Please help me with nap timings - what are/were yours for a six month old?

[Anglepoise]

DD is near enough to six months so needs probably two naps a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. So far, so good. I've noticed that although she can go quite a long time in the afternoon (and at night ) without a sleep, she does seem to get tired a couple of hours after getting up.

At the moment we generally get up at a leisurely 9.30 am, which means that she's ready for her first nap at around 11.30 - 12ish. If she sleeps for an hour (there is no pattern to how long she sleeps yet) then she'd be up at 1ish, then awake for three hours or so, so back down at 4 - which is a bit late if I want to try to get her to bed at 7 (not that I have ever successfully got her to go to bed and sleep from 7!).

Otherwise I could start getting up earlier (ugh ugh, I hate mornings, am not a morning person and have been working nights/evenings for years so really want to avoid this). If we got up at ugh 7.30 then she'd be ready for her nap at 9.30 ... Actually, that does work (thought it didn't because nearly all the activities we go to start at 10.30). Bother. Looks like I'll have to start getting up at 7.30 - that is so not going to work.

Third alternative is just for her to have one big nap of a few hours in the afternoon, which is not completely unheard of (but not that common either), maybe with a power nap in the morning (she quite often falls asleep in the pram a few minutes before we arrive wherever we're going!), but six months is probably a bit early for just one nap.

Gah. I'm tying myself in knots (not sure whether I feel better or worse now I know that getting up earlier would work time-wise ). Anyone else not get up horrendously early but manage to get two naps in?

[Lindenlass]

Oh blimey! Sounds complicated! Can't you just let her fall asleep when she needs to? I have no idea how often or for how long my 6m old sleeps in the day - she catnaps usually whenever she's tired!

[Anglepoise]

That's what we've been doing for the past six months and I'm not sure it's really working for us - some days she'll nap and some she won't, a lot of the time it's only for 30 minutes at a time, and I really need time to do other things and she needs to sleep! Plus we're about to embark on trying some NCSS tricks because her night sleep is pretty bad, and she puts a lot of reliance on sorting out naps to help sleeping at night (and vice versa).

[artifarti]

My DS is 7 months and since starting solids tends to have two naps a day - but there's no pattern, I'm afraid! He goes for his first nap 2-2.5 hours after getting up - but his 'getting up' can range from 5.30 to 8.00! He'll then go for another nap, again about 2-2.5 hours after waking up. Sometimes the first nap is the longest, sometimes the second. Occasionally he needs a third catnap (ie today as we got up at 5.40 ). I have long since given up trying to impose order on him - as long as he gets somewhere between 2.5 and 3.5 hours sleep and doesn't sleep much past 4, he generally doesn't get overtired.

If you do want him to go to bed at 7, then yes you might have to get up a bit earlier. But if not, I woudn't fret too much about it all.

[nicnic01]

my DD is nearly 6 months and has a vague pattern of awake for 2 to 2 1/2 hrs then snooze for 1/2-1 hour. She can last up to 3 1/2 but only if its before bed time or if she is kept occupied by new place / person etc.
We are quite relaxed about it all and tend to just let her go to sleep if tired. If we are due to go out I put a cardi on her and let her sleep in her car seat so I dont disturb her too much. If she sleeps through our activities then no harm done.
however, I do get anxious if one of her naps ends around 3/3.30 as its touch and go if she can last till bedtime at 7. SOmetimes in this case she goes to bed early or has a very short cat nap if needed.
It sounds like you are hoping your LO will sleep from 7 til 9.30 with 2 substantial day time naps. That sounds bliss, if a tad optimistic. if you acheive it, let me know your tricks as I could always do with more sleep myself day or night at the moment as my LO, gorgeous as she is, wakes a lot at night (settles herself most of the time but as I am sucha light sleeper at the moment I hear every peep)
Our problem with daytime naps is that she wont sleep in her cot! we have got into a bit of a bad habit by letting her go to sleep in her car seat or pushchair. I know its against recommendations but you do what you have to do- dont you.

[DuchessOfAvon]

Wake (6am-ish)
2 hours awake
Nap - usually 45 mins, more rarely 1.5 hours
2 - 2.5 hours awake
Nap - usually 1.5 hours (unless morning was a long one in which case this will be shorter)
2 hours awake
Nap - catnap - usually in pram or car - no longer than 45 mins.

I try not to have her sleep past 4:30 if possible otherwise bedtime can be a bit ropey. Conversely if her last nap ends before 4pm and I have to coax her through to bedtime, then she passes out from exhaustion rather than falls asleep - and then we have a rocky evening.

She has not yet done a two nap day.

SIGH. I hate this stage - roll on the one-nap-a-day phase.

[diedandgonetodevon]

DS is 6 months and tends to also need a nap a couple of hours after getting up so he is usually up at 10 and then asleep again by 12. He'll sleep for an hour and then want another nap about 5 then bed at 9.

[Anglepoise]

Thanks for the replies.

I guess I do want her to go to bed at 7 and sleep to 9, which is a bit unlikely! I'm not actually that bothered about her going to bed at 7 except that that seems to be the norm (and evenings would be nice) but maybe I should just relax about it (or just work on moving our normal bedtime of midnight forward a bit!).

I probably shouldn't really worry about her sleeping through activities, I just feel a bit silly turning up effectively without a baby, plus I'm shy so use her to hide behind

nicnic I'm not sure that DD has ever slept in her cot during the day - tbh I thought I should try to associate it with one long sleep during the night so it didn't even occur to me that it was desirable until I read the NCSS!

diedandgone I like the sound of sleeping until 10 ...

[artifarti]

Anglepoise - I love the idea of sleeping until 9...or 8...or 7...or even 6.30 at the moment.

[Anglepoise]

I'm a bit spoilt, aren't I? Glad DD has inherited her parents' night owl genes ... I just wish that all the baby activities round here didn't start at bloody 10.30!

[artifarti]

Oh - and don't worry about your baby being asleep through baby groups. IME no-one is really interested in seeing the baby itself but just wants to talk about how they are sleeping/eating/pooing/rolling/playing the piano etc.

Of course, once you tell them all that you get to stay in bed until 9.30, then they'll never speak to you again.