Hello all!
My sweet little 7 1/2 month old has recently started not wanting to take his morning nap. He sleeps well at night (usually about 10-12 hours, usually walking up a couple of times, but always putting himself back to sleep without crying or feeding). He also sleeps for about 1 1/2 hours between noon and 1:30pm or so. His morning nap, which previously had been occuring between 8:30-10. Now we put him down at 8:30, but he will often only sleep about 20 minutes, if at all. He spends the hour and a half talking to his stuffed animals and squirming around. He then seems very tired after, and often for the rest of the day. Any ideas as to how to get him to nap better in the morning? Thanks in advance for your help!
If his cranky after that quick nap, Try putting him down later in the morning. It seems as if he may not be quite tired enough at that time anymore and the cat-nap is serving to recharge enough that he doesn't want to sleep.
Best wishes
J.
i'm with the mom that advises to get out and give your son more activity before putting him down for his morning nap, maybe a little bit later than you have been.
i don't think he's ready to drop the morning nap yet because he comes out from that hour and a half TIRED. some babies do skip the morning nap this early, but yours seems to still need one.
i'm in the midst of experimenting to lengthen my 8 month son's naps myself- his older brother was such a good napper once we got him on a schedule, but my 2nd may just be a short napper.
getting outside (weather permitting) and doing other activities has proven effective so far.
i would also recommend a good read: healthy sleep habits, happy child by marc weissbluth.
He probably doesn't need it any more. He might need to establlish a new routine now. Kids change during these years frequently - fortunately and unfortunately! <g> Good luck! L.
It could simply be that the morning nap is coming to an end. There is often a period of irritability until their body fully adjusts to the change. I remember wishing for the naps to continue, but trying to force a nap only ended is frustration for everyone. I think it was around the same time.
My daughter started only sleeping one nap a day around that time as well. The only thing I have to say is that it's normal and some kids transition into one nap that early on their own. And to top it off, Gaby's one nap sometimes is only one hour long. If your son can keep himself quiet and busy with his stuffed animals and toys, that's perfect. That means he can entertain himself and is able of having alone time or quiet time. This will help as he gets older. Just hang in there and anjoy the long day with him awake. :-)
Our soon to be 12-month old son was king of power naps until 6 months old. He then began long morning and afternoon naps. Now he seems to be slowly phasing out of a.m. naps which I know is to be expected. Depending on when your son wakes in the morning should be a good indicator as to when he is ready for a nap. Of course, you know best of his tired symptoms and should go with that. Our son's seem to have similar sleep patterns. Our son wakes at 7 or 7:30am yet content to play in his crib until 8am. He then goes down for a morning nap around 10 or 10:30 and is now sleeping less (approx. 1 hour). Then he takes a longer afternoon nap around 2:00pm. Then to bed around 8pm. Of course, this routine changes every now and then dependent on weekly activities, but it seems to be working. I guess I would just observe your son a bit more to determine when he is actually demonstrating morning fatigue. As another mother stated above, 8:30am may be too early for him. Their patterns change especially during growth spurts.
Best wishes!
You may want to try putting him down a little later or a little earlier.
Also, I found with both my girls that around 8ish months they wanted more stimulation, so if I wanted them to nap in the morning we had to get out of the house and into the outside air for a while. With my younger, even just going out to our patio and letting her crawl around for 15 to 20 minutes right outside the front door often made enough of a difference that she could then be soothed to sleep. (With the older we were on a busier street and didn't have patio or driveway, so I'd strap her into a carrier or the stroller and just walk around the block.)
I have two boys, 9 and 5 and when they were very young I relied on a wonderful sleep book, and so did many friends of mine called, Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, M.D. It is an invaluable resource. Good luck.
Sounds like he is weaning from his morning nap....it happens to us all! So he will go down maybe 10-10:30 then an afternoon nap and maybe earlier to bed at night. Try to stay flexible with his sleep it will change alot. If you get attached to anything you just get annoyed when he changes the plan. Stick to your nap and bedtime routines as you follow his sleepy lead. Good luck!
You wont....he is starting to drop his morning nap and will just start taking one nap day....:)
I wouldn't worry about him giving up his morning nap. That's not uncommon at that age to start weaning down to one nap a day. There will be some days he needs the complete morning nap and other days he will need little to none. It may be a little rocky until he gets his new sleep patterns figured out, but usually between 10 and 12 months they have it straight. Take my word for it - I have 6 kids.
My son was around the same age when he stopped needed a morning nap. I think what you're experiencing is normal. Kids eventually migrate to only taking one nap. Right before turning 4 this last August, my son stopped taking a nap completely.
morning naps are the first to dissapear, he may just be not needing it as much and his body will hopefully adjust soon, good luck!
Hi M.,
Well it sounds like your little monkey may not need his morning nap anymore. It is not uncommon for infants to combine their naps into one longer one in the middle of the day. It is great he is sleeping so well at night. Thank your lucky stars for that. He also may be teething and that sometimes will interfere with naps. You could remove his toys, maybe they over stimulate him, and put on classical music (baby Einstein) to help him relax. (the music works very well for me) Even if he lays there and coos he is still get some down time which is good for you both! If not he may sleep longer later.
I hope I helped a bit!
V.
I have a son about the same age and sadly he too is giving up his morning nap. They just don't need that much sleep anymore. Im grateful for the 10 or so hours through the night, its such a blessing. I put my little guy down earlier for his nap (about eleven or so) and he usually falls asleep in the late afternoon for a half hour or so and then its bedtime at 7:30pm. Some mornings he is tired enough to nap at nine, ususally ones when I know he got up at six or so and has been playing for a couple of hours. But I don't push a morning nap anymore. Hope this helps. Enjoy your little man, they're so much fun.
I cannot imagine why a baby that young would not need a morning nap. What time does he wake up?
With all of my kids, I noticed that after a few months of going down for their morning nap about an hour after they woke up, all of sudden they stopped needing to go to sleep so soon again in the morning. So, for each child, I moved it to about two hours after they woke up in the morning and that did the trick. They still took a nice afternoon nap and were in bed by 7:00pm for a full 12 hours of sleep at night. Don't give up on the morning nap just yet! You know what they say... the better they nap, the better they sleep at night!
