Can I ask about napping...

[jennyh]

Hi

My 9 month old has been at nursery part time for a few weeks and for the last couple of weeks whilst there she has dropped the morning nap. I don't know how they manage but can only presume that they just distract her and keep her busy, apparently she isn't upset and she still eats her lunch well. It means that she has a good lunchtime nap of around 2 hours, she has no afternoon nap and when I get her she is knackered and goes to bed easily and sleeps well.

My post is really just getting some opinion on napping at this age. With me she seems to really need the morning nap (lots of eye rubbing etc) and will sleep for about an hour. That said she has stopped getting upset when tired and could probably play through it if that makes sense. The prob is that she usually does this later than she used to as she has more energy in the morning now, it then means that she often has a pretty poor and late lunchtime nap and is then tired in the afternoon but is out of the habit of sleeping so cant drop off and there isnt time to squeeze a nap in. Then she will have a difficult bedtime.

I am tempted to try and drop the morning nap when at home (although I am gutted because ive always used that nap to get dressed, have some breakfast and take a deep breath etc!). What sort of naps do other 9 month olds have and do any only have a lunchtime nap, is it enough rest???

Thanks!

[snowboarder]

My nearly 9m old still has morning and afternoon naps - approx 9-10am and then around 1.30-3.30...He wakes around 6/6.30 and couldn't last till after lunch I don't think - and would def fall asleep in the buggy/car on the way home from morning trips which is exactly what I do not want!! Maybe she keeps going at nursery because no opportunity to zone out and drop off? I can see him dropping his morning nap sooner than his big brother (16m!) just because he is a better sleeper in general and wakes later, but I hope to keep it up until at least 12m!

[Fuschia]

Mine at almost 1y has two naps

IME the morning nap is the solid reliable one that you fear dropping ... Yet only when it goes do you get a really good long restful lunchtime one

I read somewhere that thd morning nap plays an important role in brain development

[jennyh]

Ah ok - thats useful to know, if you find where you read that Id be interested in reading it too. The prob I have is that she doesnt really get tired enough for a nap until around 10am by which point its just a bit too late, I then shift everything else back but it doesnt always work out...but then when does it ever always work!

I should add that the nursery were giving her a morning nap at first, when I asked about why she wasnt having it anymore then said they try to put her down but she just wants to be up which I guess isnt surprising considering she is in a room full of playing children. I am also aware that it is easier for them if she doesnt have a morning nap! :)

just want to do the right thing for her and have her at her happiest and most rested as much as I can. My gut tells me she still needs it and perhaps I just need to shift things around a bit.

[Fuschia]

http://www.justthefactsbaby.com/baby/article/changing-from-two-naps-to-one/107

[jennyh]

thats great thank you! very helpful indeed.

[Mathilda]

Hi Jenny, my daughter is at the same nursery as yours and whereas at home she naps around 8.30-10.00, at nursery she still has a morning nap but its later and shorter. I think just because there's so much going on and babies will always do things slightly differently when not at home!

[jennyh]

Hi

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!

Just to quickly resurrect this thread as we are a month further on...my daughter is still not having a morning nap but is now in a phase of getting up earlier in the morning (around 6) so she is now going around 7 hours until her nap after lunch and I really dont feel like its good for her. She prob has between 1-2hrs in the middle of the day but then goes through till bedtime which generally is later than it was (8pm ish) as she is really hyper at the moment. At night she gets about 10 hours but it is often broken sleep so even this doesn't seem very restful for her!

Currently each mealtime takes about an hour so I have tried to bring them a bit earlier but even with lunch at 11.30 she is still not getting down for her nap till 1pm. She is so tired by lunchtime that she can't eat very effectively and gets irritated being in the chair. I am considering whether to try and give her 30 mins or so at about 11 and then another hour or so at around 3/4ish but that then impacts upon her bedtime as she is so wired and awake, plus it doesnt really set us up for the future when her lunchtime nap will be the one to stick.

Just worried she isn't getting enough rest for healthy development but maybe I should just chill out! Interested in hearing what everyone's experiences are and when their 10/11 month olds sleep?

[Fuschia]

What is the problem with the morning nap (IME they don't drop that nap till well over a year)

I thought you ssid she was at nursery and they have a routine of morning naps only? Dies that mean she won't nap in the morning for you on other days?

I woukdnt worry too much about a strict routine or 'the next stage '

When they are getting close to

Dropping a nap it's normal to nap some days not others anyway

I would def put her down in thd mornings - she sounds exhausted and the slow eating and miseries is a sign

45 mins odd is fine (one sleep cycle) if she wakes refreshed

If she wakes crying and us miserable I would try resettling her for a second sleep cycle

My latest is 13m

Has an

Hour reliably in the mOrning, about 2h after getting up

Afternoon

Nap is more hit and miss (2 x school runs get on

The way, noisy children etc) but is usually one further hour

Nights - 6.30/7 - 7ish

[Fuschia]

With mine, when on 2/3 naps they have been 45m-75m

The 2h nap came only once there were on one lunchtime nsp

[Fuschia]

Just reading my link again

http://www.justthefactsbaby.com/baby/article/changing-from-two-naps-to-one/107/4

Very good advice from Elizabeth pAntley about 1 nap vs 2

[jennyh]

Thanks Fuschia. The problem with the morning nap is that she doesn't seem tired enough to go to sleep until much later in the morning around 11ish (4-5 hrs after getting up). The nursery dont give her a morning nap, just a lunch one. She hasnt been for a few weeks due to illness and Xmas etc so the latest dropping of the nap has been her own doing really. I had thought maybe its because she has a big breakfast and then gets some sort of energy burst from that but that is just made up really. Perhaps it is a stage, a wonder week or something, she is just going nuts at the moment and is clearly learning masses every day as her skills are developing quickly, she is manically laughing, throwing herself around, frenzied playing. When I try to calm her down to have naps etc she just laughs at me and then gets upset when I leave her.

