day time sleep for 8mo

[TracyK]

how much daytime napping should an 8mo have?
some days ds has 1 hour in am and 1 hour in pm or sometimes 2 hrs in middle of the day.
But seems to get grumpy around 6.15pm.
should I do more nap during the day or just start his bedtime routine at 6.15 instead of 6.45?

you haven't said what time he's waking and going to bed, but anyway..,..

i'd do a little bit more in the afternoon and reduce the morning if necessary. - so maybe 30 mins in the morning and 1 hr 30 after lunch. that way he should keep going until bed time.

My ds is 7 months and to be honest I just go with what he wants. I'm not sure I'd be able to make him nap more during the day. His bedtime routine usually starts around 6.30pm. Is it a big problem putting him to bed at 6.15pm?

If he's getting grumpy at that time I would take it as a sign that that's when he needs to go to bed .. well 5 minutes before to be honest

His day really depends on what we're doing, but if he's at nursery (like this morning) he was awake for 6 hours then had a 2 hr nap when he got home till 3.50. So 6.15 just seems a bit soon after waking.
Also if we go swimming he's usually awake till 10.30am then has 2 hrs - and then doesn't give me any sleepy signals till about 5.30pm.
But should I only give him a short time in the am and wake him up - then let him have a longer in the pm. If I leave him to his own devices he seems to have a long nap in the am.

ps he WAS grumpy - now he's chatting! maybe he was bored not grumpy.

I don't think it matters how long they've been awake .. it's more what they are like .. if he's getting grumpy it's bedtime (you can usually tell by the eyes)

If it helps DD generally does

Awake .. somewhere between 7.30 and 8.30
Morning nap .. starts somewhere between 9.20 (after dropped DS at pre-school) and 10am for anywhere between 30 minutes and 1 hour
Afternoon nap .. starts anywhere from 12.30 to 1.30ish for between 30 minutes and 1 hour
Around 3.30 she has another 20 minute nap
Then bedtime is between 6 and 6.30

But each one (apart from first morning one) is normally by her 'sleepy signs'.. she's 6 months BTW

Of course if we're out she just drops off in the buggy or car seat or it gets shunted till later

Oh and DS used to have his afternoon nap at around 2 or 3ish for a good 2 hours .. then always go to bed at 7

my rule is never wake a sleeping baby in the day unless it's after 5pm really. My ds hardly sleeps at all at nursery but seems to catch up the next day. It doesn't seem to affect his night time sleeping so I just go with the flow

twiglett - did your ds have a morning nap?

yes DS used to have a morning nap .. think it was around 10.30ish for an hour to hour and a half.. he slept wonderfully during the day did DS .. wish DD was the same

Do they need differnet naps lengths on different days?
Some days ds goes for 4 or 5 hrs not needing a nap and others his eyes look knackered after an hour and a half.
Should I just go by the signs and tailor each day or force the nap routine by bf or driving at sleep times to get him to fit to some kind of routine?

On a good day Dd wakes 6 a.m. sleeps 9-10 then again for two hours after lunch, then bed at 7 p.m.. On a bad day she doesn't have hger lunch nap - and makes life miserbale for everyone.

It makes so much of a difference to our day if she sleeps, that I'm a real soft touch over accomodating her for them. Morning nap is in buggy during walk. After lunch I let her sleep on my tummy (while I sleep, or read or TV or something). Gina Ford would be horrified, I'm sure, but if she sleeps on her own she wakes much sooner.

what age is your dd kif?

hi tracyk, think you replied to my thread on 9mth old refusing bedtime milk? my ds's naps vary every day, depending on teething discomfort. some mornings he will be crying after 30 mins, some mornings, he will have an 1.5 hrs. to be honest, even if he has a very short nap in the morning it doesn't always follow that he will have a long one after lunch, as the short am nap is usually the sign that he's being bothered by his gums. i also find if he has only 30 mins in the morning he is too tired to enjoy his lunch. so at the moment, i usually let him sleep when he wants. at the moment he has an awful cold so is all over the place anyway. i still take him in the pram, or car if we are on our way back home for a short cat nap at around 4.30 as he gets very overtired by bedtime when he misses this. once he is over this cold, i will probably try and get him to have more of a nap routine, and try and get him to drop the cat nap at 4.30/5pm. when they are teething, i have found each day can be completly different, so hopefully soon things wil start to settle into a bit more of a pattern.

Hi Alibo
well today ds was awake at 7am and went down for a nap at 10.30 - then the bloody dog barked at the postman and woke him up at 11am. But he seemed quite cheery. Had to force him to go for a nap at 3.15pm and he had an hour and a bit.
He then went to bed at 7.40pm as he was wide awake til then.
This baby lark doesn't get any easier does it!

TracyK, my DD is 7.5 m so similar to yours.
She sleep from 7.30pm to 6.30am.
Awake till 8.30am then nap for 1-2 hours depending on her.
Up for another 2-3 hours then a nap for roughly an hour.
Awake then until bedtime but does sometimes have a nap at around 4 or 5 for 20-30 minutes.
She starts to get grumpy at 6.30 pm so we do bath, bottle and bed then.
I know it's a bit vague but I think it's the total amount they sleep which you should look at.
I'd say DD gets between 13-14 hours each day.
I NEVER wake her up! (Unless she falls asleep at 5pm and is still asleep 45 minutes later).
One thing we do is put her in door bouncer thingy at around 6pm which she loves and gets her through to bathtime more easily.

7.5 months. DOB 24/3/04. Don't tell me she's considered a good sleeper - my dh would lose all credibility in the pub after telling everyone how tough she was!

Kif, are you talking to me?
Sorry, that sounds rude!
I think she's a good sleeper.
Born 3 days before yours on the 21st (mothers' day)

does she sleep well at night kif?
i forgot to say my ds usually wakes at 4.30am for a feed before sleeping through for another 3 hours.