9mo old needing more naps...

[Givemecoffeeplease]

My 9mo old DS sleeps well through the night (7-6ish on a good day) (I know I'm lucky with this) but will only nap for 35/40 mins at a time in the day (around 9.15 am and 1pm). He's dropped his 4pm nap and he really suffers trying to get from 1.30ish wake up from second nap to bedtime. He wakes up grumpy but cheers up soon enough but from 4 pm it's a slog to stop the grizzling. I expected the lunchtime nap to lengthen... But it hasn't! At the nursery he will be starting in February they all sleep for 2 hours at lunch. Will they magically sort him out?!? I feel for him, he is so knackered at the end of the day that tea and bath are a bit miserable. Poor thing. Any clues?

My dd was like this too and the end of the days were becoming nightmares for me. Are you in a good routine with his naps? As dd was always napping in different places/times so I decided to stop all activities and stay in for a few weeks so she could have every nap in her bed. Something seemed to click as she now sleeps for at least an hour, usually 1.15 at every nap which is a huge improvement on the 30 minute ones she was getting before.

Agree with above poster if it's not what you already do have naps in cot. My ds sleeps so much better and longer in his cot in a dark room and upto 2hrs if it's quiet too!
I didn't realise this until we had a a few days in the house when I wasn't feeling well so didn't want to go outside.
45mins is only one sleep cycle so you want the baby to resettle themselves and go back over to have another sleep cycle.
A friend who's ds sleeps with white noise goes back up to his room after 40 mins and turns the White noise back on and generally her ds goes back over.

We do about 50% of naps at home (and I'd go spare if I couldn't get out for the others, we live in a shoebox) and I've tried to resettle but when he is up he is up. I'll try more of his naps at home and see how I go.... Thanks.

I know overtired is always trotted out...but my 9mo would really struggle to be awake three hours or more at the start of the day and would probably only do a short nap as a result. Could you try getting her down for that first nap sooner?

I'm guessing you've experimented with different sleeping arrangements? Unlike the PP, my dd will still only do short naps in her cot. But stick her in the buggy in a quiet room and she'll no often do an hour in the morning and two at lunch. So that's what we do for almost all naps.

That all said, my dd was a notorious 30-min-max napper until last couple of months. Nothing really changed to make her start going longer and believe me I tried everything! I think it was just developmental - she eventually worked out how to nap longer.

Thanks Highlove. Fingers crossed he develops in this area pdq. Overtired is my answer to everything....!

I'd agree that you need to try and get them back off to sleep at lunchtime after their initial 45 minute cycle. My 8 month old is like clockwork for waking up after 45 minutes at lunchtime, I just settle her again and she goes down. Sleeps from 1-3. It's a bloody nightmare if I want to go out at this time though as she will point blank refuse to sleep, so I stay in and let her snooze. Much happier baby and mum this way!

She has just dropped her last nap so goes from 3-6.30 without and then bath time. She also has 45 minutes in the morning at about 9am.

I find it really hard to resettle her but it's worth it!