How do I get my 6 months infant to sleep longer during the day?

My son did the same thing! We read The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems by Teaching You to Ask the Right Questions, and found it very helpful (no crying it out). Additionally, I would pay close attention to the monitor during naps. As soon as my son began to rustle, I'd run in and help him go back to sleep (pat his back, lay him down, rock him if necissary). After a while, he just learned to go back to sleep and would take 1 1/2 hour naps. Now, I'm doing it again to try to stretch him to one long 2-3 hour nap. If you can get in there while he's just waking and still groggy, you might have a chance at getting him to take a longer nap.
Best of luck!

J.,

I have 3 children, a 5 yr old girl, a 3 yr old boy and a 20 mo. girl. My kids took naps on a regular schedule until the last one came along. She has not been a napper since day one and the only way for me to get her to sleep during the day is for her to fall asleep in her highchair or carseat. Once in a while now she will fall asleep on her own, but it is usually run until she passes out. You might be better to not try to do so many naps and see if it regulates on its own.

Your son may not ever take good naps during the day. It may be part of the reason that he sleeps so well at night. Not every baby has the same patterns for napping. My 16 month old never napped more than 1 1/2 hours total during the day at your son's age, and even still takes a very short nap. Thankfully he sleeps great at night time. I know it can be frustrating because we can have different expectations, but you may just have to follow his lead on this one. Best of luck!

Hi J.,

I have two kids and they are both very different. My daughter was just like your son at that age except she would take 4 little mini naps all day. Each nap was exactly 1/2 hr so I never got anything done when I was at home with her. She also slept very well at night and would sleep from 7 pm to 7 am. It wasn't until she was about 1 yr when we were really trying to transition her to one nap that she took a full 2 hour nap. She is 3 now and still takes a 2 hour nap.

I would think that most 6 mo olds are not ready for 1 nap a day yet so I wouldn't rush into that but at the same time I wouldn't worry about your son only getting 2 hours of nap time from his mini naps. All kids are different in their napping needs so as long as your child seems happy and content most of the time I wouldn't worry. I always recommend a good sleep book called "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child" (Weissbluth??). The book contains charts showing how much sleep is typical at different ages but also shows that all kids are different and shows the 10% to 90% ranges. I wouldn't worry unless your child was outside these ranges and I am pretty sure 12 hours at night + 2 hours during the day actually falls within these ranges for a 6 mo old. I will look it up tonight and repost what I find.

I also love the no cry sleep solution. Have you tried a white noise machine? We also got some of the pull down shades for our sons room and it seemed to work. I did wear him in a sling or lay down with him for most naps until he was about 6 months old.
Good luck and you are doing a great job!

J.,

I just ordered the book called "The Conteted Little Baby Book" by Gina Ford anmaybe what she would say is that she would like to congratulate you on a great routine that you have established and for your genuine care in your baby's sleeping patterns/habits. However, this might seem like common sense, but it is a start. Here, in Germany, we have curtains AND these blinds that can be put down that makes the room pitch black where you can't see anything. Maybe your baby would sleep better if there was not one trickel of sunlight coming in? I am sure there are alternative methods of not going and installing these slides, but it is an option. Also, Gina Ford does say something about getting rid of that last feed in the night, so you and your baby can get a full nights sleep. I am not that far in the book, yet. And ... every child is different, some need more sleep, others not. If your baby is eating right, growing at the recommend rate, and is a content baby during the day, then, I would have to say that this is o.k. Last but not least, try to get rid of the sleeping in the arms. Maybe the darkened room idea will help and it will take a few days to break the sleeping in the arms habit, but the few days of adjusting and a bit of crying when you put him down will outweigh the benefits in the LONG run!

Hope this helps a bit. I am new at all of this, too!

Sincerely,
N.

I think his naps right now sound good. I would almost not let him nap at 4pm because if he get's in habit of that it's gonna be tough when he's a toddler etc.

I know a baby next door to me well now she's 18mos. old. She NEVER never never took naps as a infant to current. It's very strange but she's doing just fine so I guess she doesn't need them. If they're lucky they can get her to sleep 1- 45min. nap a day, that's it.

Now I have a almost 6 year old who just finished all day kindergarten and if I let her would still take a daily nap and falls asleep in the car all the time. She loves to sleep... She's also a night owl and if I let her would sleep in til noon everyday. She's getting plenty of sleep but still loves her naps.

I just think every kid is different.

Each baby is different, and you have to do what works for you.

I have found that my little ones don't establish good napping routines until around 11 or 12 months. At that point the napping and the bedtime routine usually are consistent. Which is as follows:
6:00 wake
9:00 nap
10:30 wake
1:30 nap
3:30 wake
7:00 bedtime
the schedule can vary a half hour, but usually is pretty consistent.

K.
SAHM to 13 month old Henrik, 3 year old Camren and 5 year old Ethan

try cutting our the morning nap all together...it may just make his afternoon nap turn into a 2 hour nap. I would not touch the night time routine at all.

I have the opposite problem, I have a 15 month old who still takes his 9am nap, sleeps until about 11, then he wants to go down again at about 1:30 and will sleep until about 3:30...then he will be ready for bed before I want him to go to bed at night...so sometimes I end up laying him down for 15 minutes around 5...

My girl is similar. She naps briefly during the day and less than an hour twice a day. When she wakes she's happy but when she's tired she's crying and fussing. At night she usually doesn't like to go to bed because she wants to be with me. I do believe in crying it out. I don't want to create a dependant child who is dependant on me too much. Also, once you've done everything possible and the child still fusses or wakes the moment you put them in the crib then I highly believe in letting the child cry. Maybe your child doesn't need as much sleep. Maybe this is just your kids pattern. Nothing wrong with it. You can attempt to put him down for a nap later and see if your boy will sleep longer. Could he be waking because of teeth? My daughter wakes often if new teeth are popping. Try Tylenol or teething gel.