Give me your nap opinions

sleepy33 · August 2014

So, for the last few days (3, to be exact), Cam has been delaying his afternoon nap until 4, which then throws off his whole evening schedule. And a couple of times last week, he skipped afternoon nap altogether. Prior to this, he's been very consistent with two naps a day, one around 9 and one around 2 or 2:30. Today, he took one nap from 9:30-10:30, and then would NOT go down at 3, so I said fine, if you aren't going to nap before 4, then no afternoon nap for you. Well, he was basically happy as a clam to skip it and really didn't even get fussy/tired until the very end of bath time at 6. So he basically went from 10:30 to 6 with no nap. Do you think this is just a phase, or is he for real trying to cut down to one nap a day? Should I start trying to move his morning nap later to transition to one nap a day, or stick with his 'usual' schedule and see if it's just temporary and he goes back to two? This seems to early to transition to one nap!

sleepy33 · August 2014

Emilyusc211 said:

Lawd I dunno. Mine would be a mess if he went that long without a nap. He recently cut one out of his schedul too but he is down to three from four. In fairness they only last 40 min. My kid is weird i guess. Eta he did go through a viciouus nap strike recently around 9 mo and he would only nap once or not at all. It was brutal but it passed after a week. It was a developmental thing I think.

I would be more tempted to think it was a phrase if he were fussier, like obviously tired but just fighting it. The fact that he seems happy as a clam has me questioning...

Teresa1489 · August 2014

It sounds like a long time but my LO has done it for sure. I'd say if they're happy and not showing signs of being tired just follow their lead. Some days Harper will sleep for an hour or two in the morning and then again in the afternoon but others it's just right in the middle she takes a couple hours. If she doesn't go down by 5 she won't usually go down but even if she sleeps till 630 or so she'll luckily still go down for the night. We usually start her bath/ bedtime routine between 7-7:30ish

psychdoc12 · August 2014

I think reducing to one/day around this time is pretty normal. Might as well try to go with it.

Gatorsgirl731 · August 2014

Emilyusc211 said:
Lawd I dunno. Mine would be a mess if he went that long without a nap. He recently cut one out of his schedul too but he is down to three from four. In fairness they only last 40 min. My kid is weird i guess.

Eta he did go through a viciouus nap strike recently around 9 mo and he would only nap once or not at all. It was brutal but it passed after a week. It was a developmental thing I think.

Ditto to the nap strike. Is he going to bed any earlier? DD dropped a nap but then started going to bed an hour earlier. Then the nap strike happened. Now we are back to 3 naps a day but much shorter than before, and bed between 8-9. I don't think it would be too strange for him to drop to one nap, but I would expect any nap he takes to be longer, more towards the middle of the day, and that he would go to bed earlier or wake up later. How does he sleep at night? If he sleeps really good just say no complaints. Lol

sweettooth87 · August 2014

Two is normal at this age, but many daycares do a one nap a day schedule for toddlers starting at twelve months. Crazy to think it but our babies are close to that in age. My daycare starts transitioning them to the schedule at 11 months. I think most babies still need two naps a day at that age, but if it works for him, I don't think there are any issues with it.

FWIW, my kid naps horribly at daycare and mon-thurs only gets one short nap a day since four months old. He seems to do just fine with that one nap. At home, however, he naps four to five hours between two naps.

muffyvonmuff · August 2014

Hudson naps every day at 1130 and 330 like clockwork. At this point I lay him down in his crib, hand him his bottle and leave the room. He usually finishes it and falls asleep. Sometimes he finishes it, stands up in his crib, dances the Macarena and tosses the empty bottle across the room. Maybe he will yell for a bit but he always eventually falls asleep. Im just a FTM but even when I was a camp counselor for 4-6 yr olds, nap or no nap you layed down for quiet time every day.

sleepy33 · August 2014

Gatorsgirl731 said:

Lawd I dunno. Mine would be a mess if he went that long without a nap. He recently cut one out of his schedul too but he is down to three from four. In fairness they only last 40 min. My kid is weird i guess. Eta he did go through a viciouus nap strike recently around 9 mo and he would only nap once or not at all. It was brutal but it passed after a week. It was a developmental thing I think.
Ditto to the nap strike. Is he going to bed any earlier? DD dropped a nap but then started going to bed an hour earlier. Then the nap strike happened. Now we are back to 3 naps a day but much shorter than before, and bed between 8-9. I don't think it would be too strange for him to drop to one nap, but I would expect any nap he takes to be longer, more towards the middle of the day, and that he would go to bed earlier or wake up later. How does he sleep at night? If he sleeps really good just say no complaints. Lol

Well, when he was taking an hour+ nap at 4, his usual 7pm bedtime got pushed to 8 b/c I just couldn't fit in dinner and bath any faster than that. He normally sleeps from 7pm to 6 or 6:30 am. Tonight, he went down at about 6:30.

psychdoc12 · August 2014

muffyvonmuff said:

Hudson naps every day at 1130 and 330 like clockwork. At this point I lay him down in his crib, hand him his bottle and leave the room. He usually finishes it and falls asleep. Sometimes he finishes it, stands up in his crib, dances the Macarena and tosses the empty bottle across the room. Maybe he will yell for a bit but he always eventually falls asleep. Im just a FTM but even when I was a camp counselor for 4-6 yr olds, nap or no nap you layed down for quiet time every day.

Isn't putting to bed with a bottle a no-no?

psychdoc12 · August 2014

wedding06 said:

muffyvonmuff said:

Hudson naps every day at 1130 and 330 like clockwork. At this point I lay him down in his crib, hand him his bottle and leave the room. He usually finishes it and falls asleep. Sometimes he finishes it, stands up in his crib, dances the Macarena and tosses the empty bottle across the room. Maybe he will yell for a bit but he always eventually falls asleep. Im just a FTM but even when I was a camp counselor for 4-6 yr olds, nap or no nap you layed down for quiet time every day.

Isn't putting to bed with a bottle a no-no?
I have heard that too. It was on our 9mo visit fact sheet. I don't know why though.

I think it can cause mouth decay and maybe also a choking hazard?

huntjul · August 2014

Clara starts her naps at ~10 and ~3-4pm. If she doesn't go to sleep by 5, then I don't put her down for a nap. She goes to bed ~7pm. Usually she's showing signs of fatigue but not always. I think every baby's different. If she misses that afternoon nap, or takes it earlier than 3, then she starts getting fussy/tired around 5-6.

I suppose it depends on what LO does when you put Cam down for his nap. Will he sit quietly in his crib and play with a book or something like Clara does? Or does he scream? If he is quiet, I'd probably put him down for a "nap" and let him do whatever he feels like as long as he's calm. If he's going to freak out, I'd probably skip it as long as he seems to be happy awake.

I guess I'm all about keeping 'em happy.

muffyvonmuff · August 2014

psychdoc12 said:

wedding06 said:

muffyvonmuff said:

Hudson naps every day at 1130 and 330 like clockwork. At this point I lay him down in his crib, hand him his bottle and leave the room. He usually finishes it and falls asleep. Sometimes he finishes it, stands up in his crib, dances the Macarena and tosses the empty bottle across the room. Maybe he will yell for a bit but he always eventually falls asleep. Im just a FTM but even when I was a camp counselor for 4-6 yr olds, nap or no nap you layed down for quiet time every day.

Isn't putting to bed with a bottle a no-no?
I have heard that too. It was on our 9mo visit fact sheet. I don't know why though.

I think it can cause mouth decay and maybe also a choking hazard?

I was never told that, when I watched my nephew thats what my SIL did and she's a nurse. Ive been doing it for about a month since he weaned. I can't see how me holding him while he holds his own bottle would cause less decay…its not like I rinse his mouth out after I nursed him to sleep. Ill look into the choking hazard, not sure what part of the bottle he would choke on.

sleepy33 · August 2014

huntjul said:

Clara starts her naps at ~10 and ~3-4pm. If she doesn't go to sleep by 5, then I don't put her down for a nap. She goes to bed ~7pm. Usually she's showing signs of fatigue but not always. I think every baby's different. If she misses that afternoon nap, or takes it earlier than 3, then she starts getting fussy/tired around 5-6.

