3 Naps Normal for an 8 Month Old?

Sounds like he is doing well to me! My son is 10 months and just switched to 2 naps about a month ago.

Hi L.,
My son is now 13 months old and he still sleeps 11-12 hours at night and takes 1 morning nap and 2 afternoon naps.

If I need to go out, I just time it after his naps when possible so he is happiest, or if I'm going to be driving for a while I do it during his naptime so he just naps in the car. There are days when we have playdates and he misses a nap but he is having fun and makes up for it later.

Some kids just need more sleep than others do. I thank my lucky stars every day that I have such a good sleeper.

L.,
All kids are different. I don't think it's a total of "too much" sleep. Too bad if the caregivers don't "like it"...they are CAREGIVERS! Count your blessings that you have a champion sleeper!

My twins napped 3 times a day until they were about 8 months old and then transitioned to 2 naps a day. I would imagine he'll transition soon to 2 naps a day but, like some of the other people said, you could probably have him nap in the car for one of his naps if you want to go out. I find even now that they're doing 2 naps, the afternoon nap is usually not as important so sometimes I'll go out and have them sleep in the car for the afternoon nap. They don't get quite as a good a nap as when they're at home, but usually go to bed a little earlier.

Also, what time does he go to bed? If he's going to bed a little later, you could always try stretching times between naps so he's only doing 2 and then have him go to bed earlier.

Good luck!

At 10 months old my son would sleep for 12 hours at night and take two 2 hour naps so i really don't think that your son's sleep habits are a problem unless he starts giving you a problem about going to bed at night.

If he's sleeping that many hours during the day, then he obviously needs the sleep! My 21 month old can still take a 3 hour long nap during the day and sleep 12-13 hours at night, so don't worry about it! As for not doing anything...take him anyways!!! While children do need a schedule, they came into our lives. As part of the family, they need to do what the family needs to do. If your son is truly exhausted, he will sleep, and if he's still in a baby car seat, they are so portable he should sleep fine!

he need his sleep. this helps them grow. put him in the car and go where you need to go. sometimes when i need to go somewhere and my son is tired i put him in the car and take him for a drive. when we get to the store,i put him in the shopping cart and he enjoys looking around. may be you or his caretakers need to take him out more so he will stay awake. it is nice this time of year and a nice walk in the stroller is good also. my son,husband and i took the baby for a long walk-2hrs and he looked most of the time and took a cat nap. we also did a few errands along the way so we got exercise and saved some money on gas.

This is totally normal and good for his brain. He probably will transition to two naps any time now. Let him sleep. I did the Sleep, Eat, Wake cycle in "On Becoming Baby Wise" and always knew when my daughter needed food or sleep. She took three or four naps until she was 9 months old. The order of the pattern helped make it easier on my scheduling the day around the naps. Hang in there, it won't last forever, but don't try to keep him up etc-you're right, he needs the sleep!

I would love it if my 5 month old still took 3 naps...I guess the grass is always greener on the other side. Anyway, I've found that mine started taking 2 longer naps when I adjusted her feeding schedule from every 3 hours to every 3 1/2 to 4 hours...it took a few days of being consistent and then she started taking a really long nap in the morning and then a shorter nap in the afternoon. In the morning, I usually only have her awake for 90 minutes max before putting her down...for some reason the earlier I try to put her to sleep the more likely she will sleep on her own and for a long time. We sometimes struggle with the afternoon naps but I'm happy as long as we have one good one so I can get some things done. You could also try skipping the 3rd nap, and put him down for bed earlier. Mine goes to bed between 6-6:3o almost every night....I really appreciate it on the days when her afternoon nap is too short. Good luck.
J. W

Hi L.,

Hang in there. My daughter was the same way. She didn't give her third nap until she was about 10 months, and I felt a little trapped at home. (and a little isolated) But I dealt with it by ordered some things online (in my area Acme delivers groceries you order online) and I tried to invite friends over for coffer during her naps, and I used the time to spend with my older child. I was the nap warrier of the family- I was under pressure from the in-laws to take her out places and keep her up late to attend family functions, since I think people who are a few years out from having infants forget what it's like to deal with the sleepy grouchy aftermath of a missed nap or late night.
So yes, he will transition soon. Good luck. Patty

Perfectly normal - don't worry about it. My son slept the same way, and while everyone else's seemed to be taking 2 naps, we were still doing 3. When everyone else was moving to one nap, we were still doing 2. He now takes 1 afternoon nap for 2-3 hrs, so don't worry, you'll get there too. It is a lot more convenient. But they sleep that way because they need it, and he'll let you know when he's ready to change the schedule. Mine wouldn't go down so easily for the first nap, and I started putting him down for it a little later, so instead of 8, 11, and 2, we did 9 and 2. Now it's just a 1:00 nap (sometimes earlier, sometimes later - it all depends on the day).

I must agree with the other responses, if he is napping still then he needs it, it's perfectly normal. At least he naps. My son who is 9 months old won't nap during the day and sleeps about 8-9 hours at night. His doctor says if he's tired, he'll sleep, not to worry about it, they know how much sleep they need. So I'm on the opposite end, I can't get things done around the house because he won't nap, thus no breaks. Good luck.

If he sleeps less I'd be worried! I also think hte lady who posted that her son sleeps 8-9 hours every day so that must be all he needs is inaccurate. Every baby needs between 14-16 hours of sleep a day. Our biggeset struggle iin our culture is not paying attention to our sleep needs. The dutch do an amazing job of making sleep a priority and their kids actually have better sleep habits than the US.
I think hes doing fine it would be nice if he would take two long naps but maybe you could catch as he wakes up and ease him into another 30 minutes of sleep.
This book "Sleeples in America" by Mary Sheedy Kurckinca may help. It certainly helped me.

I say if he needs 3 naps, then he NEEDS 3 naps.
Each child is different and some only need 2 naps but some seem to just require that extra nap in the day. Leave it be. If his caretakers don't like it- too bad. Don't let them guilt you into trying to change his sleep schedule- especially if he is consistently waking up happy and alert. As for errands- will he take a nap in the car? If you are usually consistent with naps then a trip to the store once in awhile shouldn't do any harm.
As a pre-school teacher, I saw WAY too many sleep-deprived children stuck at school from 7 am to 5 pm. Good for you for putting your child's sleep needs as a priority!!! (BTW- my daughter is the same way- I'm a slave to her naps but it's worth it.)
Best of luck.
R.