If you had a catnapper...

[Babytalkobsession]

When did they start sleeping longer? My DS is 10 months and very rarely sleeps longer than 40 mins (has slept 1hr 30 maybe 5 times ever). Today, after an hysterical bedtime last night thanks to over tiredness, I've stayed in and tried everything to extend his naps. But we've had two 30 minuters, at 10am and 2pm.

Please tell me it'll get better? He looks knackered and the whinging is unbearable at times!

DS dropped to 1 longer nap not long before his first birthday and would go to bed between 6 and 7. Have you tried just one nap? DS used to get lunch at 11.30 then sleep after but I had to jolly him along in the mornings to keep him going after about 5 days he started to naturally do it.

I too would try dropping to one nap.
Its how it goes, really.
Then you have to put up with them being tired and grouchy at making tea time, when you drop the daytime nap altogether.
But it passes.

Thank you, might be worth a try. Although he is shattered by 9:30 /10am depending on what time he wakes. I've read that for his age he should have 2-2.5 hrs day time sleep so one long nap would still hopefully give us that. I've been aiming more for 30mins in the morning and 1.5hrs at lunch.

The 60 mins he's had today is definitely not enough. He's literally only just 10 months, won't be 1 until November.

sorry to be the bearer of bad nestles but ever since dd stopped the feed, sleep for 4 hours rinse and repeat routine at about 10 weeks she has rarely napped for more than 40 mins at a time.

is your dc walking yet? you may find that when they do they will sleep longer if you wear them out. dd will sleep for about 90 mins if she has been running about the park/garden/soft play or has been swimming but other wise she cat naps.

nestles??! wtf autocorrect. news

DS1 was like this and it never improved. In fact, by about 13 months he dropped his daytime naps altogether! Slept all night though so couldn't complain.

Oh god. I'd convinced myself it will get better! He's not walking but is a mental crawler / climber / cruiser so don't think it'll be long. None of these developments have had any impact on his sleep...if anything it got worse had he had more fun things to do! And his nights are hit & miss. He can sleep through, just doesn't very consistently! And loves a 5am wake up.

To be quite honest I'm always frazzled by his bedtime.

DD started doing one longer lunch time nap at around 11 months. All very sudden after having previously only done 40 mins at a time to the minute.

Oh god.

Watching with interest as my 6 month old is a 40 minute napper...

he may be too tired by 10am. my 10mo wakes usually 6/6.30 though can be 5.30 or 7. nap at 9 whenever she wakes. 45 mins max or I wake her but she usually does 30 mins and wakes. then 1230. this is 1hr20-2 hrs usually.
she catnapped till 6.5m. I think until then I was so worried she was overtired by the 30 min naps I was trying too soon and she wasn't tired enough iyswim. I lengthened awake time and they lengthened. (I also nightweaned/sleep trained as had been waking every 2 hrs so it may also have been that)

so try lengthening and shortening awake times. helpful....

baby - once he gets used to all the new exciting things you may find that he does settle down. when dd first walked (at bloody 9 months) she refused to sleep in the day and I could not get her to settle at night for anything. all these new shiny exciting things she could explore. it lasted about 6 weeks and then she went back to cat napping but that combined with separation anxiety meant she didn't go down well at night until her first birthday and since then she has gone down at 730 and slept mostly til 6am

mine is walking already too and exhausted so I think that helps. yesterday, admittedly a good day - 45 mins at 9 I woke her, 2 hours at lunch and 1845-0700

DD was never a great napper (wouldn't go more than 40mins unless in a moving pram). She dropped to one nap at around 9months and we'd then get 1-1.5hrs from her. She was alot less frazzled on that as although it was still less sleep than reccomended at least she was going into deeper sleep. Worth a try!

OP DS's sleep was never really effected by getting tired out in the day either. I would put the idea of how long he should be sleeping out the window they don't all do it it's not a fact or something you can force. If he's usually ready to sleep by 9.30/10 try to keep him going until 10.30 and keep pushing it back until you get to 12ish it can be a pain until you get into the routine but it did work for me and lots of others.

P.s they say bad sleepers tend to be very smart hold on to that :)

16m DD has been a catnapper. At 10m she was doing 2x30mins too, sometimes 3. In the last month she's dropped her morning catnap and is sleeping for an hour ish after early lunch. It does vary though. Today is extreme, she went to sleep at 1030 and is STILL asleep!

DS was a catnapper too.

I tried everything to get them to nap longer, but some babies just don't IMHO. DS eventually napped for 2 hrs after lunch from about 18m-2.5yrs. Was lovely. I suspect DD will never go that long.

It does change. But every child is different. Some still nap for 2 hours at 3 years old, some drop naps entirely before they're 2. Fingers crossed for a bit of nap time soon. Mums of babies who nap well simply don't get the relentlessness of parenting a baby who doesn't.

My just 10 month old DS does this but we started resettling him - doesn't always work but he is doing some longer naps now. Often does his nap in two or there chunks with cuddles in between. When we started he'd usually do the second part on me - decided that was ok as it might get him better at the idea of sleeping longer. I can usually put him down again now. That said, yesterday we got two 35 min naps so it's not a complete solution. I feel your pain - he's not great at night either and if one more person tells me to nap when he does I'll shoot them - I'd be lucky to get 20 mins!