5 month old only sleeps more than 30 mins in day on me

[Polarbearshoes]

Since about 10 weeks my baby stopped staying asleep when put down for more than 30 mins in day. If he sleeps on me he usually does two naps of 90 mins but otherwise just 30 mins! This is true in pram or when put in cot asleep or left to sleep independently in cot(he sometimes can do this). When he wakes from a short nap he cries and seems grouchy so i often extend his nap on me anyways. He used to feed to sleep but now only really does that at night or if hes very overtired and hungry. He has one or two wake ups at night with total night period of 10 or 11 hours typically. Has a bedtime routine and I feed him before putting him in his next to me co sleeper. Most typically he is already asleep before being put down but stirs and settled. What i want to know is should i just carry on having day naps on me or cut them out totally? It makes for a miserable day to battle him into his cot and then have him constantly overtired and taking many 30 min naps all the time

[Polarbearshoes]

P.s. i start putting him to sleep by singing to him after about 2hrs to 2hr 15 awake time and his last nap of thr day is usually 30 mins so he has 2x 90mins and 1x 30 mins

[Tee20x]

No advice but I feel you. I am practically in the same position & am writing this from underneath a baby :)

It seems so strange because like you, earlier on DD would be put down and would sleep for up to 2 hours & I have loads of photos of her lying in the next to me. Fast forward to now, where she has all of her naps on me & co-sleeping at night.

I have also found that she goes through phases of napping for bang on 30 mins whether that be in the pram, car seat or on me too - maybe lingering sleep regression? Or could be starting for you if he hasn't been through it already.

Like I said no real advice, but you're not alone! So will be watching with interest.

[Polarbearshoes]

Would be good to hear if any babies just outgrew this stage and started extended their naps in other places? People think im very strange but because I know hes less grumpy i just watch tv with subtitles and chill. Its only a big problem if we have visitors having to explain it all and go off for them to nap....😆 But if im creating a big problem for down the line I guess i might have to try deal with it now

[Tee20x]

The TV with subtitles is deffo me! I think it is just a phase though because DD has now returned to sleeping for 1.5 hours albeit on me, or out on a walk while in the pram.

I am no sleep expert but I am sure I have read somewhere that 30 mins can be considered a "normal" nap time. But if you're saying your son is waking up grouchy then it is likely he is still tired and just isn't able to link sleep cycles yet?

I too am interested in whether I am creating a problem for myself later down the line - but there seem to be two camps on that, one which says they're only small once and it won't be forever so just enjoy it & the other which is adamant that babies should be able to sleep independently from quite young.

For now, I am just going with the flow and not putting too much pressure on myself or comparing myself to others, but it is hard when you see people with children of similar ages who are already sleeping independently and through the night etc.

Is the contact napping actually an issue for you or is it that you just feel like the baby "shouldn't" be doing it? (Badly worded sorry!!)

[emmafou1807]

My 12 week old only sleeps for 30 mins at a time, 5 times a day. We get longer night sleep. He won't even nap for longer if he's on me during the day. He wakes up happy though. Your wake windows are possibly slightly too long between naps given how short the naps are. We do a 1.5hr, 1hr45, 2hr, 2hr, 1hr 45. Might help with him waking up happier 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Skt20]

My now 3 year old used to nap 30mins on the dot....you could have set an alarm by her. I sometimes extended her nap on me but more often than not just planned our day around four 30 min naps. Then one day at around 6 months she figured out how to sleep for longer and would go for a couple of hours. Nothing at all I did or changed - she just figured it out. My 5.5 month old has also been a 30min napper up to now but the last week has started sleeping an hour plus in his cot. Again nothing I have done or changed. I think often people suggest fixes like changing awake windows or tell you that you need to teach your baby to sleep longer etc but in my limited experience sometimes these things just sort themselves out, I think it's just a developmental thing. So don't stress....I'm sure one day very soon they'll just get it!

[Oly4]

Totally normal I’m afraid
By about 11 months they sleep for longer in a cot

[Polarbearshoes]

I guess he finds sleeping on me comforting or my presence helps him extend to 90 mins? Thats nice in a way!!

[MotherOfDragon20]

My 7 and a half month old daughter slept on me for ever nap her whole life until she was 6 months, I heave up even trying to put her down and just went with it (and watched a lot of TV). One day I thought I would put her in her cot with absolutely no expectations she would sleep. She slept for an hour and a half. She’s been napping in her cot ever since and doing good stretches. Enjoy it while it lasts, you’ll with miss the cuddly naps one day!

[Dollywilde]

Oh god this was us! 10 months old now. She was always a decent sleeper at night but until about 7 months she would only nap on me, in the pram or in the car.

I know it’s not super popular but we did a bit of sleep training. Wouldn’t advise it for a 5 month old but at 7 months I was happy that she was ok having a moan. I never ever let her actually cry hard (if she started I’d go in and cuddle her until she got dozy and then put her down again) but I left her it she was just being moany and it was a total game changer. She now does 2 hours of naps each day in her cot and I have some time back to myself. And the bonus is that she now sleeps through the night (mostly) as she’s learned to self settle I’m sitting in the garden with a cold Diet Coke while she finishes her PM nap... :-)

Sorry, I know it’s not helpful as your DC is too little for sleep training - but just putting it out there as an option if they still won’t settle without you in a month or two.

[Polarbearshoes]

No thats good to hear!!

[Polarbearshoes]

Thats the hope!

[Siennabear]

I would enjoy the quiet time and let him sleep on you. If you have visitors I wouldn’t go in another room , just put him down and let him have a shorter sleep.

[Polarbearshoes]

Just an update my baby now sleeps independently in his crib. I started to just put him down and if he wasn't calm cuddled him and tried again. Left him calm and he fell asleep himself. Now he sleeps within 10 or 15 mins of being put in his crib. I did nothing else different I think he was just ready! Bedtime we are working on! He still feeds to sleep

[EmmaInParis]

Well done! Glad you’ve seen an improvement, thanks for updating those of us with crap nappers and giving us some hope!