Daytime nap schedule

[Cordial]

My dd is 16 weeks and has been sleeping through the night since 10 w. hurrah. Thing is her day time napping is erratic e.g some days she hardly sleeps at all and never at the same time. She likes a sleep early doors at 9am and sometimes sleeps for 2 hours but then the rest of the day is a nightmare! Sometime she falls asleep after feed which is immediately after a nap!

Anyway you get the picture! So how hard should i. Work to get a day time sleep routine? Should I wake her from long morning sleeps to aim for post lunch time ones? Should I always wake her if she sleeps on the boob? Has anybody any experience / advice to share?

My son is 6 mo and I'm finding that I really need to wear him out before lunch in order to get a long nap out of him in the afternoon, either by physical rolling around on the floor or just taking him out and stimulating him in different atmospheres/meeting people etc.

He sleeps for an hour at around 8.30am. If I let him nap between the 10am and 1pm feed then he'll only sleep for 45mins in the afternoon and ends up knackered by bathtime which becomes a nightmare. But if he stays awake late morning then he'll generally sleep for 1.5hrs after lunch which makes bathtime much happier!

Does she fall asleep on you for the bedtime feed? If so, it might help the daytime naps if you can rouse her before putting her down at night - she needs to experience actually falling asleep in her cot (rather than being put in there already asleep) so she is comfortable with doing that, then she might be happier to do it during the day.

I also found it helped to give my son the same sleep cues in the day as at night - in his sleeping bag, curtains drawn, etc. Also, try to catch her when she starts to go a bit 'vacant' as that's an early sign of tiredness, rather than waiting until yawning/rubbing eyes etc.

I didn't really 'instil' anything - I wait for the tired signs rather than going by the clock - but he is definitely getting used to it and will go to sleep with only a couple of minutes fuss instead of the meltdowns of a few weeks ago.

Watching with interest

DD is 14 weeks and is my 3rd DC but I can't remember anything about how my older DC fell into a pattern of daytime sleeps at all. I have never been one to really instigate a routine and they have found their way but I am sure there is some benefit in a bit of encouragement!!

I am not too worried with DD as she sleeps v well at night, but I am aware that at time in the day she is v tired. I am struggling as with 2 other kids and their school runs / activities I am just forever dragging DD in and out, waking her up and letting her fall asleep in the car etc....

I tried putting her in her cot for naps today but she awoke after 20-30 mins each time and cried to get up, which is worse than usual. She will normally sleep for a while if I settle her in my arms then lie her on the sofa, or put her "to bed" in her pram.

Thanks Greta , she doesn't fall asleep on her last feed we have a bed time routine and she goes into her cot awake. That just happened without us really thinking, so why I can't get the daytime to follow suit ...

I think the wear her out thing is good advice, I have tended to allow a mid morning cat nap say 11:15 and then there is no long sleep in the afternoon. Also looking at it I think I should pull her lunchtime milk earlier so that she is not over tired which I think also happens!

Mutley - I have a busy out and about sort of week too (though without the added fun of 2 other dc's) ! I think that in part it sounds like the pair of us are letting them sleep rather than planning for them to sleep. Not sure i know how to resolve that I have to be out today at 2:15 slap bang in the middle of a big sleep so plan to try to make that sleep earlier from say 12:30 will let you know how I get on!

I am feeling a bit guilty that maybe my busyness is having a bad impact on sleep. Do people generally stay at home during sleep times?

I've tried to make sure any appointments/shopping are done in the mornings so that if my son does sleep it will just be a catnap in the pram or car, then we are home in the afternoons.
Not possible all the time, but the more I'm doing it the better he is responding - I had to go out on Sunday afternoon and he was really grumpy but then had a nap at 5pm for 45mins to catch up.
No magic wand, but it's just been about making habits consistent so he knows what to expect and eventually WANTS it - it's a very gradual thing and has taken a few weeks to see improvements so don't despair!

Some people do stay home during sleep time but others don't and tbh I never have as I feel my sanity is more important than a rigid routine. When they were a bit older though and "need" the decent nap after lunch I did tend to try and stay at home or arrive somewhere in time for them to have a decent nap (DC1 would happily nap in the pushchair, DC2 not so much).

What gg is doing sounds good to establish the routine though - I might try that for a few days as both DC are at school 3 days per week and on the other 2 we generally go out to do an activity in the morning and chill out watching TV in between lunch and school pick up time.