For the first time in weeks I have just put her down for a nap as she got up before 6 today and was clearly tired. It took me about 45 minutes, I tried to read books quietly in her room, walk around with her singing lullabies etc to get her calm but as soon as she went in the cot she was rolling around laughing. I left her to it and actually gave her a couple of simple toys to play with but then went in every few minutes as she was getting upset and crying. In the end I had to rock her to sleep in my arms and put her down. I dont mind doing that if that is what it takes, maybe the habit will kick in and she will know its time for a nap as the days go on...maybe I am just not getting her sleep cues anymore because she seems to want to play constantly.

Its just everyone echoes your opinion that they need this sleep so I just want her to have what she needs but it seems she's making it pretty hard!

[jennyh]

Yeah I remember reading that before, thanks for re-posting. I think that she's just very switched on at the moment so won't fall asleep in the car and can fuss for over 30 minutes before a nap but not because she isn't tired, but because she just wants to stay awake.

Ah well, will just keep taking each day as it comes and see what she seems to need each day! Thanks for sharing your experience!

[Fuschia]

Maybe try a long walk in the buggy each day at about 10? She sounds over tired by 11

Probably she has the sort of personality that doesnt like to stop?

Otherwise, give her a large snack or milk at 1030, then try for a nap then, proper lunch after

My twins had 2h nap after creche before lunch from sbout 17-24m, couldn't stsy awake long enough to eat! I worried at the time (2.15pm lunch followed by mad dash school run and dinner at 5 they just messed about with) but it sorted itself out in the end

When things fall into place I feel all smug then next thing I

Know we are in an awkward stage and I feel all rubbish! But the main thing is getting enough sleep

I would say get up early, get out, do stuff, eat, see if that sends her off on

The way home

[canadianlisa]

I think it also sounds as if she still needs the morning nap and possibly afternoon one. In terms of the nursery /home difference my little girl started at nursery at a year and is now 26 months and has never had the same routine at nursery and home. I found when she was smaller she benefitted from a late morning long nap (2-3 hours at around 10:30 / 11 ) on her non-nursery days and then occasionally a short late afternoon nap or rest at 4 for 1/2 hour. When she was about one and a half she reliably had only the afternoon nap which she still does. It has shifted from 12 onwards to now about 2-4 p.m.

I know it is a strange schedule in terms of meals so what I did when she was younger, was give her a good snack late morning and then we would have a late lunch at 1:30 ish when she woke up. I still gave her dinner at around 5:30 and found she ate the same as always. I was still breastfeeding her during this time so she was also having milk.

At nursery she has never slept well and it used to worry me a lot and then I just gave up worrying. She has never really managed more than an hour there but clearly needs to catch up while at home. I think that there are so many differences between nursery and home that it almost not worth comparing.

Good luck with it all, it is q. stressful.

L x

[jennyh]

Thanks! All good ideas and I will definitely try them out. I am trying to be fluid with it and not worry too much but sometimes it seems like the baby I had before was good at telling me things I could respond to whereas the one I have now has moved the goalposts and im at a bit of a loss! :) It is funny how it gets stressful, but then this is our job really isn't it, so we do spend a lot of time obsessing over it!

[Al&Em]

Hi Jenny

Just wondered whether your napping situation had improved at all and was just a phase or whether you had to change your schedule and abandon the morning nap? My LO is just over 9 months and has suddenly gone from a very reliable, predictable napper to a total napping rebel - he's particularly uninterested in the morning nap and just doesn't seem to get tired (or maybe I'm not recognising the signs anymore...). He's just started crawling and so is very energetic and excitable at the moment. Feel like I'm spending so much time trying to settle him down for a nap, to no avail, and just making him upset :'(. So hoping it's just a phase, so wondered if you'd come through the other side yet?

[Knomester]

When Baby Knomester was a few weeks old he (with some help from us) had a routine of 3 naps a day - morning, after lunch and before tea. The last one of the day was always the trickiest because he's not the sort of baby to just nap anytime anywhere so he always had that one in the sling. When he was about 10 months old he began to resist the morning nap. If he slept in the morning he wouldn't sleep at lunchtime, if he didn't sleep in the morning (more usual) he would be OK (if a little grumpy) until his lunchtime nap. At the same time he began to wake up earlier in the mornings. After a couple of weeks we just gave up on the morning nap and he has never had one since. It took a couple of weeks for him to readjust his routine to suit him, but there was no was he wanted that morning nap. He now sleeps for between 2 and 3 hours after lunch and does the same with his childminder.

I guess what I'm saying is that it although we thought 10 months was too soon to drop the morning nap, for Baby Knomester it was totally led by him so it might be right for other babies.

[hellosailor]

Is another possibility that he needs longer awake time before the morning nap and afternoon nap? At around the same time mini sailor became a bit nap resistant until I realised she needed to be awake for a bit longer before a nap than she used to, just a thought.

[Hesmall1]

Hi All, Weighing in on the discussion quite late, but Baby Small is now 10 months old and I decided to try to drop the morning nap per the advice of "the books" and other Mums, but mine still NEEDS that morning sleep. Used to be a full hour, but now just 30 minutes. Any more and it impacts her mid day sleep (about 90 mins). I can't get her to tea time however without a 20 to 30 minute nap around 16:00 and have decided all the increased activiity (crawling, cruising, trying to stand) is tiring her out. Again, got all worried she shouldn't be sleeping so much and tried to change her routine per the "sleep guidelines," but was to her detriment as I ended up with a cranky, overtired poor eater come tea time. I follow her cues (eye rubbing, yawning, ear pulling) in the morning and afternoon.