When Do Naps Start Consolidating?

L.,
Try letting him cry if he wakes up only after 45 min./1 hour. Some babies wake themselves up but can soothe back to sleep within 5-10 minutes. If that does not work, try to have your hubby endure the fussiness until there has been at least a 2 hour gap between the naps. Good luck!

Boy, months 3 and 4 can be so tough with the sleep transitions! This is the time to start introducing a sleep schedule. I don't know if you are utilizing any particular sleep training method/book, but I strongly recommend "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" by Marc Weissbluth, MD. This book outlines healthy sleep needs (how many naps, how many hours of sleep per nap and per night, how to solve sleep issues, etc.) for every month of the child's age all the way through adolescence. The book is organized into sections based upon your child's age, so you don't have to read the whole book...just the sections relevant to your child.

Sweet dreams to you and your baby!

My kid was doing that at that age too, she just turned four months and finally her naps are lasting two hours. What I did to lengthen her naps was when she woke up I reswaddled her and gave her back her paci then left the room so she could fall back asleep. Do you swaddle? They wake up by startling themselves with jerky movements of the arm.

I have a 9 week old, so I am by no means an expert, but I've been doing a lot of reading on sleep. At this age, it seems that babies typically take 3 naps - one in the morning (btw 9-10), one in the mid afternoon and then one in the late afternoon (btw 3-5). The late afternoon nap is the first to go away, then the morning nap, until they are left with one afternoon nap (I think this is around a year - I'd check but my book is in the nursery and she's napping!). I'd also recommend Dr. Weissbluth's book. Per his book, I find that my daughter can be awake for an hour to an hour and a half before she starts showing "sleepy signs" or getting fussy. And that includes time spent eating. So it sounds like your son is almost there - once he catches up on his sleep, he'll likely be able to stay awake longer and take fewer naps.

Hi L.,
From what I remember, I think my son's naps got more regular (one in am, one in pm) between 12 and 24 weeks. He just consolidated again to one long nap (2 1/2 to 3 hours) at about 12 months. Every child is different, but the first few months can be a bit rough. Hang in there! :)

T.