 8 months he started taking longer naps. Now he usually takes a 1.5 hour morning nap and a 45 minute afternoon nap.

sbmp10

My DS did the same thing.  He just started in the past few weeks to take pretty good naps.  We still have an occasional mid nap wake up but for the most part it is getting better.  Interestingly night time sleep has improved a little as well.

HenHen25

From what I understand, sleep training is not going to be very effective until at least 6 months. For us, it wasn't until about 9 months that DS stopped waking at 40 min and stretched out his naps to 1:15, we are now around 1:30.

MiamiMergers

We went through a cat nap phase between months 6-8. Once she dropped her third nap, her morning nap lengthened again. It is usually 1.5 hours, sometimes 2. Her afternoon nap is still only 30-45 minutes long, but as long as she's happy and rested, I'm okay with it.

LadyXaverian

My baby has been a cat nappers since she outgrew the newborn phase. If she takes a 45 minute nap, I would consider that "long" lol.

If I lay down with her, I can get an hour or a little more out of her.

At day care, she takes a 2 hour nap, according to the DCP. I'm not sure why she'll do it there and not at home, but it is what it is. She's well-rested and happy, so I don't try to push it too much.

skio

From 3-9 months, DD rarely napped longer than 35 minutes. It was like clockwork; 35 minutes and she'd wake, and she'd never fall back asleep. Sleep training didn't do anything.

Unfortunately, I have no advice for making it better, but I can attest to the fact that he WILL eventually lengthen his naps. I guessed at why she wouldn't nap longer for 6 months, and I could guess forever. You just never know with babies.

At about 9m, she started taking longer naps randomly, and she would sometimes wake after the 35 minutes and go back to sleep. Now at 11m, I usually get 1-1.5 hours for the morning nap, but her afternoon nap is still 35-45 mins.  

NeverEnoughTime

My LO would take 4 or 5 30-45min naps until about 6 or 7 months.  Then on his own he went to 45-1hour. And a couple weeks after that he was up to 1.5-2 hours, all on his own.

vanfox

DS is still a pretty crappy napper, but we usually can get him to take a 45-55 minute one in the morning and an hour to an hour and a half in the afternoon. The afternoon one still often has the 40 minute invader, but if I go back in, he'll go back to sleep for another 30 minutes to an hour. This started around 8.5 months. It's much better than when he was tiny tiny and would be up and raring to go after 25-40 minutes no matter what. He was taking 4 naps a day at your DS's age.

noahchristopher

Thank you for all of the responses!  I've been a nap natzi since he was 2 months and it drives me crazy sometimes.  We had just turned a corner with him getting through the 30 minute intruder when he started rolling.  He's just mastered that and I think calming down with it in the crib a bit.  Also lately, he's just had a rough few days again making the transition.  I worry about creating bad habits with him by going in there and shhhhing him or picking him up since we never had to do that before.  But when he's been crying for awhile (more than 20 mins), it's so hard to NOT go in.  Ugh!  He has come so far I just don't want to have him regress.

What were some of the things you did in response to these short naps?  Ignore them for a time limit?  Go in and rock them?  End the nap?

I feel we may be in the process of needing to drop the third nap.  It's a cat nap of only 35min.  But it is causing him an early wakeup in the morning, I believe.  Nights when he's gone 3 hours awake before bed and had an early bed time(before 7pm), he's slept in a lot better.

chardonnay24

Even after sleep training at 7 months, A still took 30 - 45 minute naps. Only sometime around 10 months did he start taking longer (1+ hour) naps. He is slowly starting to transition to 1 longer nap a day now at 12 months.

RayRay007

DD was a 45 minute napper until maybe 9 months (I think? it's hard to remember already!) when she started sleeping 1.5-2 hours.

ETA: DD always woke up happy after 45 minutes so we ended the nap. She took several throughout the day to make up for it. If (rarely) she woke up crying then I rocked her back to sleep.

Iamsmalls

DS tok only 30-45 minute naps until he was about 9 months old. He'll be 10 months next weekend so it's been a few weeks of 1/1.5 hour naps twice a day. Every few days he'll do a 35 minute nap to keep me on my toes but we can usually count on at least an hour now. Makes such a difference in his day AND mine. Hang in there!