Parenting Newborns & Infants (0-1) Support Group

Hi there! I think each child is so different so what might work for one, does not work for others. I got a book - hmmm something about Healthy Sleep, Healthy Child. In it he suggests that up to 9 months, babies need 2 to 3 naps per day. Usually one short nap (maybe an hour) at around 9 (they should get up around 7, give or take), a long nap (maybe 2 hours) at around 1 and another possible nap around 4 or so. Then to bed between 6 and 8. My little guy does the 9 AM nap no prob, but unless I swaddle him, he will not nap for long in the afternoon. If I do, he will nap for 2 1/2 hours. I do the same bedtime routine that I use at night, before his long nap in the afternoon. Hope that helps!

I let my 4 month old sleep when she wants during the day. She's pretty consistant about going down for a nap about 2 hours after she's woken up from a previous nap. She'll sleep anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hours. At first, I let her sleep anywhere, but for about 3 weeks now, I've only put her in her crib for naps and she's sleeping much better. I've talked to my pediatrician about it and he said that babies at this age should get around 15 hours of sleep per day. I try to make 5 of those hours happen during the day and 10 at night. So far that seems to be working.

Hey there, not sure if you're still looking for advice, but I read the book Rachm is suggesting--my kid naps like a champ thanks to the book. The book is all about babies' sleep clocks...he said babies should not be awake for more than 2 hrs at a time. Follow their que if it's sooner. At 3 months, Jeffie could only stay up like an hour and a half. Like clockwork, he'd start fussing and just get upset...so I'd swaddle him and sway him and put him in his crib-he'd nap like 45 minutes, and I always made note of when he woke up and started the "wake time" clock again...now he is up for about 2 hrs when he starts fussing and needing a nap. He is able to fall into a nap schedule pretty much at the times RAchm mentions because he wakes by 7 a.m....it works out pretty good. The kid just doesn't sleep at night, so that's my New Years Resolution Quest!

Also, the book says it needs to be longer than 40 min to count as a nap and also says to not let your baby sleep past 7 a.m.

My son is going on 6 months and there is no set napping schedule. We put him down when he acts tired; which is usually about every 2-3 hours. I put him in his room in his crib, where he sleeps at night. We don't have any problems. He even takes late naps sometimes (anywhere betw 5-6:30/7) and it doesn't interfere with night time sleeping. Go with what works for you, I've found I googled too much on it and in the end, all babies are different!!