6weeks+ -- how do you do naps?

abj22

We've pretty much got a nighttime routine down but I feel like I have no rhythm to our day. Sometimes she naps between feedings, sometimes she doesn't. I always feel like she is way overtired by 4:00 or 5:00 pm. I'm wondering if it's because she isn't napping enough during the day.

1. does DC nap after/before every feeding?

2. where do you do naps?

3. do you swaddle for naps?

4. how long does DC nap for??

mrsk2005

Naps have been pretty unscheduled for us so far.  I've tried putting her down at a specific time but she usually just fusses.

1.  DD doesn't always nap after a feeding.  Sometimes she's up for a good 1.5 to 2 hours after a feeding other times she falls asleep immediately.

2.  She likes to nap in her swing and bouncy seat, or we hold her.  We've tried naps in her pack n play in our room (which is where she sleeps at night) but those usually only last about 20 minutes and she's up again.  She naps a lot longer in the swing or bouncy.

3.  Nope.  We don't even swaddle her at night anymore because she was breaking free and seemed annoyed by it.  We use a sleep sack at night now.

4.  Naps range from 20 minutes to a good 2-2.5 hours.  She usually does the shorter naps in the morning and takes a good long one in the afternoon (between 1 and 4pm).

lilyvalley

I only have a 4 weeker but I want to participate!

 

1.  Nope.  There are days when she is WIDE awake after a feeding for almost 2 hours (sometimes just looking around sometimes cranky).  Other times she falls right to sleep.

2.  She usually naps in her swing or papasan seat but she is currently in her crib - I am trying something new today!

3.  Sometimes.  If she is super fussy and batting herself in her face - yes.  Other times I let her exercise her arms and legs.

4.  Anywhere from 30 min. to 4 hours.  I am hoping for a 4 hour one today b/c I have to clean the house and do laundry!

Crazycrustacean

1. Nope. She naps when she's tired. If I see she's starting to yawn, I know she's ready for a nap. So I'll start the "sleeping process". I'll put her over my shoulder & either rock her that way or walk around and she'll usually fall asleep that way.?

2. After she's asleep, I put her in her crib

3. We never swaddle. She hates it.

4. It depends. She'll usually go down for 1 big nap once a day (usually around 12 noon) ?and the rest are cat naps through the day.?

KatieG.07

Naps are still a work in progress around here.  It took a long time for me to figure out what Ben needs and when (I don't think it helped that we moved to Texas when he was 5 weeks).  So to answer the questions:

1.  It just depends on where his first nap falls in the morning.  Sometimes it's eat, nap, play.  SOmetimes it's play, nap, eat.

2.  I try to keep most of his naps in his crib.  For awhile a few weeks ago, I'd put him in his swing.  Sometimes I like to hold him...    but I try not to do that very often.

3.  No swaddles here unless he's very very upset.

4.  His naps are usually 45-50 minutes long.  I haven't worried about trying make them longer because he tends to take 3 naps a day. 

He usually needs a nap about an hour and 15 to and an hour and a half after waking up so I pay attention to the clock and start watching for yawns, etc.  Then we go rock for a few minutes and he's down (usually).

 

AmethystBride

1.  We don't have a specific schedule per se ( i.e. nap at 10, lunch at 11, etc.), but we do follow a general schedule where Little Man will nap about 1.5-2 hours after he wakes up in the morning.  That nap usually lasts for an hour, maybe 1.5 hours.  Then he'll go down for another nap sometime in the afternoon, usually after about two hours of awake time.  Sometimes he'll take a "naplet" for about 20-30 minutes late afternoon.

2.  He's pretty easy going about where he'll nap.  Sometimes I let him nap in DH's and my bed while I read or watch tv, sometimes he'll nap in his travel yard, a lot of times in his swing, every once in a while he likes to nap all wadded up next to me on the couch.  He's really not picky.

3.  Sometimes we swaddle for naps, sometimes we don't. 

4.  He'll nap any from 20 minutes to 3 hours.  More often than not, he averages about 1-2 hours.

mrparsley07

Our napping schedule is non existent...

 1. She really only naps a couple times a day for about 2 hours each time... and then maybe some cat naps that are around 1/2 an hour.  When she starts fussing and doesn't want fed, I stick her paci in her mouth and give her her frog and if she cuddles up with it, I know she's ready for a nap.

2. Lately, she will only nap in her swing. She seems to know the difference and will only sleep in her crib at night. 

3. I did when she'd sleep in her crib, but since she likes the swing so much now, we don't. I swaddle her at night though.

4. No more than 2 hours per nap.

Gwyn1030

From what I've read and seen, it seems that babies don't really develop a consistent napping schedule until around 4 months - which was our experience.

At 4 months he started taking a regular morning nap, then usually two more naps during the day, about 30-60 minutes. Before that he pretty much only slept if he was held or in the car.

Around 5 months he had a pretty good napping shedule, 3x a day, established. Now he takes a nap around 9-10 for about 2 hours, then another nap around 2 for an hour or so, and sometimes a quick catnap in the evening.

We swaddled DS until he was 6 months, then one day he just didn't want it anymore (he started sleepign on his stomach). He always naps in his crib unless we are at a friend's house.