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Afternoon Naps

5 replies

Caroline2103 · 21/01/2013 22:13

Hi Im after some advice (previously posted on wrong thread) my DS is 14weeks old and we have a really happy and content baby (most of the time ) Bedtime routine is really good. we bath at about 6:30 then we chill, read a story, feed etc and he's generally fast asleep by 7:45. sleeps through until approx 4am, feeds and then goes back down til about 7. during the day he catnaps anything from 10 to 20 minutes wherever he is (playmat, swinging chair, car etc) but he seems to get really grumpy at around the 4pm mark and I think it is because he is tired. should I be putting him upstairs in bed for a proper sleep in the day?? If so, how do I introduce this? this time of day seems to be worse at the min because he has started teething.
sorry for long winded thread but Im worried.
Thanks

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Collienova · 22/01/2013 00:55

I try not to let my DD sleep after 5pm, because it tends to affect her sleep at night. You could try to introduce a 'mini routine' for the afternoon to signal naptime before the grumpiness starts and see if you can put him down for a nap them? Where does he sleep at night?

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GoldPlatedNineDoors · 22/01/2013 01:01

I think.more structured naps in the day would keep.him less grumpy. I used to time dd for her sleeps, so at that age, 1.5 hrs after she last woke I would take her to her stroller or basket and lie her down with her dummy and teddy and tuck her in. Regardless of what time she woke, she went down again after 1.5 hrs.

Sometimes she would sleep 45 mins and sometimes up to 2 hrs. Irrespective, I never kept her awake over the time limit. If I did, she would be over tired and cranky.and find it hard to get to sleep.

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JumpHerWho · 22/01/2013 01:07

Sounds like your baby has an excellent nighttime routine so I'd be wary of introducing much that would alter that - however it does sound like he's tired.

Most babies fall into some kind of a routine involving a midday nap that is an hour or two long so maybe try that - my little man is a year and has just one nap now, for 1.5hrs at 11.30 and sleeps 7.30-7.30. So maybe aim for a 'proper' nap at around midday and let him catnap as and when around it? That's what we did and other naps just eventually faded away and I still have the midday one.

They're all different though, everyone including me will say what worked for us and you just have to read them all and think what will work best for you

I think at that age DS was having a 30min snooze in the morning and afternoon too, but really just whenever . The main thing that sticks out to me from your post is how short his snoozes are - I'd say they need to be longer.

Caveat - have had a bit too much to be advising on sleep tonight! Although I am doing so in safe knowledge that a bomb could go off and dS wouldn't awaken!

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Caroline2103 · 22/01/2013 01:52

Thanks for your responses collienova - Since NYD he now sleeps in his cotbed in the nursery. He settles fine and loves the extra space now he's out of his crib. he's like me and likes to sleep starfish style lol.

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Caroline2103 · 22/01/2013 01:58

9doors and Jump - Thank you. I've always been proud of how DS accepted the evening routine with no quarrels. he was sleeping 7:30 - 7:30 up until 2weeks ago and now he wakes for that one feed, but I was told that sleep regression is normal at this age isn't it??
I agree that I don't think the naps are long enough and I think this is why he is grumpy. I am going to try to introduce a midday nap in bed and see how he gets on.
Thanks again