Sleep breeds sleep and napping continued...

[SnowWhite26]

So I wrote on here a few weeks back about how my 9 month old sleeps when she likes but does have bedtime routine and tends to be asleep between 630 and 7. My issue is that she tends to start stiring at 5-530.Someone suggested that she could be into a napping routine at this age. The thing is I think she is in one when im in the house. Generally she wakes up as above dozes in and out till 6 then up then nap at 9ish and then again at 2ish both 1-2 hours. I go out quite a bit but dont no whether i need to start coming home for naps as if she has half an hour in the car then she prob wont have another nap in cot. For instance yesterday she had a half hr nap in the car from 3-330 and an hr snd half in the morn but today it might be really different. How do people have naps and encorprate them into the day but not stop doing things coz we are at home and babys napping?She sleeps most journeys in the car.Does a napping routine help early morning wake ups? Is 630 to early for bed? Hope this makes sense. Thanks x

[FATEdestiny]

Yes - a nap routine at this age will help regulate all of her sleeps - it will help wake up time stabilise and will establish predictable times when she'll be tired.

And yes, for my children I would always make sure we are home for nap times and always structure my day around those.

For the few months that baby is on two naps (and your is now), this is very restricting. We had from 7 months old right through to 20 months where my youngest slept 9-11am and 1-3pm. It makes the day quite restricting. But shes grown out of it now and so we have mornings free. Its not like it lasts forever.

[SnowWhite26]

So if she goes to bed at 630-7 and i want her to wake up after 12 hours betwen 630 and 7. What times do u think she needs to nap? Did urs never nap in the buggy or car? I am a nanny and shes going to start coming to work with me betwen 8 and 9 and then I have the day free until 3 till 6. So its guna make bedtime later anyway. I wont be to have a 2 till 4 nap time then. What a mind field! :).x

[FATEdestiny]

I would suggest that a night sleep of 11ish hours is more normal at this age and when on 2 good naps a day. So the 5.30am wake up your describe in the OP is reasonable for a 6.30pm bedtime. I'd go for a 7.30-8pm bedtime for a wake up time around 6.30-7am.

If you can move bedtime so that morning starts at 7am, then it is reasonable to assume it will be easy to keep her awake 8-9am while you work because she'll be well rested from a good nights sleep.

You might need to work to keep her awake as you near 9am, but aim for a nap as soon as you can after that. If you then need to be out the house by 3pm, I'd work backwards from that, so that her naps fit with your day. So you will want her asleep by 1-1.30pm, so that shes awake for 3pm. Working backwards from that, if you want her asleep for 1-1.30pm, then she needs to be awake for at least 2 hours before that - so awake from 11am.

Its basically about fitting the babys sleep in with your day.

[SnowWhite26]

So I have tried puttingbher to bed later the last few mornings like suggested FATE and shes still waking at 530 but just a bit tired. I let her roll and chat in coot and go in at 6. I no its a way off but when the clocks change.... Anyway yesterdaus naps were all in buggy and car as out all day but about the same time as normal.Who knows.

[NapQueen]

I'd try and shorten the morning nap to 45mins (a natural sleep cycle), then bring the afternoon nap forward to 12/12.30 for a few hours.

Is her room pitch black? My son woke 5.30am habitually til we moved him from our light room into his sisters pitch black room. Now he wakes ar 7.30am

[SnowWhite26]

Yeah she has a very dark room. Occassionally she wakes more towards 6. Ok maybe I will try the nap idea. Its just tricky when your out and about x