6.5 Month Old Won't Nap Longer than 45 Minutes

Hi S.,

My daughter was also not a good napper until about 9 mos. or so. That was when she started taking 2 naps and we could really get on a schedule. I have a few suggestions:

1) Try going for a walk w/ the stroller, wearing your son in a front carrier around the house (we would use the Ergo carrier with the sleeping hood up to get my daughter to sleep), putting him in a baby swing, or going for a drive. My daughter was more likely to take longer naps doing any of these things than in her bassinet or crib.

2) Elizabeth Pantley, in her book The No-Cry Sleep Solution suggests that you wait outside the door starting 10-15 min. before your baby is likely to wake up. The second you hear him stirring, you should go in and soothe him back to sleep (using whatever means necessary -- pacifier, rocking, etc.). This is supposed to encourage him to take longer naps. It didn't really work for my daughter, but it might be worth a try.

3) You son might be old enough that you could try letting him cry himself to sleep for one of his naps. Check on him every 5-15 min. and pat him (but don't pick him up). This might be hard to manage, but might actually work.

Getting walks/fresh air even when it's not nap time can help. So you might want to take a walk be for naps. And having some sort of pre-nap routine (can be similar to, but should be different from bedtime routine) such as reading a story, nursing or having a bottle, etc., might also be helpful. Having a regular schedule (can be somewhat flexible) might also help your son know when he's supposed to be sleeping, eating, etc. This can be hard to do, but it really helps.

Whatever happens now, it WILL get better as your son continues to grow and develop. Until then, best of luck!

R.

Hum... my 8 month old still takes 3 naps a day, but it's a short morning nap, longer afternoon, then a short evening nap. By short, I mean about a half an hour, long about 2-3 hours. My only thought is have you tried giving him food (baby cereal or whatever) before putting him down? That seems to help induce more sleep. :-)

Feel happy! You have a baby who not only sleeps through the night, but also naps without crying! You are a lucky mom. I wish I had your problem! :) It's tough when things don't go as you plan, but what I've learned is that there is no clear-cut solution to anything. Every kid is different, but a 45 minute nap seems pretty typical for a kid napping 3 times a day...good luck!

I can relate! I have an 8-month-old and he VERY rarely sleeps any more than 45 minutes, and 45 is good. Most of the time it is only 30 minutes. He has been like this since he was a born. I have tried keeping him up longer, but it is like an alarm goes off after 30-45 minutes and he doesn't sleep longer. He also is still usually taking three naps during the day. So, just know you are not alone and every baby is different. I know how frustrating it can be. I have read all the books and tried different techniques, but each baby is unique and we just have to be patient. The sleep issues will get better with time.

Good luck!

My son never took naps longer than 45 minutes at that age either. I don't think it is that unusual and it wasn't until he went down to 1 nap a day that the naps became long. He now naps from 2 to 3 hours in the afternoon. I'd just be happy that he sleeps through the night!

I will put in another vote for Dr. Weissbluth! It is a great guide for sleep strategies and then you personalize them to your situation.

Some of his rules of thumb...a baby that wakes up crying is probably still tired. You can leave him in his crib for an hour to fall back to sleep. Or you can run in to comfort and tell him to go back to sleep then leave him alone.

Until about 8+mos, most babies can't stay awake past 2 hours.
He may need 3 naps...9ish, 1ish and 5ish.

Is sounds like he is trying to reorganize his naps. This book is a good reference guide. For me, I had to try a 'new strategy' for 3-4 days straight to get results, then it would work.

I agree with the other posters....just when you get a system down they throw you for another loop! There was a point in time that one of my sons went to 'bed' at 5:30p and slept till 6a. Keep doing a good job!

