[Jule'sMomInOR]

Juliana STILL takes 3 naps per day most of the time. It's tough to go anywhere because it's not like she can fall asleep anywhere like when she was tiny. She just gets overtired and screams like a demon child if we're out during nap time, especially in the car seat on the way home. Should I (and/or my nanny) try to get her into a two nap schedule by keeping her up longer when she would normally go down for her second nap? Her 3 naps are each about 40-50 minutes. It would be so nice if she'd take 2 longer naps so we could make plans and leave the house for longer than 2 hours at a time!

You could try keeping her up and see how it goes.

For example Kaileigh began doing two naps all on her own a while ago. She just stopped her 3rd nap, and was fine with two, but like today we had a lot to do, and we left the house at 9am, and didnt get back until noon. Well her normal naps are from 10-12 then from 2-4, but since we didnt get home until noon, then ate, then laid her down at 1pm, she slept from 1-3:30. Now it's 8:45 and she'll be going to bed in 15 minutes.

It's weird because if we're at home and she's NOT in her room at 10am she freaks out and has a melt down. It's clockwork, everyday, but if we're out running around she doesnt have a melt down and will do ok with only 1 nap.

I say give it a try, it couldnt hurt. Maybe if she drops that 3rd nap she will sleep better for you at night? Not sure, I know all babies are different but it's worst a try I think.

Here is a chart for how much total sleep:
Baby and Children Sleep Chart

For instance Kaileigh sleeps 9pm-8am so 11 hours plus 4 hours in naps=15 hours of sleep a day for her.

How much total do you think Juliana gets a day?

Oh wow, sorry, didnt realize of long of a post this was.

[Lilly Bella]

I am so not the person to ask for advice on this All 3 of my kids never had a sleep schedule during the day (and only Kenna has sleep issues at night so the 2 do not go hand in hand, Riley slept through the night at 5 weeks and I do everything the same with kenna as I did with him) I hate schedules and we are very much a "fly by the seat of your pants" type of family. K naps on the go 5 out of 7 days of the week. Sometimes she takes a really good morning nap and then naps 20 minutes here and there throughout the rest of the day.

[Jule'sMomInOR]

Originally Posted by KaiX2Momma

Here is a chart for how much total sleep:
Baby and Children Sleep Chart

For instance Kaileigh sleeps 9pm-8am so 11 hours plus 4 hours in naps=15 hours of sleep a day for her.

How much total do you think Juliana gets a day?

Oh, wow, this says she should have already been down to 3 naps by 6 months.

Juliana sleeps about 9 pm - 7 am at night, so 10 hours, but usually with several interruptions for nursing. Sometimes she might sleep in until 7:30. Her naps are a combined total of just over 2 hours, on average. (I totally envy the two 2 hour naps! 45 minutes is not enough of a break.) So it looks like Juliana is not getting enough sleep by about 2 hours. I think the same could be said for me. Actually the reality is I'm only behind about an hour because I go to bed so early with her. Well, this looks like a good reason to try to force the 2 naps, so I can see if that helps bed-time.

I keep telling DH that "2" is the magic number. If I can get this kid to two naps and a max of two night wakings, life will be easier.

[AmandaEliz]

I would definitely try to get her down to 2 naps since her current naps are so short. I know every baby is different, but neither of my kiddos did well with naps that were under an hour. Especially with Ethan, I noticed a huge difference in his behavior (for the better) when he started taking 2, two hour naps during the day. Ethan dropped to 1, 2.5 hour nap at about 13-14 months now at 32 months, he's trying to drop the nap all together. I will say that I had to make Ethan's bedtime earlier for a few months each time he dropped a nap. He was going to bed at 730pm & sleeping until 730am for about 2 months after he went down to 1 nap.

Avery is a lot more flexible than Ethan was & as long as she gets a solid morning nap, she's OK with napping on the go the rest of the day. I think she went down to 2 naps right around 6 months. Occassionally if she's had a very busy day, she'll catch a 30 min power nap in the evening. But its not the norm. Avery's afternoon nap is getting shorter, it's down to about 60-90 mins instead of 2 hours. She'll probably drop her 2nd nap around the same age Ethan did.

[sfarrow3]

I agree with the ladies. I think if you can get her naps down to 2 long naps in the day she will probably sleep better at night.

[starrsgirl]

I agree....her naps seems awfully short to me. When does she take her first nap again? In general, Emmett is sleeping about every 4 hours. So, if he gets up at 7am, I'm looking put him down at about 11am and then again at 3 to 4pm ish. Try some active/engaging things to keep her entertained while you are switching.

(Emmett does sometimes almost 2 hours at 11am....but he is starting to sometimes drop his later nap or it's only 30-45 mins.)

[nat1970]

The boys dropped their 3rd nap when they started sleeping until 8am about 4 months ago. They really were just waking at 6am to have their bottle and would then go back to sleep until 8am. This is their schedule if it helps. Sleep 745pm-8am, 10:15am-11:15am nap, 2:15pm til 3:30-4pm nap. They pretty much need a nap after being awake 3-4 hrs. Both boys are on the same schedule.

[Daffodil]

Mariah, I haven't been online much lately because my laptop is in the shop but I wanted to comment on your amazing post that Juliana slept through the night (Yay, Juliana!!! although I was SOOOO jealous!) and then of course I was bummed that she didn't repeat!

But you know what I'm thinking? I think she just doesn't know how to put herself back to sleep. That's why she wakes up so much at night and her naps are so short and she is tired enough for 3 naps a day. Because babies sleep cycles aren't that long (although getting longer as they grow, thank goodness). This is just a theory, of course all babies are different so I might be wrong.

