Basically, is it a good idea to have one? DS (5 months in a couple of days time) is generally a good napper and will have one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The morning nap will usually be between 1 and a half and 2 hours and the afternoon nap between 1 and 1 and a half hours. He seems to get tired between 5 and 6 in the afternoon and I think his ideal is to go to sleep in his bouncy chair or baby gym for half an hour at about half 6. However, he seems to be having increasing difficulty in doing this and so gets crosser and crosser as the evening goes on. I put DS1 to bed and then bath DS2 at 7.30 with bottle and bed just after 8. I know he could have his bath and bedtime earlier but I don't really want him waking earlier in the morning than he does now as at the moment I have time to have a shower, get his older brother breakfast etc. Is an earlier bedtime likely to mean earlier waking?
I started putting him in his cot at about 5 for an hour, but it doesn't seem to be improving his mood in the evening and can also cause (or seem to cause) him to stir around about 6.30am then just seem to doze a bit fitfully until 'getting up time' at about 8am. I don't really know if a catnap is influencing this though. Is this early evening catnap a bad idea? Or are there any other good strategies to avoid evening crossness and misery (his and mine?!)? Will he be able to get through the evening more cheerfully soon? I'm aware that he's a good sleeper and by no means am I complaining! It's just the evening thing at the moment and how to make it easier. Thanks for any advice.