S.
It sounds like you have created the right atmousphere and are very atuned to your son's moods and rhythms. 45 minutes is not that bad for a nap, but it is good you leave him to see if he falls back asleep, and he does sometimes, so that's good too.
I know it makes life difficult and you feel like you can't get anything done or go anywhere because you are tied to his nap/wake schedule, but in a very short time it will get better! I think it is great he can fall asleep on his own and you are not up and down at night, because that is really the whole battle! If he is sleeping good at night and has no problem putting himself to sleep most of the time, I would not worry about any of the rest. If he was not getting enough nap sleep, it would start to screw up the nighttime sleep too, because he would be overtired. Sometimes kids get tired during the day no matter what you do, because they are learning so much and working so hard to figure out the world! He may be going through a mental and physical growth spurt(and/or teething!) and needs to be awake to try to figure it all out! I had the same kinds of experiences with my kids and all the worry did not amount to a hill of beans.
Try to relax and go with it if you can. If he seems really tired and falling apart later in the day after he goes to 2 naps, you may need to move up bedtime to an almost ridiculously early time (like 6:00pm!) for a while. The best book I every got for raising children is "Healthy Sleep, Happy Child" by Dr. Mark Weisbluth (not sure of the spelling here) It goes through a bunch of real-life situations he has had in his practice, but it also gives great info about child sleep patterns that are healthy, and what you can do to create the right situation for healthy sleep patterns to develop. I think if you looked at this book, you will see that your son is very normal and does not really have a problem. Good luck! My first baby is now a teenager and he's like a vampire....Up 'till all hours of the night and then wants to sleep all day:) it never ends until they move outI guess! Best wishes to you and enjoy!
J. C.

WOW! 45 minutes thats GREAT! I can rarely get my daughter to do that! SHe also was still sleeping 3 naps a day at 12 months. Your baby is still a baby and will sleep how is best for him. He may still need 3 naps a day. You are lucky he naps! My mom said my brother and I wold only nap until we were 1 and then we stopped

I had this child, too. I wish I had an answer for you, but I never came up with a solution. I will say that when I had my second son and he would take normal baby naps of 2-3 hours, I wanted to weep with gratitude. People have NO IDEA how hard it is to have a baby who truly needs all-day care without any break! (and 45 minutes was a good nap - his natural tendency was 20 minutes. Argh.)

Anyway - I don't have a solution, but if I had another no-nap baby I'd keep trying to find one, because my son was also tired and cranky from afternoon until night, and he slept well at night but it wasn't worth the crankiness, to me. You definitely want to start with the sleep books (Ferber, Weissbluth) and I was able to get some relief by "putting them down before they seem sleepy" but never really found a good answer.

I hope this doesn't seem discouraging! I really just wanted to say you aren't alone, and I agree it's important to keep trying. If it's any comfort, he is my "good sleeper" at night now, while my good napper tries to stay up until all hours (they are 8 and 5.)

My son was the same way and still is to a degree. He is 9 months today. I can occasionally get 1 1/2 hrs in the morning but it's still usually just 40-45 minutes. When he wakes up after such a short time, I used to go in and rock him back to sleep. If I would catch him in the first few minutes of waking up, the rocking would work and he would sleep for another 30 minutes. If that didn't work, he would need to go back down for another nap in 2 hours. Now he is able to sleep 1 1/2 hours in the afternoon but still does 45 minutes in the morning. He wakes up between 6-6:30am and is back in his room reading books at 8:45am, asleep by 9am. I know that is longer than the recommended time, but it's what works for him. I also still swaddle my son (with his arms out). I don't know if you've tried that, but that might help him sleep a little longer. You said he is sleeping through the night, but what time does he go to bed? Perhaps he needs to go to sleep slightly earlier?? (1/2 hour) Just a another thing to consider. If you can put up with this for another few weeks, I bet he will grow into a more predictable sleeping pattern during the day. It sounds like you are doing all the right things for your boy. Keep up the good work. I'm sure this wasn't much help, but sometimes it's just nice to know you aren't alone!

