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Behaviour/development

When does a baby drop their late afternoon nap?

8 replies

blindlyovertherainbow · 08/03/2013 09:20

My DS is just over 6 mo. He normally naps for 40 mins in the morning, 1.5 hours around lunchtime then 30 mins around 4pm. He's been resisting going to sleep for the last nap this week. When do babies normally drop to 2 naps a day? Thanks!

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DeWe · 08/03/2013 09:43

Mine never did more than two naps after about age 2-3 weeks. I don't think there's a standard age.
If he's resisting, then try dropping it, he may sleep the others better as a consequences.
Dd2 and ds were only on one (long) nap by 6 months.

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ZuleikaD · 08/03/2013 11:27

Both mine did drop the late afternoon one around this age, but as with all nap-dropping, not consistently at first. So one day they'd skip it, but have it the next etc.

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AlCookie · 08/03/2013 11:56

Hey...my son also dropped his evening nap around 7 months but not suddenly. He started by resisting it but used to get cranky. Finally in a week or so he started skipping it altogether.

As they grow, they crave for more exploration time and i guess they dont need as much sleep as they started off with. My son is now almost 12 months and he is trying to get down to just 1 nap now instead of 2. He sleeps around 11 hours at night and almost 3 hours during the day.

what i have always looked for is unexplained crankiness suggesting he may be overtired - this has been my cue all through and has worked very well to judge whether or not he needs his nap.

Whenever he showed signs of resisting a nap, I kept observing the 'struggle' for a few days. once the crankiness disappeared, i figured he is now ok without that particular nap.

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Kiwiinkits · 09/03/2013 06:46

My most recent baby was 9.5 months when she dropped hers. After dropping it she was tired and ready for bed at 6.45.

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Fairylea · 09/03/2013 06:52

Mine stopped his third nap around 6months and now does half an hour in the morning and about 2 hours from 12.30. He then goes through till bedtime which is about 5.30/6 and sleeps till 6 the next day.

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Fairylea · 09/03/2013 06:53

Oh sorry meant to add he is now nearly 9 months..

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flipflopson5thavenue · 09/03/2013 17:24

my DS is just over 7mo and has resisted and skipped his third nap on and off for about a month. He's also started sleeping longer the other two naps so am assuming that soon he'll drop the last one all together. Driving me crazy as I never know what he's going to do from one day to the next...

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blindlyovertherainbow · 10/03/2013 22:12

Thank you! DS is doing different things with his naps every day the moment and I wasn't sure what was going on! He must be building up to dropping a nap..in his own time.