regular napping schedule at 9months - does it matter?

[ginortea]

Could use some advice from ladies with a little more experienced than me.

DS (9 months) has just started with a nanny 3 times a week. Annoyingly, this seems to have coincided with him abandoning his clockwork napping schedule (9am, 12pm, 3.3pm for an hour each) and screaming blue murder when put down if doesn't feel in the mood.

He does this with me, too, not just the nanny, so I'm thinking maybe he's transitioning to two naps naturally. Is it ok to let the nanny follow her instincts and put him down when she thinks he's tired? Or would a more fixed structure be better for him/more comforting?

The instinct approach seems to lead to him napping roughly around 10am for an hour, then again sometime in the mid afternoon for 45 mins...

Thoughts v welcome!

I would go with your instincts - as long as he is still sleeping well at night, got to be better to follow his lead than him be distressed at being put down when not tired. He will be happier having his caregivers respond to him imo.

I'm a Gina Ford follower so... :) I have a 10 mo DD who at around 9 months dropped her late afternoon nap. She just refused it and that was it. Atm she sleeps at around 9.30am and then at 1ish (both naps for about an hour, sometimes more). I'm also starting with a nanny 3 days a week and I would like her to follow the schedule that we (my DD and I) have set up. However, it could be that your DS is adjusting his sleeping patterns. It could be that he needs to start his naps later and cut out the late afternoon one. One thing about routines I know for sure - if baby ain't tired there will be no sleep! If I were you I would see whether he will adjust this himself as he may have outgrown his previous napping pattern.

I'm not Gina Ford follower but by coincidence my DD also at around 9 months went from 3 naps to 2 at 9ish and 1ish :)

I've always worked on the principle that you watch your baby not the clock when determining nap times. I would let your nanny follow her instincts and put him down for a nap when she thinks he is tired.

My DS is also about 9.5 months and is moving to dropping his third nap - some days he wants it, other days not. I would go with what your DS wants - he is about the right age to drop the third nap.

Mine went from three to two naps at that age, too. First nap around 10.30 - 11 then mid-afternoon, for 45 minutes at a time.

Getting to one long nap after lunch happened around 14 months.