do all babies need long lunchtime nap?

[mammylambchop]

I have a 6 month old who has been having three 30 minute naps a day. I have just started her on solids and she's upto 3 meals a day, so i thought this would be a good time to try and extend the lunchtime nap, aiming to drop the afternoon nap.

However, after 30 mins she always wakes up, and will then cry until I get her from the cot. Occaisionally she has gone back to sleep after 30-45 mins crying, to have another 30 minute nap, but a total of 60 mins sleep with 45 mins of crying in between seems to be a waste of time to me.

Do i persevere,aiming for a 2 hour lunchtime nap? or shall I just carry on with the 3 short naps. Thanks for any advice!

Forgot to say, she has been waking early (5.30 -6 or so) and not going back to sleep so I was hoping a longer lunchtime nap might help with this. Also, she doesn't sleep any longer than 30 mins in buggy either, so pushing her in buggy to try to extend nap hasn't worked!

Keep putting her down for three naps a day although try putting her down earlier - short naps are usually a sign of being overtired, so not napping properly.

My DS didn't nap for more than 45 minutes without assistance until about 7/8 months. He's only just started to take long lunch naps at 9 months and that's only if I give him a big lunch and a milk feed beforehand! Otherwise he wakes up.

I'd follow her lead, tbh. You can't force someone (of any age) to be sleepy when they're not. At 6 months, mine would have 3 45 minute naps. She dropped the third nap at about 8 months (6 weeks ago), but still rarely sleeps more than an hour at a time during the day.

Putting mine down too soon results in lots of tears and a shorter than usual nap... I'm obviously doing something wrong, so ignore me

They're all different, but DD1 still has a 2.5 hr nap at lunchtime (she's nearly 3 - I wish she'd drop it so we can go out to lunch!!) and my 7 week old seems to have fallen into the same. Mind, I've followed Gina Ford (don't stone me Gina Haters) with both from an early age, so I think it's just what they are used to.

I have a friend whose kids are both great sleepers though, and she does it totally differently, more like your approach, and it works great for them.

I think they just get used to however you 'do it'. Yours is obviously used to doing it her own way. If you are really keen for her to have a longer lunchtime nap, stick with it, she'll get the message in the end. Good luck hun!

Hmmm, thanks for all the replies. I put her down earlier today (thanks igglybuff) straight after her lunch and she slept for a solid hour, and another 45 mins this afternoon. i guess she takes what she needs so think I'll stick with that, it breaks my heart to hear her crying when we could be having fun together!

not sure really. But here's an article on baby sleep routines you might find handy.

x

That's great mammy that she slept longer. Hopefully as she starts to eat more, she'll go a bit longer at lunch in time.

Mine didn't shift to one long lunchtime nap till around 12 months, and even then not consistently so until 18 months. At 6 months, 2-3 short naps is both normal and perfectly fine for her. It is way too soon for yours to go to a single long nap, and if she only wants half an hour and isn't grumpy when she wakes, she's obviously getting what she needs.

a lot of children around her age fall into a natural sort of 2-3-3-3 pattern (as in, 2 hours after they wake, then 3, then 3, then 3 until bedtime). Then they shift to a 2-3-4 pattern (but not all do, it's not a goal just a guideline). I think it's quite unusual to shift to a single nap till closer to a year.