What time should first nap be?

[Rowlie]

LO is 8 months. He currently goes to bed around 7pm and wakes between 6-6.30am (occasionally closer to 7am if lucky). He usually has 2 hours of awake time before first nap, although I try to make sure this is not before 8.30am. First nap is 1hr 20. He will then have his second nap approx 2.5-3 hours after first, usually around 12.30/1. This nap is usually 1hr 20 but occasionally can be up to 2 hours.

He used to have a final catnap of 40 mins but this was edging towards 5pm so too late really and often refuses it. So in total he is having about 2 hours 40 naps and 11 hours overnight (sleeps through pretty much or if he does wake and makes noise he puts himself back to sleep within 10 minutes).

The issue is, is that if he doesn’t have a third nap, he then has a long wake window before bedtime - potentially over 4 hours. Which I think is a bit much for his age?

Should I be moving to set nap timings? Say 9am and 1pm? Although he’s still likely to be up from his second nap by 2.30, which would be 4.5 hours before bed. Ideally he needs 2 hours over lunch, taking us to 3pm and bed by 7pm, but he doesn’t often do 2 hours.

Any advice welcome!

My baby is 8.5 months and I try to follow the 2/3/4 nap schedule but often tends to be 2/3/3.

He will wake between 6 and 7, first nap 2 hours later, between 8 and 9, he'll sleep from 45 mins up to 2 hours.

Next nap is 3 hours after he wakes, so between 12 and 1 usually. If he's had a short nap in the morning, he'll have his long nap in the afternoon or vice versa.

Then bedtime is 3-4 hours after he wakes depending on how tired he is. He manages well with a 4 hour window for the most part but if for some reason his naps are shorter or we have been out and he's extra tired, I just put him to bed earlier. He has been known to go to bed at 6pm on a poor nap day.

Does your baby seem ok on a 4 hour wake window? Does it affect his sleep overnight if he's awake longer? At 8 months, that last nap is a bit of a danger nap and if mine falls asleep in the car or buggy after about 4pm, bedtime can be a battle!

Thanks @HalloHello . He’s definitely exhausted by bedtime if awake for 4-4.5 hours but he’s generally a good natured baby so it’s not too bad, he just gets a bit grumpy then passes out on the bottle at 6.45pm. It doesn’t seem to have much impact on his night sleep. He sleeps through on average.

He is sometimes in bed 6.30-6.45pm but I worry that the earlier he goes to bed the more it will reinforce an early wake? Ideally I’d like him to sleep until 7am! Occasionally we do have a 5-5.30am start but I’ll then resettle him with a bottle.

I think it depends on your lo and their awake times, is your lo ready for 2 naps? Maybe push it all forward a little. At 8 months My lo could go 2.5 to 3 hours in morning so first nap was 930am/945am till 11am to 1115am then 2pm to 215pm to 330pm/4pm then bed 730pm to 8pm.

@ChittyBang1987 I find it very hard to tell because he is a quite yawny baby! Sometimes he’ll do a 2 hour nap and yawn 10 minutes after waking. Today for instance he woke at 6.20am, 1st nap was 8.30-10am and 2nd nap 1pm-2.30pm. By 1pm he definitely needed to go to bed. Perhaps I could try stretching the 1st nap longer than 2 hours awake time to push everything later? I now won’t put him down again until bed at 6.30/7pm but I recon he will be pretty tired by then.

If he’s sleeping through 99% of the time I suppose it must be ok for him?

I would try pushing everything forward personally. It is what suits you. Its the difficult age of switching between 2 and 3 naps.

If lo woke at 620am I would call that a plus tbh. If lo starts waking early I would start pushing it all forward

Thanks @ChittyBang1987 by forward do you mean start morning nap later, then 2nd nap will be later too? So that there is less of a big window between last nap and bed?

Yep. Exactly that. Some people do it cutting morning nap down instead like 9am to 10am or 930am till 1030am (or even shorter morning nap) and still do 1pm to 130pm nap awake by 3pm to 330pm, I think people do it this way because of pick up from schools and such. Depends what works for you and lo. At your lo age I did 3.5 to put in bed for final wake window and asleep by 4 hours mark but as lo gets older may need more awake time.

Thanks @ChittyBang1987 really helpful. I’m a FTM so no school run to consider. I am back at work though and two days a week he goes to a childminder for 4 hours so his nap pattern is slightly different those days anyway as he has his 1st nap at home with me then his 2nd nap when he gets home from CM at 2.30pm. He’ll then sleep until 4ish and bed at 7pm, and again seems fine. Occasionally he’ll drop off for 30 mins at the CM in pram or bouncy seat. Eventually he’ll go there for longer days and have to have a longer nap there but at the moment seems to work ok. Sorry I’m rambling now, FTM anxiety. One last thing, do you think 6.30pm is too early for bedtime - will that encourage early wakes? Occasionally he does wake between 5-6am but will either put himself back to sleep for a further 30 mins or I’ll give him a bottle and he’ll do another hour.

I could never put my lo to bed at 630pm she be up at 5am. It depends on your lo sleep needs. If your lo starts regularly waking at 5 to 6 am I would relook at bedtime. I can't put my lo to sleep before 730pm to 8pm or she be up early. Even if it's a one of 7pm. It be 530am wake up.

Ramble away. Childminders are a great person to help lead the way for your lo, they can give advise especially the experienced ones.

@ChittyBang1987 He seems to wake between 6-6.30am whatever time he goes to bed. His bed time will always be between 6.47-7.15pm so on average he seems to do 11-11.5 hours overnight. But maybe if I consistently tried a 7.30pm bedtime he would wake later. But he’d then definitely need a 3rd nap thrown in. Not sure I want to mess around changing things at the moment and we do enjoy having 7-9pm as our time. I go to bed at 9pm to deal with the 6am wake! When he fed twice at night he used to do 12 hours consistently, but that was when he was in the bedroom with us.

Enjoy it! Hahaha in still in bed at 9pm asleep by 10pm at latest to get enough sleep. Joys of mother hood x