45 Min Naps

My first child was the same way. I always said, I'd rather have her sleep through the night. Good work!

I think it was at about 6 months that the naps consolidated to three...nighttime was 7pm-7am, nap 9:00-10:30, nap 1-2, sometimes nap 4-4:45 then bedtime again. I was wondering if she's doing all these 45 minute naps in her crib? Are they in the car as you go places or in her swing? I might suggest trying to get her to sleep longer by doing a naptime routine...sort of like at bedtime. I used to put her in her sleep sack, then read a few books, then put her down saying the same phrase..."nigh-night sweet Sara, sleep tight...Mommy and Daddy love you" then down in the crib. At bedtime, the only difference included bath, pjs, breast/bottle first. I found routines very helpful for both my children in order to expect what to do next. Both of my kids have always been great sleepers at night...which you have too...so be extremely grateful for that! Good luck.

hi J.,
i use to give my babies a little bath just to try and keep them awake. this may eliminate one of the 5.

Dear J.,

I would follow her lead but I would also pay attention to wether or not she is really waking up after 45 minutes. Infants have 45 minute sleep cycles and sometimes the wake partially and then go back to sleep. Don't rush right away if you can. This may also be tied to how often she needs to eat. My son was not able to keep down a lot of milk at once but once he did, it helped his sleep.

If she is waking up all the way and still seems tired after 45 minutes, at that point I would start looking at ways to help her learn to self soothe. There are many methods but the basis is that you try to do the last bit of falling asleep without your assistance.

If I remember well, my son also did 3 to 4 short naps plus one longer (1 1/2 hours) nap around 4 months.

I hope this helps,
A.

Count your blessings is what you should do! Sleeps through the night AND 5 almost hour-long naps during the day?! That is fantastic! As she gets older, more will interest her and keep her awake during the day. But know that many people have babies that NEVER nap unless they're in the car, and certainly even more don't have 4-month old babies sleeping through the night!

My son did the same thing. Then, at around 6 months old, he settled into a nap rountine. If I remember right, I put him down for nap #1 about 2 hours after he woke in the morning. Then I think his second one was sometime mid afternoon. Now he's a good napper at 2 years old. Hang in there- it'll all fall into place.

Hi J.,
My son did the exact same thing. Honestly, I wasn't so worried that he was tired -- because he did nap about five times a day and was sleeping through the night-- but I was frustrated that I couldn't get anything done around the house before he was up again. I didn't worry too much about it though, because his doctor said at that age they need to nap frequently. When he turned about six months I dealt with it by making him stay up slightly longer between naps---two and a half hours, and eventually three hours, over a course of weeks. It worked a little bit. But really, no matter how much I tried to change his nap schedule, he was the one in control. When he was about 9 months old he started sleeping an hour and a half in the morning, and one or two shorter naps in the afternoon. And that's still about where we are now. He turns one this week! Good luck!

J.,

I once had a very colicky baby, and our days were very long,

and the nights were short. She slept 6 hours.

Now, I tried this, and I do not know if it helped in the long

run, but someone told me to change her sleeping direction.

Instead of putting her in the crib; head in same direction,

and feet in same direction; reverse position. Try that.

It may work or not. Other than that, find a great

chiropractor, who believes in life time adjustments.

I am 61, and am finally getting relief from a wonderful

facilitating healing practitioner. I am healing old injuries

from a car accident. I witness newborns getting adjustments

for colic, and not sleeping, to projectile vomiting issues.

If you wish a reference, my Dr. will find one for you, if you

send me your zip code.

Great joy with baby for you.

Mom R.

Hi J.,

I have three children and all have gone through the short nap phase at about that age. I think it's just something that some children do. My two sons straightened out their nap routine at around 11 months. THey took much longer naps. I'm hoping my daughter does the same thing, she only sleeps for an hour or and hour and a half if I'm really lucky! She's seven months and she still takes 3 or 4 naps a day because of that. Hang in there!

Hi,

Every child has a different rhythm. I wouldn't worry about it. My first born took 1/2 hour naps every two hours at that age. Later it shifted to a morning and an afternoon nap. After she turned one year, she took one nap midday.

Dear J....
I wouldn't worry about doing anything about the naps.
Count your lucky stars your baby sleeps through the night.
I've decided after raising 3 children, providing daycare for many others and being around a large extended family, it doesn't matter when the naps are...5 a day or almost any other amount are normal.
When you say your daughter is "tired," do you mean she is cranky all the time or is the napping inconvenient? If not, I wouldn't worry about a thing.

One of my kids used to do this as a baby, and it would drive me crazy! It took her a while to outgrow it, but she eventually did. Here's what I did: I had naptime officially last 1 1/2 hours (or 1 hour 15 minutes minimum), regardless of whether she woke up in between. It's natural for babies to wake up at 45 minutes; they just have to learn how to get back to sleep to finish their naps. I think it's hard for some babies to figure this out. So there would be crying (and I'd check on her to reassure her once), and she would eventually go back to sleep. I would recommend sticking to the longer official naptime -- you'll be much happier as your baby grows. She will eventually learn to get back to sleep and will be much better rested. And you'll be happier too!

My son is the same way. I was told to roll with it. So long as they are sleeping through the night and getting a total of at least 14 hours asleep daily, there's nothing to worry about. Sometimes when he wakes from his naps, I'll go in and give him his binky and he'll fall back asleep for another 20-30 mins, sometimes he doesn't go back to sleep. At this age you have to read the que's and give them what they want. Good luck and congratulations!