I suppose it depends on what LO does when you put Cam down for his nap. Will he sit quietly in his crib and play with a book or something like Clara does? Or does he scream? If he is quiet, I'd probably put him down for a "nap" and let him do whatever he feels like as long as he's calm. If he's going to freak out, I'd probably skip it as long as he seems to be happy awake.

I guess I'm all about keeping 'em happy.

Yeah, he has to be drowsy when I put him down, and if he's not tired enough to fall asleep, he will fuss and cry. He does not want to be contained if he's not sleeping!

BrittanyCupcakes · August 2014

Carmen has been napping every other day lately, which is making us all crazy. Today is an off day. She's always been great about napping regularly, so this just sucks. Someone tell my baby that naps are awesome? She won't listen to me..

Sorry, I have no advice, @sleepy33

skyla13 · August 2014

@muffyvonmuff‌ ADA does not recommend putting babies and toddlers to bed with a bottle as it can promote tooth decay. https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/b/baby-bottle-tooth-decay @sleepy33‌ I actually had this exact problems with L just a week ago. I was on a similar schedule to you. I realized she was actually tired much earlier ... Like 1, 1:30, which was a big change for us. Pushing up her nap, and she'll take two naps. Otherwise, if I miss it, she is up until 6 or 6:30. Perhaps that is the same for your LO? I think it's because she's more active and so actually wearing herself out faster during lunchtime.

sleepy33 · August 2014

skyla13 said:

@muffyvonmuff‌ ADA does not recommend putting babies and toddlers to bed with a bottle as it can promote tooth decay. https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/b/baby-bottle-tooth-decay @sleepy33‌ I actually had this exact problems with L just a week ago. I was on a similar schedule to you. I realized she was actually tired much earlier ... Like 1, 1:30, which was a big change for us. Pushing up her nap, and she'll take two naps. Otherwise, if I miss it, she is up until 6 or 6:30. Perhaps that is the same for your LO? I think it's because she's more active and so actually wearing herself out faster during lunchtime.

Interesting! I will mention this to my H (SAHD).

muffyvonmuff · August 2014

@skyla13 What am I missing? I only see this

Infants should finish their bedtime and naptime bottles before going to bed.

but since his bottle is finished and tossed to the end of the crib (or out of it) I still don't see the tooth decay difference if I held him while he eats the bottle.

skyla13 · August 2014

I dunno, I was just putting out there a link to backup what a pp said. I know we're supposed to wipe their teeth every time too, but I'm too lazy.

psychdoc12 · August 2014

muffyvonmuff said:

@skyla13 What am I missing? I only see this
Infants should finish their bedtime and naptime bottles before going to bed.
but since his bottle is finished and tossed to the end of the crib (or out of it) I still don't see the tooth decay difference if I held him while he eats the bottle.

There is also an increased risk of ear infections due to drinking lying down flat rather than being held in a semi-upright position.

muffyvonmuff · August 2014

psychdoc12 said:

muffyvonmuff said:

@skyla13 What am I missing? I only see this
Infants should finish their bedtime and naptime bottles before going to bed.
but since his bottle is finished and tossed to the end of the crib (or out of it) I still don't see the tooth decay difference if I held him while he eats the bottle.

There is also an increased risk of ear infections due to drinking lying down flat rather than being held in a semi-upright position.

But to play devils advocate when he would nurse in bed with me wouldn't that be laying in the same position?….he lays on his side to drink his bottles since playtex nursers have the lining that suck out all the air.

psychdoc12 · August 2014

muffyvonmuff said:

psychdoc12 said:

muffyvonmuff said:

@skyla13 What am I missing? I only see this
Infants should finish their bedtime and naptime bottles before going to bed.
but since his bottle is finished and tossed to the end of the crib (or out of it) I still don't see the tooth decay difference if I held him while he eats the bottle.

There is also an increased risk of ear infections due to drinking lying down flat rather than being held in a semi-upright position.

But to play devils advocate when he would nurse in bed with me wouldn't that be laying in the same position?….he lays on his side to drink his bottles since playtex nursers have the lining that suck out all the air.

