Is there anything I can do?

[duvet]

DD2 is nearly 11 months and only has 2 1/2 naps a day, (she sleeps 7 - 6.30) it seems most other babies this age have at least 2 hours, including my own dd1 at that age. Occasionally she'll sleep for an hour and a 1/2 in total but very rare. She always protests a little (sometimes a lot) at being put down for a nap. Mostly she is a happy baby, does get tired quickly after tea though, so maybe she doesn't need that much sleep. But 2 or 3 times a week she wakes once in the night and is quite difficult to settle and I wonder if she is overtired. Anyone have a similar problem they overcame, or should I accept that my 11 month old dd is different to the rest and doesn't much sleep - sadly!! TIA (she is b/f - doesnt make a difference)

sounds quite normal to me-babies are so different,think waking at night may hopefully be a passing habit,had the same with ds for a while.
Is she eating enough? ds always sleeps sounder on a full tummy

Yeah she eats well. Yes I always console myself with it's a phase.

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My friends dd is about the same age as yours and also doesnt sleep much during the day but will sleep for 10 hours through the night.
my ds is 4 months and his daytime sleep varies a lot, sometimes he'll have a hour about 11-11.30 then again at 4 and goes to bed at 9. Yesterday he slept for almost 2 hours at 10.30, then again at 3, then had nearly a hour at 6.30 then went to bed at 9 and slept until 8 this morning.
I always think that if they need it then they will sleep, hopefully if she's up during the day she may sleep for longer without waking through the night

You all sound lucky to me. My son is 2 and has never slept through the night. He wakes three or four times for anything up to an hour, im constantly tired. Im so jealous of you all!

Duvet -my ds is 11 months too and doing very similar. Tbh I never know from one day to the next how (long) he will sleep. Some days he will have his first nap at 10.00am for up to 1.5hours then another any time between 3& 5pm for 1/2hour. Other days he will go till 11.30am and sleep for 1.5hours and that's it for the day, yesterday he went at 10.30 for 45mins and that was it for the whole day!. Today he's had 2 lots of 1/2 hour. He's getting very tired after tea too so I'm taking him to bed 1/2 earlier but it's not affected his waking uptime so it's not a bad thing.

I think he's in that trying to drop to one nap a day stage. He protests too if he's not mega tired when I try to get him to sleep because I think he 'should'. After a few days of 'why the hell won't he sleep' stress attacks I've just accepted there's nopoint trying to make him sleep if he's not ready,and it's probably just another phase, it's easiest to just go with the flow for now try

Thanks guys I am hoping that as she gets older/starts walking she will sleep for longer and follow a more regular pattern.

duvet my dd also 11months and most days only naps for 2 x 30mins

yes she does get over-tired, and having spent 11 months on the problem I am no nearer to solving it - so have bugger-all advice for you

she also wakes about 5-6 times in the night

can be blooming annoying when chatting to friends who have good nappers, but have to try to let it go past me and just think lucky them (in a nice way)

no help really this was it? just that you are not alone - babies all very different and will change over time too

Bumbleweed - 5 or 6 times a night! That must be hard going, you have my sympathies, dd2 was like that from 4 to 6 months and it was exhausting, if I sat down during that time for five mins I'd be falling asleep, I hope things improve for you soon.

I coming to the conclusion that either I am doing something wrong or I have a difficult baby. I've just put her down for her nap 2.5 hours ish after she last woke up, she was looking all sleepy as I was feeding her as soon as goes in her cot she majorly protest, she always does this, sometimes for 30 secondds sometimes 5 mins, I leave her cos nothing else works it's just so stressful. I try putting her down later but still she protests a little. Sorry I am just having a moan.

duvet you sound fed up - its so frustrating when you know they are tired but they seem to be fighting sleep isnt it?

I hope someone comes along with some good advice soon

A really good book is 'The No-Cry Sleep Solution' by Elizabeth Pantley - I got it out of the library here

Thanks Bumbleweed, yes i do feel a bit fed up because she's been like this for weeks now, no improvement even tho I've been consistent with her naps - she still protests loudly, this morning it was for a good 10 mins, I've tried not bothering with putting her down but that is much worse, she fights sleep in the pushchair and when she does fall asleep she will be very grumpy. I don't know what else to do.