DS2 is 10 months old and will tend to take a long morning nap (1 1/2 hours) at 9am but then a short afternoon nap (45 min) at 1pm. He gets really tired by late afternoon (but well past the age of napping) and so has to go to bed at 7pm. This means he's up at 5:30am! I don't like this pattern -- but I get into trouble when I try to change things. I tried to move his morning nap later by 15-20 min. then limit the nap to only 1 hour max. in the hopes his afternoon nap would be 2 hours and he could go to bed at 7:30pm and wake at 6am. This just made him very tired and very cranky. Should I just let it be and hope things get better on their own? I'm also curious what the sleep schedule of other babies his age are like? (He doesn't seem to sleep as much as the books say he should -- but then, neither did DS1).

Hi, my dd is 7.5 months and it has seemed to take 7.5 months to get her into a good routine with sleeping and eating. She usually wakes up at 5.15ish and if Im lucky will go back to sleep for 1/2 hours or so with dummy and teddy, then I get her up at 6.30 to start the day. She goes back to bed at around 8.30is after breakfast for 45 mins, although she would sleep longer if I let her, but if I did she would not have long nap at lunch. She then goes back to bed after dinner 12.30 for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, I try to get her to last till 12.30 or else she will be up at 2.00 then Ive got to entertain her ALL afternoon till 6.15 when I take her up to her bedroom to get ready for bed. She too gets cranky. I find that if she goes to bed all tired and cranky then she wakes up earlier. If she only has 1 1/2 hours at lunch time I try to get her to have a nap at 3.30 ish, just for 1/2 hour. This sleep routine seems to work ok for me, although she does still wake at 5.15ish and is up for breakfast at 6.30. Ive just had to get used to my early morning get ups.

Forgot to ask, who do you get in trouble by??

bloody hell that sounds marvellous

I'll swap you for dd

she has 3 x 45min naps at 10, 1.30 and 4, bed at 7ish, up 10pm and 3am, awake 5am, coaxed back to sleep till 6.30am...

I know Im lucky to have her in a good although I do sometimes think all I do is think about her next sleep and how Im going to plan my day, even if its just to nip to supermarket. Im back at work in 2 weeks and just hope she can stick to same routine, my mum is looking after her and has said she will try her best. I can hear her on the monitor now, think she is playing with teddy. Im in the process of trying to stop going up to her room to check on her as soon as she wakes up, but then I get all worried if shes awake and isnt crying and end up going to check on her anyway. Wish I had bought one of those camera monitors things.

I was actually talking to the op, eyemask...

Ooops, sorry, lets just count it as extra bump!

For the past 2 days i have just been giving my 10 month dd 1 nap a day: 2 - 2.5 hours from 12.30 - it has made life much easier and she seems happy enough to last until then. Previously we were having quite a fight over the morning nap. This morning she slept in until 7.45am . She had 2 feeds in the night, mind... but that's another issue entirely!

Anyway, it could be worth a try as your DS is waking so early.

sorry - to explain - sometimes when they start waking very early around this age it can be a sign they are ready to drop the morning nap.

I realize that I don't have it very bad. But you must realize that DS2 does wake at night and he is rather difficult to manage in the late afternoon when he is clingy and tired - plus I am alone with DS1 who is 2 and can be rather cranky too. I really would like extra sleep time in the mornings because anything before 6 am IMO is way too early.

Oh - eyemask - I get into trouble by DS2! In the sense that his sleep seems to deteriorate and so does his mood.