Adjusting Naps/sleep for My 7 Month Old

Updated on February 15, 2012
M.W. asks from Santee, CA
10 answers

My 7 month old does a great job sleeping through the night. We put her to bed around 8:30pm and she wakes at about 6am. But recently she has started boycotting her 3rd nap even though I know she is tired. I have tried everything and nothing gets her to sleep. So, my question is, should I try to put her to bed earlier to make up for the sleep she is losing? Here is the normal schedule:

wake 6am
nap 8am
wake approx. 10am
nap between 12:30 and 1pm
wake approx 2:30 or 3pm
start bedtime routine at 7:30 or 8
bed at 8/8:30

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So What Happened?

I tried to put her to sleep at 7:30 ( bath and bedtime routine starting at 7) which was good cause she was pooped, but she woke at 5:30am this morning. My biggest concern is putting her down so early means she will wake earlier. I will try again tonight but any additional suggestions are appreciated.

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M.G.

answers from Chicago on

Yep, the third nap goes away about this age. My seven month old daughter is starting to give it up. Try bedtime at 7:00.

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J.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

It's ok. My 2nd son stopped all of his naps, except for a 20 min. one around 4 months....OMG. He slept 10-12 hours at night.

My first son slept for 2 hours, was awake for 2 hours all day and then slept for 12 hours at night. We thought we were such good parents. At 5 years old, if he was tired, he'd ask to go to bed early.

We have 4 kids. Our 9 year old gets to stay up a bit later sometimes, but usually, he goes to bed at 7:30pm with his almost 4 and almost 6 year old brother and sister. The baby goes down right after them. The bedtime in our house has always been 7:30pm. We also give liquid calcium/magnesium, as it is a natural nervous system relaxant, so it helps them sleep AND my kids don't have growing pains. Extra dairy doesn't seem to do the trick.

My advice would be to wake her up from her 2nd nap after an hour or so....don't let her sleep so long for that one, since you want her good and tired for bedtime and see if that helps. Our daughter is almost 4 and when she takes a nap, we have to wake her up after 45-60 minutes, otherwise she'll be up past 11pm and wake up at 5am. OMG.

They are all different. Good luck!

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H.1.

answers from Des Moines on

Yes I would definitely drop the third nap and move bedtime to a new earlier time. Probably 7 or so and the beauty is she will keep this as a consistent bedtime for quite some time! She will be right on target with. 7pm bedtime, a morning nap, and an afternoon nap!

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M.N.

answers from Los Angeles on

It sounds like she's doing just fine in the sleep department with me. Everytime I have ever tried to modify some sort of sleep schedule for my son, he does what he wants anyhow. It sounds like your daughter is doing a pretty good job on her own sleeping without you trying to modify anything. I'd go by her cues. A 3rd nap at 7 months seems like a lot. I think she's telling you she only needs two.

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M.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

At that age, my daughter transitioned into 2 naps a day.
Take care!

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L.O.

answers from Detroit on

yes.. she is ready to give up the 3rd nap.. this is normal.. yest bedtime moves earlier.

you can try to push the morning nap a bit (15 minutes) later.. then maybe you can push the afternoon nap a few mintues later.. but most likely she will be in bed asleep by 7 pm.. it is a lousy schedule but that is what it is..

somewhere around 12-18 months she will give up the first nap.. then she will go down for one long nap starting about 11... she has an early lunch then a big nap. again bedtime moves up.. maybe even 630.

get teh book.. healthy sleep habits .. happy child.. good advice on sleep.

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S.F.

answers from San Diego on

Actually, it's the opposite. If you put her down around 6:30, I bet she'll sleep till 6:00/6:30. I consulted w/a sleep expert and she told me to keep my kids on a '12hr' clock. So, if they wake up at 6:00, then 6:00 is their bedtime. Some people think that's too early but she said that at that age, their bedtime should be 6:00-6:30. My little girl would sleep 5:30p-6:30a!! She'll probably now do (2)2hr naps (one at 9:00"ish and the other at 12:30/1:00'sh)... Look for sleepy signs at around 5:30p and 'she' will tell you when its time for her bedtime If you want more info, go to 3daysleepsolution.com. Davis is the best!! Good luck! :)

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D.G.

answers from Las Vegas on

Wow, my kids never slept that long, ever. As babies get older their sleep needs decrease, so she's telling you it's time to adjust the schedule. Experiment to see what works for her and for you.

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L.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

Since adjusting bed time didn't work for you try to adjust the naps to 2 a day. Some kids just don't need so many naps. My son went to 1 nap after he turned 1. Try to push the 8 AM nap to 9 or 9:30. Then do the 2nd nap at around 1:30. See if that helps. Good luck.

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