Napping

[bumphope]

We are very lucky that our lovely little baby is a great sleeper. She's been grizzling in the evenings so we've started putting her upstairs at 6.30/7pm to sleep until we go to bed at 9.30/10pm and so far so good, she's still waking only once over night and then up at 6-7am

At the moment I just let her nap during the day when she wants to. She's moderately reliable, she might have a very short nap while in the pram on a dog walk in the morning and then she will probably go to sleep around 3 / 3.30pm for a couple of hours - either she'll crash out in the car and stay asleep when we get home, or she'll fall asleep while we're out in the pram, or maybe when we're having a cuddle on the sofa. I have just let her do her thing, although I do put her in her cot when she is asleep so she associates it with sleep.

I have no idea whether she's sleeping enough in the day, and if it even matters - do we need to schedule her naps and/or put her to bed to nap, or is it ok during the day to just let her do what she wants?

X

 

[Nats21]

I'd say keep to what you're doing, she sounds like shes doing great. You may find as she gets older she puts herself into her own routine of what time she has naps (Callum had no routine to day naps when he was younger but after he began to wean he put himself into having a 2 hour nap after dinner and a half an hour sleep at 4pm) xx

 

[bumphope]

Thanks. Is it ok / a good idea to let her nap wherever? Will that be a benefit in the long run, or is it likely to become a nightmare? X

 

[Nats21]

Thanks. Is it ok / a good idea to let her nap wherever? Will that be a benefit in the long run, or is it likely to become a nightmare? X

I'd of thought in the longrun it'll be easier if she can fall asleep wherever, that way if you're out for a weekend or on holiday shes used to falling asleep wherever rather then if shes always got to go to bed for her naps (which would be a pain if for example you were on your hols or at a wedding etc!) Xx

 

[Teri7489]

I agree. We always just went with what Isabella wanted and it had really worked well for us. At ten months she has had the same routine for 4 months and is only ever knocked off by growth spurts or teething. She can sleep in noise, light or dark places, anywhere really. It means we can go out for the day and don't need to come home for naps or that. We do make sure to put her in pjs if we are going to be out past bedtime so that she can go straight to bed when we get home. Xxx

 

[minties]

She's only tiny, whatever and whenever is fine! Sounds like you are doing a great job.

 

[Mummafrog]

Yes we're baby led and I agree with above and we're doing the same as you. In the evenings she responds well to being put upstairs between 7 and 8pm and sleeps till we go to bed, then well through the night. In the day I just follow her and she will have short naps, long naps, sometimes she only naps on me or other times only when I nap with her. We go with the flow in the day

 

[bumphope]

Thanks ladies, you are all wonderful, it's so hard to know what to do!

I'm going to make sure she doesn't sleep more than a couple of hours in the day (yesterday she slept pretty much 12-5 and only woke for a half attempt at a feed - then I wondered why she wasn't that keen on going to bed!) but apart from that, I'll keep going with the flow during the day and putting her upstairs as I have been in the evening. It makes sense to do that during the day I think - no nightmare racing home for nap time, and she can just sleep wherever we are

I know I'm very organised / keen on all this, I just like to know where we are! Hehe

X

 

[susan_1981]

My friend's baby girl barely naps during the day but sleeps through the night. My son went through a phase of waking every half hour of a night, hardly sleeping in the day. He was fine. I'm sure you're little one will sleep when they need to. My boys didn't start getting a nap routine until about 7 months. Up until that point, they used to just nap on the sofa. Then I started to notice a pattern so now I stick with that, although my 2 year old barely naps at all now x