But I was thinking that about Arie too, how she keeps waking up at night. I got her off of formula at night, now she only gets water or her pacifier, but still it takes her awhile to settle down again. It occurred to me that other babies are most likely waking up at night too, only they just turn over and drift off again. I'm actually trying to figure out how to get her to go back to sleep on her own, but its hard with me RIGHT THERE, responding to her immediately or within a minute of her fussing because I get afraid it'll blow up and she won't go back to sleep. I think there are a lot of benefits to co-sleeping, but I think there are disadvantages too.

Another theory I have, at least with my own daughter, is sometimes she wakes up and wants to "practice"--practice standing and moving and everything. So that wakes her up and makes it more difficult to just drift back to sleep.

So anyway, not helpful, I know...but I would try the 2 naps and see how that goes.

[dinamommy]

Oh, two longer naps would probably do wonders for her! How to get her to do that, I have no idea though.

[Jule'sMomInOR]

Originally Posted by starrsgirl

I agree....her naps seems awfully short to me. When does she take her first nap again?

About 9:30, only 2-2.5 hours after waking up! I pushed it to 10:15 today so we'll see what happens with the other 2.

[Jule'sMomInOR]

Originally Posted by Daffodil

But you know what I'm thinking? I think she just doesn't know how to put herself back to sleep. That's why she wakes up so much at night and her naps are so short and she is tired enough for 3 naps a day. Because babies sleep cycles aren't that long (although getting longer as they grow, thank goodness). This is just a theory, of course all babies are different so I might be wrong.

A couple of months ago I would have said you're totally right - she can't put herself back to sleep at all. But lately, and interesting thing has happened. Instead of me nursing her completely to sleep and softly trying to pry mom nipple out of her mouth without waking her up, she removes her own latch, rolls over, and goes to sleep. It's completely amazing to me. That only happens after I've gotten her to the point of being really groggy, so I think that still could be part of her issue. I just don't know what to think.

[bundle2baby]

Mariah, just wanted to say I struggle with nap time waking with Matthew. He has a difficult time staying asleep after the 30 minute mark (without nursing). It's gotten a little more difficult lately, which I think is b/c he's getting ready to walk soon. He only takes two naps per day now, so I try to get him to stay down longer otherwise he's a mess by dinnertime.

During the night it's better, he only wakes twice to nurse and then rolls over and goes back to sleep on his own (which is a good sign!). Matthew has always been a super sensitive / light sleeper so this is awesome for him!

No real advice here just wanted to commiserate. I think as they become more mobile, they will sleep better and better on their own.

[shockandawe]

I think two naps is key and the only way to start that is to do what you're explaining. Force her to stay up a bit longer, and be consistent. And please forgive me for saying this, I'm saying it with the absolute best of intentions, but I think moving her to her own sleep space is critical too and will help. The toughest part is going to be the first week or two.

We had a stretch of a few weeks in Jan/Feb where we were all sick. I was too laid out to stay up and give Maggie a bottle and rock her back to sleep in her own room, so I would bring her in if it was 4-5ish am and let her go back to sleep with us. That way I was able to get at least a couple more hours of sounder sleep. I don't regret doing it...we were all sick. But it formed a pretty good habit for her. She quite enjoyed it. And then I found myself crying the blues because she kept waking up at 4 and 5 and wouldn't go back down easily unless I brought her into bed with us. I had to ride it out, and it hurt, but I forced myself to keep her in her room, went to the huggies overnight diapers so I wasn't forced to change her diaper every time she woke, and limited the time I gave her in the rocking chair. She's back to sttn til at least 6-7 in the morning from 7:30-8pm at night, and is down to 2 max naps each day, often times just 1. But it took us a few weeks to get there, and I had to recognize which wakings were for teeth and which were for comfort. Now, if she moans or cries a teeny bit during the night, I let her go for a minute or two, and she falls straight back to sleep. She does this sometimes when she's not in a comfy spot or when she's had a dream and isn't ready to wake up.

I know you have reasons for continuing to co-sleep, and you should absolutely do what's right for your family, but I honestly think this will really help all three of you.
Good luck!

[Jule'sMomInOR]

I started trying to delay her naps Friday. (My nanny wasn't here since I did my work from 5-9 am, long story). I successfully delayed her first nap to 10:20-11:05, still only 45 minutes. The second was only 10 minutes from 2-2:10. The third was 5-5:45, and she went to be 45 minutes later than normal. This day was pretty much a failure, since she slept less than normal.

Yesterday she slept 11:00-11:30 after falling asleep in the car seat, then 12:30-1:55. The only reason she slept that long is that she started to wake up but I was napping with her, so I nursed her back to sleep. She only took 2 naps yesterday, and went to be about 8:30 (half an hour early). This was good, except that she woke up at 6 am today, and already went back down for a nap at 7:30 am. Argh! I'm not sure whether to count this first nap and still try to get her to take only one more, or count the first nap as a continuation of her night sleep.

ETA: I have read The No Cry Sleep/Nap Solution and it suggests if naps are short, getting to the baby when she's about to wake up and creating motion or whatever it is that gets her back to sleep and then slowly wean her off of this. Nursing is what gets Juliana to sleep. If I were a SAHM I could get in bed with her at about the 45 minute mark and work on getting her naps longer, but it's difficult when I'm working. If I can get her second nap to be later, that might be an option for that nap only.

Another update: aside from the early morning nap, today's naps were 11:30-1 and 3:30-5:30 with no need to help her settle back to sleep. It's working!