40 mins naps - will they EVER get any longer?

[LittleMilla]

DS is six months. He sleeps 3x40 mins almost every day. Occassionally throws in a 1 hour + sleep, but only when I actually want him to sleep for 40 mins .

When not ill/teething he's just about sleeping through the night 7-6 with a dreamfeed. So I cannot complain.

But I just want to know, is this it re:naps? Sometimes it'd be good to DO something around the house in the daytime...instead of rushing around like a loon once he's gone to bed!

My DD didn't have more than the odd 10 min catnap until she was 7 months then started having 2 30min naps a day (which felt like heaven at the time).
She was a terrible sleep-fighter and would wake between 2-6 times during the night as well.

By the time she was a year she was having a 2-2.5 hour nap in the afternoon (She'd go longer if I didn't wake her) and still does at 20months old as well as sleeping a solid 12 hours overnight.

You'll probably find that once your DS is more mobile he will tire himself out more and sleep for longer.

Was just about to ask the same question! Except that my 5-month old has 3 or 4 x 30-minute naps, and trying to make sure we can fit as many as she needs to get through to bathtime without meltdown can be a logistical nightmare. Good to know it does change.

Mine did 45 minute naps until about 7 months, then suddenly starting sleeping 2+ hours and had to be woken He'll still sleep 3 hours in the afternoon now at 15 months if I let him.

Yes, but only when he went down to one nap a day.

This happened for my DD at around 6/7 months and she is now 10 months and we have the magical 2 hours in the afternoon!

OK, so it's either going to be a month or six months before he does some loner ones ! At least it sounds like he'll eventually sort himself out.

Sounds silly, but any tips on how? Or do you just put them down one day and it happens magically?? I have tried to encourage him to stay awake longer, but much more than 3 hours and he's on his knees! Literally, head down and he's gone in seconds!

Thanks all x

It did just kind of happen magically for us.
I did CC with DD when she was 11 months (as I said in earlier post, she was a nightmare sleeper/sleep fighter) and she started napping longer after that.
It did co-incide with her getting on her feet though, I think the walking tired her out a lot so she needed more sleep.

My DD was a terrible sleeper until about 9 months old when she went from 2x30 minute occasional naps to 2 x1.5-2 hour naps a day.

I'm having the same issue with my 5.5 month old, she has 3x30 minutes and getting her down for the last nap is a real pain but she desperately needs it. I've tried doing the sneaking in before she wakes then patting her back to sleep, a la No Cry Sleep Solution, but it doesn't work. The only time she sleeps for longer is if I'm cuddling her, which is only practical/possible about once a week when DD1's at nursery.

It's reassuring to read that many babies start to do a longer stretch eventually.

Happened magically with ds. Literally one day he just slept for 2 hours (I had to keep checking he was still breathing!). It happened about the same time he started sleeping on his tummy.

Yes like ritamorgan my DD started sleeping for longer stretches when she started sleeping on her tummy.

my ds only ever slept 30-40 mins when he was little. He started increasing when he got more active and went down to two sleeps aday, but he dropped down to one nap just after a year. He is now 18 months and doesn't always have a nap but when he does it can be up to 2.5 hours, like today when he had a busy morning

3 hours between naps at 6 months is quite a long time. Ds (1) will even now only stretch to 3.5 hours - possibly 4 after a longish sleep before bedtime. It's possible your LO is a bit overtired and can't get into the next sleep cycle.

I still have to balance them, very overtired, and DS will throw out a 30 minute nap, just about right and he will do two sleep cycle ie 1 hr 20 minutes, slightly overtired and he will do 2 hours....

May be worth putting your LO down a little earlier and see what happens?

I agree with jazzanddh. My DD could only last about 2 hours between naps at that age. If he gets up about 6am I would have a go putting him down for his first nap at about 7.30-8am and see how you get on.

Hello jazz - I do normally give him two hours between naps. The three hour point was just to say that I have tried to stretch him longer to see if it'd help, but it doesn't.

Funnily enough, he slept for over an hour this am (and we had to wake him up to go out - typical!). DH got up with him first thing and is always rather physcial (!), so lots of crawling practice and standing up etc. He doing seal-like crawling movements towards toys, so I do think that there's probably an element to me wearing him out between his naps. He wants to be physical, so I prob ought to encourage it more and more instead of being on MN.

Time I must confess that he's slept on his tummy from about 6 weeks - I was really desperate to get him sleep and this was the only way he was happy. Not ideal, I know. But it worked for us so that at least he's slept OK-ish at night.

Thanks again all for sharing your experiences. x

For months ds only slept 35 mins per nap. Now, at 12m, he will do 1.5 hours. It started when he became more mobile, cruising etc.

I had a 30 minute napper, no more and no less. Hours of endless walks in the pram for 30 elusive minutes.

Then at 5 months my dh fell seriously ill and I had to finda way to get her to nap longer and without me tramping the streets.

Started to read The Sleepeasy Solution and it all came together. Now at 13 months she sleeps really well and sometimes I even find myself having to wake her up.
Also have a website Sleepyplanet.com

Hope it gets better for you soon, it doesn't last forever though!

4 x 30 minute naps until 7 months for us. DS would wake up at 6 and be down for his first nap by 8! Lots of walks and car journeys for us too! At 7 months he started getting into a routine, probably because he was demand breastfed and then started solids at 6 months, by 7 months he was having proper lumpy meals, 3 a day, and this got him into more of a routine. He had 3 naps of 1-1.5 hours for two and then a 30 minute catnap late afternoon. Then at about 8.5 months transitioned to 2 naps and has about 1 - 1.5 hours for each and sleeps from 7pm - 7:30am. He just did it on his own, I'd got so frustrated with trying to make him do what he didn't want to do!

Thank you all very much for your replies. Last three days DS has decided that 5:30am/6am is his wakeup time , when he'd normally go back to sleep after a quick feed if he woke up. Means that he's KNACKERED for his first nap, and has been sleeping for an hour and half! Any sort of 'routine' is now out though as I'm spending the whole day trying to eeek him out between naps.

I am trying to make him as active as possible as he's now able to craw (well, sort of lollop!) towards objects - so lots of me puttings things out of his reach! I will tire him out! He's also desperate to stand up the whole time, so i'm letting him pull himself up on me. Not wanting to sound like a complete w*nker, but he's quite strong and advanced with these things.

And tonight he's gone to bed at 6:30pm instead of 7 to see if that helps him to sleep longer tomorrow am. Also gave him weetabix for his tea.

so I am sure that as one thing sorts itself out, another (early rising) will take its place. It just feels now ruddy stop, but that's what parenting is all about, right?

Thanks again x