6 month old awake for 1.5 hours...is his routine normal?

[fingers_cross]

my son is 6 months today and he is still only able to stay awake 1.5 (maybe 2 at a push) before he is rubbing his eyes and showing tired signs. he didnt nap well yesterday and was awake for up to 3 hours at one point and OH MY did i have a bad day and night with him, trying to get him to bed was a nightmare which is really unusual for him. i was hoping to try to get him into a 2 hour up 2 hour down routine, but i dont want to keep him up if hes obviously tired. plus he goes about 3- 3.5 hours between feeds.

heres his routine so far today (kind of but not really got one! only wake up and bed time are the same time every day, feeds and naps are random; REALLY want routine )

6.15am- wake up (wakes up between 6-6.30)
6:30 - feed
7:15am - nap

8:45am - awake
10 am - feed
10:15am - nap

so hes down for a nap again just now. who knows how long hel be down. what ive decided to do today is, since ive got nothing planned and were staying in all day is really concentrate and look out for his tired signs and hungry signals and write everything down today and then try to follow it again tomorrow. im not sure if this will work? at least then ill feel like ill be following a routine that he chose if u know what i mean?

plus hes started waking for a night feed again; is this normal at 6 months? hes not woken up for night feeds since about 4.5 months.

thanks everyone

 

[randomrach]

Well, it's obviously normal to him. I would seek advise from your local health visitor. My LO only naps twice a day - morning and afternoon and can stay up for 4-5 hrs before bedtime. She wakes at 6am and goes to bed 7.30-8pm.

 

[Noelle610]

That's very normal and actually very healthy. It's always good to err on the side of being conservative in terms of how long you keep your baby up. Sleep begets sleep and overtired babies fight sleep - two of my favorite things to say

I think writing everything down is a great idea. At the same time, I should add that sleepy signs can become unreliable around this age. If you want to try and consolidate his naps a bit, you might try keeping him up for 2-2.5 hours. At his age, that should be okay. He will be fussy at first because he's not used to it, but you just have to distract him through it.

 

[Incubus]

Totally normal I aim to have Keelan down 1.5-2 hours after he wakes up or he gets in a right grump and we have a battle to get him down. All babies are different and just like adults some need more sleep than others!

 

[fingers_cross]

incubus; thanks what times are his feeds normally?

 

[Incubus]

Wake up 9am
Bottle 9:30am
Nap 11am
Wake 12pm
Bottle 1pm
Nap 2pm
Wake 4pm
Bottle 4:30pm
Nap 6pm
Wake up 7pm
Bottle 7:30pm
Bath 8pm
Bottle 9pm
Bed 9:30pm - 10pm

That's his loose routine, it switches and changes half hour here and there each day we also started weaning yesterday so we need to change things about a bit to add meals in!

 

[fingers_cross]

thanks guys, feeling a lot better about it. i think im going to stick with the 1.5 hours awake time until i feel he can go a bit longer. when i push him even to 2 hours, he goes down screaming. at 1.5 hours, he goes down without a fuss. sometimes he will only sleep 30 mins but he seems a happy little boy. the routine is more for me than him!lol.x

 

[Lilmiss1]

Could your lo be under tired? 30 minute naps could indicate under tiredness. Maybe take him upto the nursery at 1.5hours and do quiet play for 15mins. Then put him to sleep. Babies that take short nap get tired in 90 minutes again.
Does your lo self soothe and is able to transition through sleep cycles? Some babies come into a light sleep or jerk at 30 minutes and wake themselves up. Could you try patting him through this sleep transition?
Or it could just be your Lo's natural nap pattern!

