Naps/wake windows

[solosunflower]

Hello! First time mum here and very much winging it. My baby is 9 weeks old. Should I be trying to structure nap times? Currently I'm going with the flow and trying to read when he is tried. The only 'routine' we have is for bedtime, which currently starts at around 9 pm for a 10 pm sleep.

Sounds like you’re doing fine! A bedtime is a great start. Your baby is still in the third trimester, so there’s no rush to get too prescriptive. However, it might be handy to pay attention to wake windows as you might find that your baby naturally falls into rough patterns of naps over the coming weeks.

Fourth! Fourth trimester, not third

Hi Mama!

The ideal nap time duration can vary depending on the age of the baby and specific needs. Since you have a 9-week-old baby, newborns tend to sleep shorter periods throughout the day and night. They may take serval naps ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours, with a total sleep time of around 14 to 17 hours per day.

Thanks everyone. I really feel I need to try and do something because I’m exhausted!

Baby is ten weeks tomorrow. So currently I get him down for 10 pm and he awakes for 3.30 am then won’t go back to sleep again. I honestly think he’s getting overtired in the day. The only way I can get him to sleep in the day is walking around with the baby carrier or driving round. Problem with that is I can’t catch up with any sleep or get anything done round the house. I’m on my own.

At 9 weeks you should be aiming for wake windows of 2 hrs ish. It is very light at 3:30 am currently if they have had a good feed baby should be ready to go back down at 5:30am then be ready to start the day at 7:30, following that I would go for naps at 9:30-11 and 1-3 pm with a much shorter one around 5pm. Good luck

I have a 12 week old and we have fallen into a nice routine now.
her wake windows are 1 hour to 1 hour 30 max. Her first sleep of the day is an hour after she wakes up which seems crazy as she sleeps 6.30-6 straight through.
It sounds like you need to put him down for his nap earlier, I try and put her down in the same place (cot in her bedroom) for her first morning nap and then she sleeps either in pushchair or cot through the day depending on what we are doing.
At 9 weeks her wake window was definitely only an hour, even if he doesn’t seem tired put him down anyway and see if he drops off!

Totally agree with this. 1-1.5 hours max!