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Napping close to bedtime

Do any of your lo's do this?

I read the ideal naps are 1.5 hours in the morning and afternoon, and a cat nap late afternoon.

James has never done that! :lol: His nap times vary, the first is usually around 10.30. But they only ever last half an hour.

His bedtime routine starts at 7pm, it just seems James wants to nap after 6pm, usually at half past, so he wakes then I take him for his bath.

Has anyone else got a lo that does this, or do you try to keep them awake? I don't want to keep James awake, as he's grumpy enough already! Whatever time he naps, it doesn't affect his sleep at night.

Thanks girls. xx

mithical and James 19 weeks 3 days.

Replies

  • esme's afternoon nap is getting really long. last night she woke up at 6pm!!! we bathed her, she went back to sleep at 9.30pm and slept through until 6am!!! i had to express i was that full as she didnt eat inbetween.

    i tried to keep her awake but it doesnt work.
  • hey hun,

    If Emily hasn't had enough sleep during the day and is showing signs of being cranky at 6pm, i just give her a long bath and try to stretch the time out as long as possible and then just put her to bed early. Although sometimes she gets up earlier during the night so its not always ideal but it does mean i don't have to keep her awake and screaming because she is tired!

    If it doesnt affect his sleep at night i would be tempted to just do what you are doing or just bring his bedtime forward by 30 mins or so.

    Lx
  • Hey hun,
    Could you not just start his bed time routine earlier at say 6 to keep him occupied and then put him to be at 7pm? This is what we do with Seth, from about 6 hs gets grumpy, we start his routine at 6.15 and he's in bed by 7pm.
    Sx
  • Toby often gets a bit cranky at about 5pm or so and I have to put him down for a nap. Sometimes he only has a catnap of about half an hour (in which case he gets up and has a play before bathtime at 6ish) but other times he sleep still 6 or even later! On those days I just let him sleep and move the bath/bed routine back a bit so I'm not trying to put him down when he's wide awake.

    As he is nowhere near sleeping through I don't know if it affects his night time sleep or not - at the moment he is waking every hour between 2-7am anyway!!
  • Hi hon, Sasha pretty much always has 3 naps and sometimes the last one can be quite close to bedtime. Even if she just has a short catnap of 30 mins (I have to wake her when it is that short) then it means she will be a good mood for bath and bedtime. Othertimes though if she has just not wanted to nap earlier and it is getting close to bedtime I will just bring it forward a bit. Sometimes the problem we have though is if she has only fed a few hours earlier, like you we feed on demand still, and if she has had a bit of a lie in and then gone 4 hours or more between feeds then she might have only had her 3rd feed at about 4 or even after then so if I try and feed her again 3 hours later then she is not always interested and it can take a while.
  • Hey

    I agree with SLOW maybe try moving his bedtime to 7pm. Emilia has a nap at about 4:30ish till 5 and then little play and off up to bath at 5:45. Bottle and bed for 7pm.
    Def think nap before bath is a good idea. Emilia is a nightmare without it and just shouts at me!!

    Joanna x
  • Adam always has a nap at some point between 5pm and 6.30pm - it stops him from falling asleep during his bedtime bottle, which means he eats more! It doesn't seem to affect him going down for the night by 7.30 ish...

    xx
  • Ok it is going to sound like I am making excuses, and ignoring your advice. But I have taken it on board, and am grateful for your replies.

    My concern about bringing his bedtime forward is that I would have to change all his feed times. I have flexible times, but if James hasn't 'requested' a bottle by a certain time I give one to him. I realise this is only bringing them forward by an hour.

    Although James does nap close to bedtime, it isn't everyday. I wouldn't want to bring the bedtime forward, then he changes his night sleeping. Waking even earlier for example. I doubt it would affect his 4/5am feed, but I need that to stay where it is as well.

    If it becomes a problem I could see how he responds for a day, I guess. xx
  • I would just keep going as you are then hun, if it ain't broke dont fix it! image If he is happy and still sleeping at night then i wouldnt worry, as he gets older he will be awake for longer anyway so will prob stay awake a little longer in the evening and not need that extra wee nap.

    Lx
  • Thanks Ladybird. He aint happy, but he does sleep until 5, then I can usually get him back to sleep for longer. xx
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