Mumsnet Talk

How many naps should a 5 month old have and how long

Every baby is different. The only thing they have in common is blithe indifference to the word 'should'.

I think they are supposed to have something like 45 mins in morning, 2 hrs at lunchtime and then 30 mins in afternoon if they need it?

My son is just coming up to 5 months though and no matter how hard I try to convince him otherwise he seems to be an advocate of sleeping for no longer than 40 mins at any time, day or night!

40/45 minutes is one sleep cycle which is why a LOT of babies wake up after this period of time. You can get them back to sleep with a bit of help!

At 5 months, it's as ct148 says. Between 6 and 9 months, sleep needs start to change and you can usually cut back slightly on the morning nap and move the naps slightly later as well.

It's true that what the books say and what a baby does are often two different things, however, I think that most people who want to follow a routine are able to implement one as babies (like adults) are typically habit driven and will do things at the same time each day if you show them how.

If you're anti-routine as a lot of MNers are (and nothing wrong with that), then just let him sleep whenever he likes. Be prepared for broken nights though.

Not necessarily anti-routine here, just always wondered who exactly it is who is being trained by the routine gurus, and to what end.

I think it's as much the parent as the child!

I'm afraid I'm a GF fan, largely because it solved all our early waking problems at a year old (by which point I was exhausted and pretty miserable). I'm not going to get into it here, but I've read her book from cover to cover and with the exception of a few points where she is a little extreme, I think she is largely misquoted and misunderstood by the press. I guess you've got to have a baddie in every genre.

Also, routines are great as long as they're flexible - no-one wants a child who can't stay up a little later than usual without freaking out.

My daughter is much happier since her sleeping issues have been ironed out as are her parents, so I guess that's the end we were seeking.

loveisagirl - so what routine would GF suggest for a five month old? I have one myself who only sleeps for 30-40 per nap, and is very wakeful at night!

OovoofWelcome either you're my DP or our babies are VERY similar!!!

I found that a regular habit of saying 'this too shall pass' was very helpful.

buggyRunner good to know we're not alone with the uber wakefulness!

DS is utterly gorgeous but so sleep averse. He cries his head off as soon as I start to zip up his growbag, and always cries on waking too.....seems like he finds the whole proposition stressful, the poor little boy. He's cheerful and smiley when he's properly up though!

Sorry not to post back sooner Oovoof, been at work.

I'm sorry, I haven't got the book here so can't remember, but it's something like what I mentioned in my first post. A morning nap of around 45 mins, a longer lunchtime nap of 2 hours and an afternoon nap - some drop this really early, depends on the baby.

If your LO is in a cycle of waking at the 45 min mark - very common - I would do whatever you can to get them back to sleep, top up feed, shushing/patting etc but not too much stimulation i.e. rocking and picking up. The net effect of a baby who doesn't sleep for long periods is usually overtiredness which can cause wakefulness at night, just as much as being undertired can. It took me a long time to work out the difference.

The other thing I will say is that two things helped me - consistency and an expectation that the changes I was making wouldn't work overnight. It took 6 weeks for me to see any changes which was pretty disheartening but I kept slogging away and my now 2.4 yr old is now a very good sleeper. I have never had to resort to controlled crying either - I just can't do it.