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How the heck do I make a nap schedule?

Cjohn1211Cjohn1211
in Babies: 3 - 6 Months

J wakes up anywhere from 5-7am and his morning nap is roughly 2 hours after he wakes up. From there it is chaos. He only naps for 30-45 mins at a time so sometimes he takes 4-5 naps a day.

I've heard implementing a "nap schedule" can help with this. But how the heck do I make one? Do I just put him down to sleep at the same times everyday regardless of when he last napped?

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Re: How the heck do I make a nap schedule?

  • JSanFranJSanFran member

    I'm of no help as I am ready to start having some predictability too.  I've read over the next month or two (since our LO's are about the same age) I'll start trying to see a pattern.

    I did a sleep log for a few weeks but it didn't really set anything in stone. Its all related to when he gets up, sometimes its 5:30...sometimes its 8!  And his first nap of the day depends on that.  So I'm with you!

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  • Hopeful1!Hopeful1!

    Found this online

    Typical E.A.S.Y. Routine for 4 weeks to 4 months

    E ? 7:00 ? Feed
    A ? 7:45 ? Diaper change. Some playing, talking. Keep an eye out for     sleepy cues
    S ? 8:15 ? Swaddle and lay baby in crib. May take 15-20 min. to fall asleep.
    Y ? 8:30 ? You nap.

    E ? 10:00 ? Feed
    A ? 10:45 ? See 7:45 above.
    S ? 11:15 ? 2nd morning nap.
    Y ? 11:30 ? Your time.

    E ? 1:00 ? Feed
    A ? 1:45 ? See 7:45 above.
    S ? 2:15 ? Afternoon nap.
    Y ? 2:30 ? Your time.

    E ? 4:00 ? Feed
    A ? 4:45 ? See 7:45 above.
    S ? 5:15 ? Catnap (about 40-45 min)
    Y ? 5:30 ? Your time.

    E ? 6:00 ? 1st Cluster Feed
    A ? 7:00 ? Bath, bedtime ritual
    S ? 7:15 ? Another catnap
    Y ? 7:30 ? You eat dinner.

    E ? 8:00 ? 2nd Cluster Feed
    A ? None
    S ? Put baby right back to sleep.
    Y ? Enjoy your time until the     Dream Feed (between 10-11).

    4-Hour E.A.S.Y.

    E ? 7:00 ? Wake up and feed
    A ? 7:30 ? Activity
    S ? 9:00 ? 1 1/2 ? 2 hr nap
    Y ? Your time

    E ? 11:00 ? Eat
    A ? 11:30 ? Activity
    S ? 1:00 ? 1 1/2 ? 2 hr nap
    Y ? Party (I mean ? take a shower and get out of jammies!)

    E ? 3:00 ? Eat
    A ? 3:30 ? Activity
    S ? Catnap between 5 -6 pm
    Y ? Relax, prep dinner, breathe.

    E ? 7:00 (cluster feed at 7 and 9 pm if going through a growth spurt)
    A ? Bath time
    S ? 7:30 ? Bedtime
    Y ? Unwind until either your 9 pm cluster feed or 11 pm dream feed (see below).

    E ? 11:00 Dream Feed (until 7 or 8 months, or whenever solids are firmly established)

     

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  • SweetieD21SweetieD21 member
    I highly recommend the book Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child.  It really helped me understand how much sleep a child needs and how to get on a nap and bedtime routine.  Have you tried letting him cry it out for a little bit after his 30 min naps?  DS always wakes up at the 30-45 min mark but I let him cry and he's usually back to sleep within 15-20 min then will usually sleep for at least another 2 hrs.
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  • VespahVespah member

    I did read the Baby Whisperer as someone suggested, and I did get quite a few tips out of it. My LO went from just cat naps, to 3-4 naps a day, ranging from 45min - 2 hours, and she sleeps 11 hours straight at night. I just went into it knowing that it basically says if you don't do the EASY system then you are, in the author's opinion, a bad parent setting your child up for months of hell in the sleep department. (which I feel is ridiculous as all babies are different). Once I ignored that aspect and used the ideas I got great results, and I didn't feel like the worst mother in the world.

    One thing that I could never figure out with the EASY routine though, was all the examples of how long it takes for the baby to eat is like 45 min!!! even at 4 months when you change to the 4 hour routine. My LO is done sucking it back in about 5 minutes (EBF), so their example routines are crap for me.

    The PU/PD in the book did work for us though, both to get her to go to sleep when she's showing tired signs but fighting it, to also extending naps if she wakes up prematurely.

     

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    Derek - February 2013        Caelyn April 2011
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  • TMILLER45TMILLER45 member

    I think when DD was 3 months when we really got a good routine down.

    6:30 Wake up Feed (6oz at 3 months...now we do 8oz), Play

    8:30 Nap time! I would put her down awake in her pack n play

    11:30 -12:30 Wake up and Feed, play

    1:00-1:30 Nap time

    3:00-4:30 Wake up and Feed

    5:30ish Nap again!

    8:00-8:30 We have to wake her up to feed her and then we put her to bed for the night in her crib.

     Our pedi had recommended letting DD nap in the living room or another room that's not her bedroom. Our pack n play is in our living room. This way when DD goes in her crib in her bedroom she knows it's night time.

    Hope this helps? This schedule works for us but I know every baby is different! GL

     

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