Hi I am a mother of three. It sounds like she may just be going through a growth spert. And she does seem to be sleeping alot for a baby of 4 months. If she is sleeping a good 10 or more hours at night. It may just be she doesn't need long naps during the day. If it is really a problem you can try to keep her up longer periods of time and then maybe she will nap longer you can start at first just keeping her up 15 to 20 minutes later and then add to it, you could also work at getting her on a sleep schedule as well that could possible help. I have three children and they all had different sleep patterns and sleep requirements.My first baby never slept he was three before he slept through the night good barely napped. My second slept all the time started sleeping through the night at 3 days old and napped all the time, and my third is a combination of both so I think as long as she is happy, healthy and functioning normally that is what is important.

There's nothing you can do! She's totally normal. My 3 mo. old does the same thing. It's normal that babies only stay awake for 1.5-2 hours at a time.

She's sleeping through the night....that's great, and means she doesn't really need longer naps during the day.

Good work Mama!

hey J.,

read Andrea Z. advice. i totally agree w/ her. my son was just like that. i found out that he was hungry when he woke up in 45 mins. after i fed him i put him down and he was out for another 30 mins. A growth spurt??? also i started to add cereal during the day. it helped!!!
he is 18 months now and takes a 1hr. morning nap and about 2 hr. afternoon nap and sleep for 7:30 to 7:00. i have to say he is the happiest kid around.Read " beyond baby wise" it was very helpful.

S.

My baby did the same thing -- frequest naps, 45 minutes like clockwork. Eventually (I think it was around 6 months) he started napping longer on his own. I found it helped to leave him alone for a few minutes if he woke up fussy; sometimes he went back to sleep. But mostly for us, it just took waiting for his own inner schedule to change. If yours is sleeping through the night I think you're in good shape!

I agree with everyone who says this is totally normal. I think that since she's sleeping through the night it's all good, she will eventually take logner naps. A baby that little can only stay awake that amount of tiem (1.5-2hrs). My daughter was the same way and whle it was hard to get things done, getting a good night's sleep was worth it. SHe now takes one longer nap during the day, and her other two are still shorter. SHe still sometimes gets tired after only being up for an hour and a half, but usually can last 2-3 hrs (she's almost 8 months now). You are doing great, and she is a good girl!

Hi J.,
This seems pretty normal to me. The fact that she's sleeping through the night is a huge blessing, and the frequesnt naps don't really seem like an issue to me. None of my six babies were on a normal day time schedule until at least 5 months, and most of them got up at least once a night to nurse, too. Around five months is the ideal time to begin training them onto a real schedule. The book I found most helpful for this was recommended by my pediatrician: "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. It really walks you through what a normal schedule looks like, and how to get there. But really, I think your daughters sleeping doesn't seem like much of a problem, especially to the mom's out there whose babies never sleep! (LOL) Enjoy your precious little girl -- it all speeds by so fast.

Is she gaining weight normally? It sounds like you may have a 'sleepy baby', which is a baby who does not feed enough to stay awake - nice for parents/you, but in the end not great for her. This happened to me with my first and I thought I had the best baby in the world, but then my pediatrician told me that the fewer calories he was getting the more he would sleep and that this was a cycle that was easy to get into but not healthy. If your baby already sleeps through the night at 4 months, you are either extremely lucky, or she may need more caloric intake during the day.

Good luck!

Hi J.,

I can't tell you how relieved I was to read your request. I am having the same issue with my 5 month old son. I have been so stressed about it b/c he goes to daycare 3 times a week and his provider really wants to get him on a routine. He does the exact same thing that you describe and I am finally just going to accept the fact that he is a cat napper. The problem sometimes is that he likes to take a long late afternoon nap and I don't get to see too much of him when I get home from work. I've tried making his bedtime earlier but then he honestly wakes up earlier in the morning. It is frustrating throughout the day when you can't rely on them taking a good nap but I am grateful that he is pretty much sleeping through the night. Good luck and please share any success you might have with me.

Hi J.,

Are you swaddling her? I had to swaddle my daughter for a little while around 3-4 months because she kept moving her arms around and waking herself up. Being swaddled did the trick for us. It might be worth giving it a shot. Good luck!

...thank heaven above!!! If at 4 months she is sleeping through the night, you have a "keeper". It may be difficult to do anything since she sleeps so often, but if you let her nap in her car seat (like we did with our oldest) you can simply take her along for the ride while she sleeps.

Hi J.! My 4.5 month old girl does the same thing! She takes 3-5 naps a day, and most days I have to take her in the car for a nap because she outright refuses her last nap of the day. I can get her down for he first couple of naps - and sometimes with protest crying, and she sometimes will only sleep for 25 minutes! Even in the car she'll sleep about 30.
It is very frustrating.
I keep working on it every day and hope - like many of the responses you got - she'll start sleeping longer once she is 6 months or so!
I find she sleeps the longest for her 1st morning nap - about 50 minutes, and this is after keeping her awake for only 1 hr 45 minutes. Her other naps are usually after being awake for 2 hours, sometimes 2 hrs 15 min. These will last anywhere from 25-45 minutes.
You are not alone!
My girlfriend had a baby who would nap for 4-6 HOURS during the day, but then be up all night.
Good luck!

I think you may have to start training her to take naps. you might want to start napping with her on a regular schedule for a week or so. You lay down with her twice a day. For her afternoon nap and her late afternoon nap, or all three naps. That way she will get a schedule and will be able to start taking longer naps on her own. babies have a 45 minute sleep clock, and some wake up after their first 45 minutes, but if she is with you and sees that you are sleeping and is very comfy then she will probably go back to sleep for another 45 minutes and will be able to do that on her own. In a few months she will probably only start taking two naps a day. good luck!