3 Naps a Day at 10 Months Old

Sounds like that is his schedule. Your friends' kids aren't your son. He's an individual and is going to do what works for him.

Wow! At 10 months both of my children took MAYBE one nap a day. Both woke about every hour and half at night. Both would not go back to sleep without being nursed. They both went to sleep about 9:30 p.m. and woke up about 5..... My almost 4 year old now sleeps about 10 hours per night (no nap!). My 17 month old now sleeps from about 8:30 until 5. He will often nap in the car--but that's it. I've read just about every book there is on sleep...but I still can't my kids to fall into a "NORMAL" sleep pattern. Some kids just don't. You may be tired of getting up at 5:30...but at least you have time to nap during the day! Good luck!

Hey! My daughter took 3 naps at 10 months too. She's now 16 months and only takes 1...she transitioned around 12 months to 2 naps and started taking just 1 nap around 14 months. Anyway, you can try doing room darkening shades along with a noise machine in hopes of him sleeping in later. Also, try to move his bedtime routine by about 15 minutes each night and maybe you can slowly push it back to 7:30pm so that he may sleep until 7:30am. Best of luck!

My son was a major napper, too, A., while none of his peers were sleeping as much as he did. At 3yo, he still takes a 3 hour nap and only one of his little friends does, and that's only one hour.

I totally understand not wanting to get up at 5:30, but he IS getting 11 hours of sleep at night. When I tried changing my son's sleep time (stay up later, sleep later in the a.m.) it always backfired (he stayed up later but got up at the same time!). Your son may be different if you can keep him up until 7 for a week, then 7:30 for the next week, until he's sleeping later in the a.m. It may not work for you though--some babies are just morning babies. But know that 11 hours of sleep for his age really is good, especially considering he's napping so much during the day.

D.

Well, I am sure you have tried this but my suggestion is to try to gradually move is sleep schedule forward an hour or so.

Try to gradually make all his naps later and later so that you can eventually make his bed time any where from 7:30/9:00pm. That may help him to sleep in longer and hopefully only need two naps.

Good Luck,
Mel

A. - My boys are 4 and 2.5. I don't think there's anything wrong with your little guy - or your 'sleep management' efforts. It's been our experience that most developmental phases happen when they need to happen. My first was sleeping through the night at 3 mos. My second didn't make it through the night until he was almost 9 mos - despite my obsessive efforts to get him there. Then, it just happened on it's own, and I did a celebratory jig! I remember being him to move to two naps - it feels very boxed in for your life to be dictated by back to back naps. I'll bet he'll transition that way soon. My heartfelt advice is to claim one of his naps as a naptime of your own, hire a sitter once a week so you can run errands during one of his naps (instead of trying to fit them into his brief awake times - he'd rather play w/you most days, I'm sure), and go to bed soon after he goes to bed at least a few nights a week. I find my perspective on everything is worse the more sleep deprived I am. No wonder sleep deprivation is an excellant form of torture, huh?! It'll drive you crazy!

Hi A., my little boy is just turning 11 months. He sleeps about 7:30p-6:30a each night and he still takes 3 naps/day sometimes. Most days it's 2 naps and some days it's only 1. As much as I try to regulate his schedule and wish that he naps at the same time every day and for the same amount of time, HE dictates! And although it can be exhausting, I feel good knowing that I'm taking cues from him and not forcing a schedule on him. I offer the guidance and the structure, but he still lets me know what he works for him, you know? Sounds like we're on a similar schedule although one hour behind you. My son, regardless of bedtime, is UP for the day by 6:30am!

My son used to get up at 5:30, now its closer to 8:00. Try leaving him alone for 15 minutes increments in the morning or are you alreagy doing this?

Good luck! some people are wired differently. My son woke up at 5 or 5:30 until he was 2.5, and he's finally starting to sleep in some more now. But it's still not consistent. Sometimes i think there's nothing you can do to change them and it's not worth comparing kids' sleep habits. the only way that we've found to actually work to change his sleep habits is to do the Cry it Out Method.

