Help, 9 month old only naps twice for 30 mins!

[Chocolateporridge]

My DS is a good sleeper at night, usually from roughly 7.30 until roughly 6.30. He sometimes wakes himself coughing but lately he's been fab at self-settling.

Naptimes are a whole other thing He's usually really tired by 9.30am so I put him to bed in his grobag. He then screams and screams for anything from ten minutes to 40 mins and will eventually sleep for half an hour if I'm lucky. This is repeated at around 1.30 or 2pm although at this point he'll usually scream for longer and sleep for less.

I have a baby monitor and I was going in to him every five minutes until my dh and hv convinced me that I should leave it for longer, so I keep an eye on him and leave him for up to 20 mins before I go in to calm him down, but the minute I leave the room he's screaming again.

In between times he's happy and content until around 5ish but we distract him with dinner and bath and then get him to bed where he usually settles quickly.

I'm just so worried that he's getting less than 12 hours sleep a day and that he cries so much in his bed, please does anyone have some advice for me?!!

Willhe nap on you? I would probably do whatever it takes to get him napping long enough first even if it involves you staying with him or letting him sleep on you. When that routine is established maybe then try transitioning him back to the cot?

At this age my DS couldn't self settle to sleep so I would give him milk and cuddle him to sleep for his nap and his night time sleep, and transfer to cot once asleep.
I'm not necessarily suggesting you do this because it might seem like a backward step, because yours does self settle eventuly, just with lots of crying. It would just save all the crying that's all.
He learnt to self settle at about 1.

scarlet I should have mentioned that I often take him out in his pram around nap time as he will reliably fall asleep without crying in his pram, but even there he only naps for half an hour Max

Why not keep him awake until 12 and seeing if he will sleep 3 hour straight rather than two seperate naps. He's obviously not tired enough at half 9.

My DD stopped napping during the day at 9 months. Unusual but all kids are different. He might not need much sleep in the day as you think he does, especially as he sleeps so well during the night.

Don't forget that a lot of babies still wake during the night at this age or are poor sleepers, so will nap more. If he wasn't getting enough sleep he'd be grumpy/whingy all day

There is a 9 month sleep regression... usually connected with new skills like pulling to standing. My DS1 wouldn't nap either - it was like he was wired so I used to take him out in the buggy every day until it passed.