Advice on Nap Time for Five Month Old

When my son was that old it was hard to extablish a routine. I know that a 45 min. nap is perfect and if they did not get at least a 45 min nap they did not get a good nap from what I have heard. Try putting them down 3 times a day. They need as much sleep as they can get. I realized that my son needed to cry it out and after a couple of times he started sleeping the full 45 min each nap, three times a day. It may just be that they are so overtired they can't fall asleep. Put them down earlier than you think they need a nap. You will figure it all out!

Well, try to keep nap times to the same time every day. Try to do a routine similar to your bedtime routine, book, lullaby, etc. Maybe try a swing or a vibrator. My 4 month old naps in his swing, otherwise I had the same problem. Good luck!

Hi K.....I have a 7 month old and she only naps for about 45 minutes at a time also. Some days I luck out and she might take a 2 hour nap. But most days 45 minutes a nap sounds about right. She also wantes me to either hold her or nurse her the whole time. It's called a "high needs" baby. It sounds like your daughter might be a high needs baby too. Check out Dr. Sear's website. He talks a lot about high needs babies.

http://www.askdrsears.com/

I don't know if it will work itself out or not. And I am a SAHM, so I don't have any advice on how to get your sitters to establish a routine, except to say maybe you can find just one sitter who will stick to the routine you give them for her. As long as she is sleeping good at night, I would not worry to much about her napping for more than 45 minutes at a time. Babies know what they need...if they need to sleep, they sleep. If they don't need sleep, they won't. As long as she is healthy and meeting her milestones, then I am sure she is just fine. Good luck to you!

Hi K.,

My first son would nap even less than that at that age, so my advice would be to say a prayer of thanks.......he was also up a couple times per night to nurse.....I'd say you are doing quite well! (BTW he is now a teen and sleeps a LOT)

Like the other mom who posted advice, I too was a SAHM. If you can tell the sitters your baby's normal routine, they will probably try to keep to it as much as possible, but they are only human, plus they may have a bunch of other children to care for. It is at least worth a try, to ask them to keep as close to your routine as possible. Babies (well, mine anyway) seem to change their routines often!

I think babies nap more once they are more mobile (crawling, rolling, walking--all that stuff tires them out), so if she isn't doing those things yet, when she starts to, she may nap more. No guarantees though!

Congrats on your little one!

K. Z.

I couldn't put my son down for a nap in his crib at that age either. In fact he still doesn't nap in bed. I started laying him on the couch and he would stay asleep. I have no idea why except that his bedroom was much quieter than the living room. Maybe she naps with a little more background noise at the sitters houses than at your house?
Good luck figuring something out! I know it's frustrating when you don't get to enjoy naptime too!! :)

Just be glad your baby sleeps through the night! I was not so lucky, suffering from sleep deprivation for over 2 years!! Naps were also tricky. Mine would not stay asleep any longer than yours does unless I stayed right next to her or held her. She did eventually take good naps by falling asleep in a swing while watching Baby Einstein or the Wiggles. Otherwise, she took naps in a sling attached to me, in the car, in a stroller, or with me nursing her to sleep and staying next to her. Some babies nap right on schedule, some change frequently. With yours being at two different sitters and needing to be held, they will probably just have to do the best they can to be consistent. This is just part of motherhood, and I found no easy answers to the sleep issue. Good luck!

Count your blessings, girl. You know how many women would love to have a baby of any age that would sleep that long at night? She probably just doesn't need naps and 45 minutes is a nice long nap.