Hi, I read your message about your baby who naps often and sleeps all night. I mean no disrespect, but what a problem to have! Both of my children are older now, but they both went to bed late and were up one to three times a night, until they were over a year old. And they didn't nap much either. My daughter quit napping during the day completely at age 18 months. I guess my kids just didn't sleep as much as some babies. I would have loved sleeping through the night as much as you get to, even if it meant I had to get up early. I hope you can solve your problem to your satisfaction, but in the meantime be thankful for how fortunate you are! My thought is that your baby know what he needs and at this time he just needs a lot of sleep. I would think that at some point he WILL adjust on his own. It just may be later than your friends' children. My best to you and your children!

Hi A.,
There is nothing wrong at 3 naps a day. My son is also 10 month and he's also napping 3 times a day. He wakes up around 7:30 or 8 am, takes his first nap around 10-11am, then he takes a nap around 1pm and another around 5-6pm. He goes to sleep around 9pm. So it's all up to you when he takes a nap, because you can may be move his bedtime to 8pm? Do you go out much? Because i know if i'm out my son just takes short cat naps. Anyway i hope this help, and don't worry he'll drop his 2 naps soon and you'll wish he still took them. I also have a 3,5 year old daughter and she takes 1 nap. She can go without one, but she still needs one.
S.

Every baby/child/adult is an individual and completely unique. Your little guy might just be tired. Sleep when he does. Getting up at 5:30 will not last, I promise. It will morph into something new. And you will deal w/that new thing what ever it is. My daughters, now 27 and 25, did not sleep through the night unil...wow, I can't even remember but much, much older. My oldest became tired eating and she was up every 2 hours through the night to eat for months. My point is, sleep when he does, you will feel so much better being rested. Every phase passes and brings a new one with it. He sounds perfect in every way, so enjoy the naps/with him. It will pass. Try not to compare w/your freinds it can be a trap hard to get out of.

D. W

I think Mr. Ferber and the others never met Jack...lol... It sucks that he wakes up at 5, but babe, you have been blessed with a great sleeper!

A.,
I felt the same as you when my daughter was 10 months old (and even now, she's 19 months) because her sleep schedule is so much earlier than my friends kids. My daughter used to go to sleep at 6:30, like your son and now she goes to sleep at 7:30. Even when I would put her to sleep later she woke up at the same time. Like, last night, she went to sleep around 9 and this morning like a little alarm clock, she was up at 5:45 (it's always between 5:30 and 6). I was pulling my hair out for awhile until I just started to make the most out of it. Most mornings I bring her in bed with me or lay down on the couch with her and cuddle before our day starts. It's probably the nicest part of my day (on the days I'm not too tired).

One thing to look forward to - you will probably get to move his schedule later when we move the clocks forward in March. My daughter started sleeping from 6:30-7:00 when the clocks moved last spring. Of course when we moved them forward in November, it was back to 5:30.

I would just reiterate what another mom said - your friends' kids are not your kid. Every child is a completely individual person. When you have your second baby, it will be very clear to you how different they really are. My daughter spit out her pacifier at 2 months and never took it back. She slept through the night at about 13 weeks, but had a hard time getting to sleep - she'd lie there and worry about things and keep calling me back to her. My son took years to sleep through the night, but when he was ready to go to sleep, he was out in literally 3 minutes.

If you think you're tired of it now, just wait! Having 2 babies in diapers will be an experience that just can't be described. The army has done tests showing how sleep deprivation affects people, yet moms are expected to go without regular sleep for YEARS, and keep everything together all day too.

It would be nice if babies were more predictable and willing to take our needs into consideration, but that just isn't how it works. Sorry, but your pediatrician is right.

10 months old and you're putting him to bed at 6:30? Why so early? You should try putting him to bed later at night, and I guarantee he'll sleep way later in the day.

I am a child care provider and 6:30PM is WAY too early for your 10 month old to be going to sleep for the night. You should maybe push to 7 at first and work your way to between 7:30-8, with small transitions over a few nights. My son typically we start our bedtime routine at 7-7:30, bath, massage, book, and he's out like a light by 8PM and he generally sleeps straight through to 8 the next morning, sometimes 7:30, just depends. He only takes 2 naps a day but they're roughly 3 hours apart too (if he wakes at 7:30, he's down by 9:30, and sleeps 1.5 hours and then back down at 2:30). Try that, I honestly think your main problem is just that you're putting him to sleep entirely too early for him at night time. That would be why he wakes at 5:30 AM. I have 10 years experience with kids, and none of the kids I have cared for have ever gone to sleep so early in the evening.

Good luck too you!!