Unpredictable naps

[HB28]

My 8month old self settles in her cot and sleeps well at night, but her nap lengths are so unpredictable. She wakes up around 7:30 and first nap around 10:15/10:30ish (I go off her sleepy cues), but this can last 25 mins or up to two hours! This effects if we have a two nap or three nap day. It also feels impossible to plan to do anything because my days are so different. Any have a similar issue, any advice?

try a schedule? Some people are able to be chill and go with the variability of baby sleep, but I liked a schedule so I could plan, it helped me get out of the house every day which I found important for my mental health. There are lots online. So the morning nap would usually be short at this age (30 min or so) then you wake them and this gives you a predictable wake window until the lunch nap which is the long one (because around age 1 they go to one nap and so the lunch nap is the one that stays as it breaks the day in half). Honestly I am grateful that I invested in getting the lunch nap right early on because both mine did a solid two hour nap in the cot in the middle of the day until they were nearly 3 and it became such a life saving break once back at work.

Thanks for the suggestion. I know it works for some people, but I don’t want to be too rigid and I’d be hesitant to wake her after half an hour as the second nap is just as unpredictable (if I get two half hour naps I have to try and squeeze in a third which often pushes bedtime a bit). I only ever really wake her if she’s been going two hours or it’s getting too late in the day.

At 8 months, she should be on 2 naps. Morning nap is usually longest.

I would:

• wake her at the same time each morning I.e. 7am
• not let the morning nap be longer than 1

5 hours.

Thanks. Yes I wake her up at 7:30am even if still asleep (sometimes she wakes a little before, but we start the day between 7-7:30) I aim for a two nap day but if she has two half hour naps she can’t make it to bedtime even if I bring it forward (hence a very short third nap - sometimes 5-10mins is needed to see her through)

They nap as long as they need to depending on what they've experienced don't they? They need all the sleep they get. Why mess with that?

I would do a schedule instead of sleepy cues, especially if you want the day to be more predictable. The first nap also seems to start a little late - going down at 9:30 would be more typical.

P.s. if she wakes up after 30 minutes, I would leave in bed for a while unless she’s going ballistic to see if she drifts back to sleep.

Yes I do do this. She actually fell back to sleep today for the first time ever (after 15mins) 😊

For me, I think no intervention is needed at the moment as long as she's not waking you up at unexpected hours, like early in the morning. However, if you wish to have a more predictable schedule throughout the day, sleep capping can really help. Each baby is different, though, so you might need to watch out for their cues. You also need to setup the right environment for them to rest.