I went through this phase with my twins. They go to bed at 7PM, wake anywhere b/w 6:30-7:15. They go back down for a nap around 9/9:30. Their second nap is around 2/2:30. Try to push that first nap back to 9 and see if that makes a difference. I had the same issue, but once they got used to the 9AM nap, it made all the difference. Now with the time change, it is more like 9:30. Good Luck!

My baby is 4.5 months old, and not a napper either, but sleeps all throught the night no problem. MD says that "some just aren't nappers". I would not trade the sleeping thru the night for a napper at all. Occassionally he'll nod off if I have him in the cart at the grocery or if we are in the car for a while. Otherwise, getting a "long" 1 hour nap in the swing at the house is aslo been successful. Try a swing. If your baby is like mine, he/she may like the motion to get to sleep.....good luck.

Hi S.-
One idea-
Overall more cranky? (Sometimes the only sign)
Chewing on stuff more? Or maybe not- each child is different
********Is he teething?*******
If so try to have more chewing toys available- Check with the Dr.
if need be try Hylands homepathic teething tablets or Motrin/Tylenol.

OR-Perhaps he might need to nap 3 to 4 times a day- not unheard of at this age.

Good Luck . . . I remember the frustration . . .
. . . . Let us know how it goes . . . .

I would highly recommend you read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. He is a Chicago-area pediatrician who has specialized in infant/child sleep issues for over 30 years. You will learn why your baby is only sleeping in 45 minute blocks and what you need to do to help him have a better sleep schedule - a schedule you know he needs because you've noticed that he is crabby and tired!

I didn't read the other posts, so I appologize if I'm saying what others have said...

I went through the same thing with my daughter at about the same age. She was only sleeping for about 45 minutes at a time for both her morning and her afternoon nap. Then her daycare teacher suggested we try one afternoon nap. They had seen the same thing before, and it worked. She went from two 45 minute naps a day to one 2.5 - 3 hour nap a day. She slept very well at night too. I guess she only needed 45 minutes in the morning, but didn't spend enough energy to sleep any longer after lunch. It was worth it try one nap since it really wasn't working with one. It may be worth the try for you.

The teething is already mentioned. I didn't see anything about the fact that perhaps he could just be a little hungry and maybe it's time to start a teensy drop of some sort of food. Sometimes people think it's too young, but maybe a little bit of baby cereal or something (check out with your doctor if concerned). I actually think since he sleeps so well at night he's just a 'daybaby'. Had two of those myself. Kind of remember I was frustrated because I needed a couple of minutes to thaw, but they seemed to be awake all the time. Of course everyone I knew had the miracle babies who slept for twentytwo hours and giggled the other two. Go figure...

I know you think you have it bad, but MY daughter won't sleep for more than 45 minutes at a time - ALL NIGHT LONG! So, I would love to have a child that slept for so long at night like yours. Just offering a different perspective for you....

What was his schedule like before this problem? What time during the day did he sleep, wake up and go to bed? Is he getting any teeth?

I've found with my boys that overall they didn't sleep as much as girl babies. Notice I said with my boys, so I'm not generalizing, just sharing my experience.

One of my boys never took those marathon naps I heard about from other moms and it bothered me. I wondered if he wasn't sleeping enough and why he wasn't sleeping that long.

If your son is sleeping 12 hours at night like from 8-8 or 7-7, he might just need 1 morning nap and 1 afternoon nap. If he's going down at 8 and getting up at 5 or so, you could probably get a nap after that early morning feeding, but that will affect his sleep later in the morning.

A very challenging part of an baby's schedule is that it is always changing...the number of naps, the time of day they nap, when they quit napping...all that is different for each child.

I would write down his sleeping habits for a few days and calculate exactly how much sleep he is getting and go from there.

M.

My girl didn't do the three naps for very long. She also only did 45 minute naps. Rarely would I get anything longer.... She stopped taking three regularly around 6 months, and we were down to 1 nap by 12 months. Every kid is different.

Also, if you haven't heard of the "wonder weeks," do a quick google search. When major developmental milestones are about to happen in the brain, everything gets thrown out the window and a new schedule results.