Babies: 6 - 9 Months

Do naps really fall into place?

My LO is 5 months today and we have been struggling with naps since he turned 3 months. He is a great night sleeper, sleeps from 8 to 6:30 without waking up so I know I am very lucky in that sense. However, he is a terrible napper and gets so cranky durin the day. He falls asleep but only stays asleep 10 minutes. I've tried letting him soothe himself like he does at night but he just starts screaming. Every now and then I get a 2 hour nap so I know he can do it I just don't know how to help him. I do white noise, put him down drowsy, pacifier, check and console crying, you name it.

Anyway the reason I am posting on this board is because lots of people tell me naps fall into place on their own at 6 months. Did anybody find this to be true with their good night sleepers/horrible nappers? It's just tough because I know he needs to sleep but I don't think it's good for him to spend my whole days in and out of his room rocking him to sleep but do not want him crying all day either (even though I've tried that too). Thanks so much!

 

Re: Do naps really fall into place?

  • My LOs naps go in phases, but he's always been a good night sleeper. He will fall into a really good rhythm for a few weeks then something changes and I spend 2 weeks getting him back into a schedule. I have found that getting him down after the right awake time is crucial. If I put him down to early it leads to 40 min of screaming and a super short nap when he finally falls asleep because he's overtired at that point. If your LO is only sleeping for 10 minutes then he probably needs more awake time. I have used this as a guideline since my LO was about 3 months and it's been pretty accurate...

    https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/29470977.aspx

    My LO's awake time can change overnight, we are currently adjusting to a longer awake time so naps have been a struggle this week. Good luck, I know how draining it is to spend your whole day trying to get them to nap!

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  • DD doesn't nap at a specific time, but she is on a schedule where she naps every 2 hours. She gets up about 8 am most days. Some days a little earlier, some days later. 2 hours after waking up, she starts rubbing her eyes and getting fussy so she goes down for her morning nap. That usually lasts anywhere from 2-3 hours. Then up again for 2-3 hours. Then down for her afternoon nap which is usually about 1-2 hours. Then she stays up until it's her bedtime between 7:30-8:30 (depends on how long she's been up)!

    I never thought she was going to get into a routine. And she really didn't until around 5.5 months. It'll happen! Repetition and predictability is the key!

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  • Definitely not true for us without sleep training naps and a rigid routine and schedule. And I cannot let her sleep ANYWHERE but her crib or it ruins us for days.
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  • I've heard that naps fall into place too, but we're still waiting.  I was looking forward to 6 months because I thought he was going to turn into a great napper, but no... I'm still waiting at 9 months.  DS is REALLY bad though.  Some days he'll go all day without napping.  Usually at daycare he will take one 20-30 minute nap.  It used to be 2 30 minute naps, so he keeps getting worse and worse as he gets more aware and more playful.

    He'll nap for 2 hours if you're napping with him or holding him, but he's never, ever napped that long in his crib. 

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  • We sleep trained for naps at 4.5 months.  By 5 months, DD had gotten herself down to 2 naps per day on her own.  So, I guess they kind of did fall into place.  There's still ups and downs though...yesterday I got 1 30 minute nap and that was it the entire day - she is sick though.
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    I hate to even say this...but it truly depends on the baby! DD#1 was an awesome sleeper at night, and an ok napper, but her naps didn't fall into place until 7 months (no sleep training.) DD#2 is not a great (but not a horrible) sleeper, and her naps still aren't "in place" and she'll be 9 months next week. They are better/longer than they were at 6 months, though.
  • Man... I wish naps would just fall into place!
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