 

[Incubus]

thanks guys, feeling a lot better about it. i think im going to stick with the 1.5 hours awake time until i feel he can go a bit longer. when i push him even to 2 hours, he goes down screaming. at 1.5 hours, he goes down without a fuss. sometimes he will only sleep 30 mins but he seems a happy little boy. the routine is more for me than him!lol.x

Our routine is more for me than him! Makes life easier when I can predict naps/feeds and make plans around them

 

[fingers_cross]

Could your lo be under tired? 30 minute naps could indicate under tiredness. Maybe take him upto the nursery at 1.5hours and do quiet play for 15mins. Then put him to sleep. Babies that take short nap get tired in 90 minutes again.
Does your lo self soothe and is able to transition through sleep cycles? Some babies come into a light sleep or jerk at 30 minutes and wake themselves up. Could you try patting him through this sleep transition?
Or it could just be your Lo's natural nap pattern!

im not sure! could be! he was rubbing his eyes so i put him down and he fell asleep by the time i had put his covers around him. he was then awake for 1.5 hours again and went back down awake and fell asleep within a few minutes and hes been asleep for just over an hour. so total naps were 1.5 hours, 30 minutes and then 1 hour + (depends on when he waks up) hes due a feed between 1.30pm (in 10 mins time) and 2pm.

yes he self settles at the beginning of naps/ at bed time but sometimes needs help falling back asleep if he wakes up but not always. x

 

[Lilmiss1]

Sounds like he's doing great! I'd just roll with it!!
There is a growth spurt at 6 months which is why he could be waking at night for the extra feed.

 

[mellyboo]

Jordyns the same

 

[Kelly M]

My son is almost four months and I'm wondering the same thing. Guess it's normal. He can stay up an hour and a half maybe two max and then he's fussy and tired. He also naps only 30 mins to an hour so it feels like I spend all day putting him down for naps! Luckily it isn't too difficult most days but sometimes he needs a lot of cuddling so it's tough. I was hoping it would be better by six months but maybe not! I'm with you on wanting a routine, for me not necessarily for him. I'd love to know when to plan things but I never really know when lo will be napping or not. Makes it hard to go places.

 

[Noelle610]

My son is almost four months and I'm wondering the same thing. Guess it's normal. He can stay up an hour and a half maybe two max and then he's fussy and tired. He also naps only 30 mins to an hour so it feels like I spend all day putting him down for naps! Luckily it isn't too difficult most days but sometimes he needs a lot of cuddling so it's tough. I was hoping it would be better by six months but maybe not! I'm with you on wanting a routine, for me not necessarily for him. I'd love to know when to plan things but I never really know when lo will be napping or not. Makes it hard to go places.

Charlotte was like that too. Those catnaps and short awake periods are very normal for that age. I remember feeling the same - like my whole day consisted of putting my baby down for a nap! I found it kind of stressful actually.

It got better for us around 7 months when she dropped to two naps permanently and was awake for longer periods during the day. Once you've got some predictability in your life, it's easier to do things.

 

[Monalissa]

My LO is 5 months and she still takes 30-45 minute naps every 2 hours. She Maybe once a day she'll take a 90 minute nap, but she still goes down 2 hours later. She gets cranky so we just follow her cues.

 

[fingers_cross]

thanks guys. i also find it really stressful. im trying to relax more as i think its affecting him and making him more fussy. im just going to go with it. 1.5 hours is fine. like others have said, i find it really difficult to plan things as he goes to sleep around every 1.5 hours and if im out and about he wont nap so means i have a very canky baby so ive ended up stopping going out and being a single mum stuck in a flat all day...quite depressing im just reminding myself this will change.x

 

[Noelle610]

thanks guys. i also find it really stressful. im trying to relax more as i think its affecting him and making him more fussy. im just going to go with it. 1.5 hours is fine. like others have said, i find it really difficult to plan things as he goes to sleep around every 1.5 hours and if im out and about he wont nap so means i have a very canky baby so ive ended up stopping going out and being a single mum stuck in a flat all day...quite depressing im just reminding myself this will change.x

I felt the same. Just remember, it's only a short phase. It doesn't seem like that now, but it passes quickly.

Are you in an urban area where you can walk to things? I would feed Charlotte as soon as she woke and take her out somewhere local - a walk in the part, a visit to a cafe. She really enjoyed the stimulation, but the whole outing could be complete in an hour.

 

[fingers_cross]

yes i do. i think im going to start doing that. it will be good for both of us to get out and about more. being cooped up in a flat all day isnt good for anyone!x

 

[Mrs.B.]

We have..

7:00 Wake
breakfast
9:00 nap
10:00 wake
dinner
12:30 nap
13:30 wake
15:00 nap
16:00 wake
tea
18:00 bath and bottle
19:00 bed

So sounds normal compared to us!