I have no idea. No bottles in the crib is something I've heard since long before I was a mother, so I wouldn't do it. But everyone is allowed to make their own decisions.

muffyvonmuff · August 2014

psychdoc12 said:

muffyvonmuff said:

psychdoc12 said:

muffyvonmuff said:

@skyla13 What am I missing? I only see this
Infants should finish their bedtime and naptime bottles before going to bed.
but since his bottle is finished and tossed to the end of the crib (or out of it) I still don't see the tooth decay difference if I held him while he eats the bottle.

There is also an increased risk of ear infections due to drinking lying down flat rather than being held in a semi-upright position.

But to play devils advocate when he would nurse in bed with me wouldn't that be laying in the same position?….he lays on his side to drink his bottles since playtex nursers have the lining that suck out all the air.

I have no idea. No bottles in the crib is something I've heard since long before I was a mother, so I wouldn't do it. But everyone is allowed to make their own decisions.

True different strokes for different folks. Since he got a boob in bed every morning I guess I just don't mind the bottle.

tashad18 · August 2014

LO naps around 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. give or take a half hour. Some days he skips the afternoon nap. He went awhile skipping his morning nap, and is now back at it. Could just be a phase.

Kdanson · August 2014

We don't have a schedule, but LO normally falls into a pretty predictable two nap a day routine.

Though some days she will stay up a little longer in the morning and then go down at 11:30-12ish and sleep for 2.5ish hours, on those days we skip the afternoon nap and she seems to do fine!

megs1409 · August 2014

sweettooth87 said:
Two is normal at this age, but many daycares do a one nap a day schedule for toddlers starting at twelve months. Crazy to think it but our babies are close to that in age. My daycare starts transitioning them to the schedule at 11 months. I think most babies still need two naps a day at that age, but if it works for him, I don't think there are any issues with it.

FWIW, my kid naps horribly at daycare and mon-thurs only gets one short nap a day since four months old. He seems to do just fine with that one nap. At home, however, he naps four to five hours between two naps.

This is the same for us!

Chrisanna0508 · August 2014

Could be a phase or could be transitioning. I know that DSs sleep schedule is enough to make me crazy and I never know what I am going to get with naps. He will nap great for several days and then crappy and then back to good. I do know from what I've read that a lot of babies will try to transition before they are ready, but if he's happy, this might not be the case. Also, if he is dropping to one, def have your DH push back his morning nap so it's more of a mid day nap. DS would never be happy being up that long. We are pretty much 9am and 1pm nappers like clockwork.

catycate · August 2014

Dd has been on a 1 nap schedule since about 5 months. If we are home all day, she will take 2 short ones but with my DS we are never home all day, so it's one long one. I love it- so much easier to plan our day. She's happy growing meeting milestones and sleeping 12+ hrs at night so I'm not worried.

stephl3055 · August 2014

sweettooth87 said:

Two is normal at this age, but many daycares do a one nap a day schedule for toddlers starting at twelve months. Crazy to think it but our babies are close to that in age. My daycare starts transitioning them to the schedule at 11 months. I think most babies still need two naps a day at that age, but if it works for him, I don't think there are any issues with it. FWIW, my kid naps horribly at daycare and mon-thurs only gets one short nap a day since four months old. He seems to do just fine with that one nap. At home, however, he naps four to five hours between two naps.

This is exactly what I was going to post. Our daycare does one nap a day starting at 12 months. I think "nap time" is from 12:00-2:30. So anytime during that period, they are allowed to nap. LO only naps once at daycare, usually 11:30-12:30. Sometimes she'll fall asleep in the car and nap for about an hour in the evening.

On the weekend, it is totally different. Her morning nap, usually around 10:00, is anywhere from 1.5-2 hours long. Her afternoon nap is at least 1 hour, and starts around 2:30-3:00.

stephl3055 · August 2014

muffyvonmuff said:

@skyla13 What am I missing? I only see this
Infants should finish their bedtime and naptime bottles before going to bed.
but since his bottle is finished and tossed to the end of the crib (or out of it) I still don't see the tooth decay difference if I held him while he eats the bottle.

