5 month old finally napping....but not for too long....what should I do?

[Nessamommy]

My 5 month old is finally napping during the day! I am so proud because he is able to put himself to sleep...although with a bit of crying, which I don't mind. He can get himself to sleep, but the problem is is that it seems like he doesn't sleep for too long and that he gets a bit cranky, even after his nap. For example, this morning his nap was 1 hr. long and in the afternoon, he seemed to nap for about 40 minutes. Advice please! Do you think I should leave him in his crib longer to see if he falls asleep, encouraging maybe an hour and a half long nap, or do you think I should be maybe doing 3 naps as opposed to 2? Any other suggestions are welcome!

3 naps sound normal for this age - I'm sure mine had 3 naps for quite a few months until he could happily get from his 2nd nap to bedtime. My ds could only do 2 hours awake before needing a nap at this age so had to have 3 naps to get through the day.

40 minutes is something like the end of 1 sleep cycle, so if you want to encourage him to sleep for more than one sleep cycle at once, try resettling him. I did this with my DD because I had to work and needed 1 longer nap rather than several short ones, and it did work in the end but took some perseverance!

Sounds like you are doing a great job!

Thanks for your replies! I wasn't sure if anyone did 3 naps Seona so that is good to hear as an option. It's just hard if we want to go out in the afternoon if he is so set on 3 naps. Maybe what I will do is try doing what you say Bramshott. How long does it take to resettle them about? When I first lay my son down for a nap, it takes him about 5 min of crying to put himself to sleep. How will I know if this is a futile effort?

My 11 month old has never slept for more than one hour during the day. I reckon that's just the way they are. His next sister up use to have to go back to sleep every two hours. I swear she was asleep more than she was awake

Umm, not sure, as I said, I had a specific reason why a 2 hour nap HAD to work so I used to try for a long time! Maybe 15 mins wouldn't hurt? I think it also depends on what he's like when he wakes up - my DD used to wake up really grumpy after 40 mins, so I knew she hadn't had enough sleep.

Ah, sorry, you say he is cranky even after his nap. I'd give it a go then - try resettling him for 15 mins and see what he does.

I am going to take it as it comes and see what works best for him. Tomorrow I may try to leave him for a bit longer in his crib and if that doesn't seem to work well, I may just try seeing what happens with 3 naps. The point is...he's napping! He never used to have good naps...so we're making progress. Thanks for your help!