Naps - Brooklyn,NY

Updated on February 19, 2009
C.S. asks from San Francisco, CA
13 answers

I have a six month old. I put him down for 3 naps a day (9, 12 & 3). He won't go down peacefully for naps in his crib but he does for bedtime. We CIO for naps and have been for a month or so. Thankfully he only cries for 5-10 minutes and then falls asleep for 30 min to 2 hrs. Am I doing something wrong? Is this something he'll outgrow and one day fall asleep peacefully for naps?
Another question is how do I know when he's ready to drop the mid-day nap? I read they do this between 6-8 months.

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D.C.

answers from Albany on

Three naps sounds like a lot. I would switch to 2 and see how he does. He'll probably have an easier time falling asleep because he'll be more tired. It's great that you put him in his crib for naps and bedtime. You're not doing anything wrong.....I think it's just time to drop one nap.

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A.G.

answers from New York on

3 naps a day is really too many. Try once in the AM and once later in the day. You kind of need to push him along to drop the mid-day nap - he will be that much more tired later on for his second nap. My daughter used to sleep in the AM then again around 4 or sometimes 5 PM for about 1 hour. She went to bed for the night at 8:30 without any problem. Now, 2 years old, she only requires 1 nap.

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M.L.

answers from New York on

You are doing fine when my daughter was that age she also had that many naps. Do not change anything when he gets to almost a year old he will go to only two naps but they might be longer. Everything is fine if you give him less naps he will be cranky why would you want that he needs his rest.

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J.C.

answers from New York on

Hi Christine,
At 6 mos of age my babies took 2 naps a day. If they woke up around 7-7:30am, the first nap was around 10am and was long, like two hours. The second nap fell around 3:00pm and was shorter - an hour. Bedtime was around 8-8:30pm. My kids cried at naptime unless I really wound them down with a calming routine. We always had a bottle, then book, song and then nap. If the crying is less than 10 minutes, he may just be blowing off steam or protesting.

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A.S.

answers from Albany on

I don't think that you are doing anthing wrong. I would try to get to two naps, so that you can do things. I think my daurgter got up about 6-6:30 and slept about 8-9 and then in the afternoon. She is 16 months now and down to one nap, but that just happened. If it works for you don't change it, but if you want a little out time, then try and early nap and then a later nap and forget the noon one. She what happens, if its horrible, then try it another time. The baby will tell you. Take care. Alison

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L.S.

answers from New York on

I guess I don't really consider 5-10 as CIO. It sounds like you're doing the right thing.

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A.F.

answers from New York on

my kids are 3.5, 2.5 and 2.5 and i am STILL waiting for them to go down for a nap easily. crying for 5-10 minutes is pretty good, count your blessings. as far as dropping a nap, drop one if it seems to interfer with the next nap--harder for him to fall asleep, taking longer than 1/2 hr for him to fall asleep etc.

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S.G.

answers from Rochester on

I have an 8 month old daughter. She takes between 2-3 naps a day, so I think you're on target. She naps around 10, then after lunch, and then sometimes a late nap around 4/4:30. And, she's the happiest baby you'll meet.

She'll usually cry for a few minutes and then stop. I don't think 5-10 minutes is bad at all. I sometimes wonder the same thing if she'll ever outgrow crying before bed. Hopefully :)

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S.K.

answers from New York on

I have a 5 month old and while each baby is different, it sound like you're forcing too many naps on him.
My daughter follows this schedule:
6:30-6:45 Wake Up
9:00-11:00 Nap 1
11:00-1:30 playtime
1:30-3:00/3:30 Nap 2
then after nap 2, she generally chooses wether to take her third nap of the day, which we never let her sleep more then 30 minutes...so she averages 6pm-6:30 for the last nap of the day (if she takes it, if she's awake at 6:15 we cancel nap 3), then she gets up and does bedtime routine (bath, play in sister's room until grumpy, nurse, bed) and is down for a few hours. She does not sleep through the night yet, she's a booby baby who only eats about 3-4 ounces at a sitting still.

I'm a fan of CIO, but you should really try to tire him out before putting him down, or you'll spend all day trying to get something done around his schedule!

Good luck!

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F.U.

answers from Syracuse on

I would try to get him to 2 naps per day. Maybe push the morning nap back to like 9:30 or 10, skip the 12 o'clock, and move the afternoon to like 2:30 or so.

As for the crying, my son did it for the longest. And even now he's almost 3 and sometimes gives me trouble at nap time.

In any case, you're his mom. You know what's right for your child, even if you don't think you do. Best of luck hun! Hang in there. Sounds like you have a pretty good little boy.

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M.K.

answers from Buffalo on

Hi Christine.
I never remembered my kids taking three naps like that at that age but then again, all kids are different and it depends on their daily routine. YOu might want to modify your routine to maybe push back the 9'oclock to 10 o'clock and then he'll probably sleep up till lunch time and then eat and play until he gets tired around 2ish and sleep for a couple hours and then everyone can survive those dreadful "4 to 7" hours where the kids , if they don't get a good enough nap in the afternoon, will take it out on everyone in the family until he finally falls asleep for the nite.
Give it a try. You might want to set up "stations" to keep him busy so he won't be tired or bored and want your attention or to be just held. I would have his swing, a blanket down with a jungle gym hanging over for him to play and then also a playpen area with other toys for him to explore. When he would get sick of one station, and start to whine, i would give him some love and then set him up at another station, this way he learns to keep him self occupied, and learns to do other things with his hands instead of sucking on them. (none of my kids ever put their hands in their mouths and I really feel it's because of this.) Just a few suggestions..hope they help.

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D.

answers from New York on

From the time my kids were 3-4 mos they only took 2 naps a day. I'd start him on a breakfast, lunch, dinner feeding schedule and give naps around that. About an hour after breakfast, put him down for his morning nap. And the same for lunch. My kids also go to bed early. So about 1 - 1 1/2 hrs after dinner their in bed for the night.

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H.G.

answers from New York on

I think you're doing it just right! Adjust the schedule as needed, if he naps for a looong time. (So there's about 2 hours in between wake-ups.) But keep these naps! A little fussing is a small price to pay for good naps that keep your baby well-rested and ready to go! :)

As he gets older, he will work it out. He'll start crawling (and then walking!) and be too tired to fuss. At least that's what my son did. Also, my guy didn't drop the third nap until he was almost 11 months old!

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