My pediatrician mentioned to us at our 6 month appointment that we need to start brushing her teeth before bedtime (after her bottle) and after her morning bottle. Obviously if your kid doesn't have teeth, this doesn't apply. But she checked with us at our 9 month appointment to make sure we were doing it.

sleepy33 · August 2014

Well, he slept in until past 7 this morning, so I told H to definitely try to put him down as late as possible for his first (only?) nap. Of course, we have guys coming to install our new dishwasher sometime between 12 and 2 today, so that may just royally jack up naps anyway, but we'll see what happens!

Gatorsgirl731 · August 2014

sleepy33 said:

Gatorsgirl731 said:

Emilyusc211 said:
Lawd I dunno. Mine would be a mess if he went that long without a nap. He recently cut one out of his schedul too but he is down to three from four. In fairness they only last 40 min. My kid is weird i guess.

Eta he did go through a viciouus nap strike recently around 9 mo and he would only nap once or not at all. It was brutal but it passed after a week. It was a developmental thing I think.
Ditto to the nap strike. Is he going to bed any earlier? DD dropped a nap but then started going to bed an hour earlier. Then the nap strike happened. Now we are back to 3 naps a day but much shorter than before, and bed between 8-9. I don't think it would be too strange for him to drop to one nap, but I would expect any nap he takes to be longer, more towards the middle of the day, and that he would go to bed earlier or wake up later. How does he sleep at night? If he sleeps really good just say no complaints. Lol

Well, when he was taking an hour+ nap at 4, his usual 7pm bedtime got pushed to 8 b/c I just couldn't fit in dinner and bath any faster than that. He normally sleeps from 7pm to 6 or 6:30 am. Tonight, he went down at about 6:30.

I'm inclined to say he is changing his sleep up on you, but it may be just a phase. Dd did normal naps and eating yesterday then slept like complete shit last night. I know we were up at least 5 times eating, so who the eff knows what they are doing. As soon as I have her figured out she's like "Hey mom, watch this!"

sleepy33 · August 2014

H texted that he thought Cam was going to sleep at like 9:30, but then he was all, psych! Went down for real at 12:30. #notreadyforbigboynaps #whathappenedtomybaby

Please lawd don't let them come with the dishwasher until 2!

#livetweetingmylife #carryon

taylormarie923 · August 2014

Old news, but I'll comment anyway. I try to do quiet time if a nap isn't happening. It doesn't always work, but we have gotten to the point now where I can lay him in the crib and leave the room. He stays awake for a while and usually will fall asleep in 20 minutes, but we deft have days where he stares at the video monitor camera and talks to himself for the full 2 hours. The key for me is to catch his early sleep signs (rubbing the back of his head or burying his head in my chest). If I let him get to the crying stage, he will be a monster trying to go down.

#notreadyforsingularnaps

EmJ&B · August 2014

#teamonenapaday
#ifimlucky

sleepy33 · August 2014

Update: singular nap lasted from 12:30 to 1:45. We shall see how the evening routine goes tonight...

vargasgurl · August 2014

It may be a phase ... DS takes a nap between 7-7:30 for about 1hr .... Next nap is around 11ish sometimes it 1hr and if I am lucky 2hrs .....next nap is around 3 ... But she has been known to skip it on occasion ... This nap is usually 1 hr. ..... She's her best when she gets those naps ... Maybe I'm at my best when she gets those naps! HA!!!

vargasgurl · August 2014

@Katiemm623‌ She wakes up between 5:30-6:30 am if I'm lucky and it's 5:30 I feed her and she goes right to sleep till about 8 ... But if DH is going to work at around 6ish and he hears as much as a peep .. He'll run in and talk to her /pick her up ... She will be awake & ready to play ( he leaves after 15mins) and then she will kick /slap me because I'm half asleep.... by 7am she gets sleepy and wants that small nap. I'm happy to let her have it because I get to sleep as well.

sleepy33 · August 2014

Well, he had no more naps for the day, and was happy as a clam until I put him to bed at 7:20 this evening. We shall see if this continues. Also, my H must be some kind of baby sorcerer, because somehow in all the confusion of the dishwasher and the new nap schedule, he completely forgot to give Cam his 8-oz afternoon bottle, yet was not mauled by an angry baby.

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