How Much Should a 9M Old Sleep?

My son is now 10.5m and takes from 1-2 naps daily, depending on the length and how well he slept the night before. At 9m he would take 2-3 naps, again based on the above criteria. I have let him lead the way on his nap times and bed times and he is doing just fine.

It seems reasonable to me. My son usually went to bed around 9 pm was up at 7 am and took a nap around 10 or 11 for about 2 hrs and then at 5 for about 1.5 hrs - enough time to get dinner cooked(!). He still at age 3 1/2 takes a 2-3 hr nap in the afternoon if he doesn't he's a CRANK. I'm going to be sad when he gives that up (LOL)!

I think most babies sleep that long. My children in my day care sleep age close to 2 or younger take two naps one in the morning and one afternoon. But the children seem to only be able to take up to three hours awake and want down again. They just use up that energy. So if you baby is awake really early in the morning that is not unusual. It also looks like she is not sleeping long periods of time. G. W

My 9 month mostly takes two naps, but every once in a while she'll take 3 naps a day depending on what time she woke up that morning, and how long the other naps were. My baby normally sleeps anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours at her morning and afternoon naps. If she wakes too soon from her morning nap, then she needs a third (shorter) nap- although a 3rd nap means her bedtime gets pushed back to 9:30 or 10pm!
I think number of naps depends on wake up time in the morning and length of naps. You know your baby best- if she needs the extra sleep-time, then a 3rd nap is certainly in order- no matter what anyone else thinks. Babies schedules can change from week-to-week, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. In another week, or two, she could switch things up and move down to two naps.
Enjoy every minute of her!!

You know, all kids are different, and if she wants to sleep, LET HER! When my son was a baby I had all kinds of people telling me when to feed him, how long he should sleep at night before I should wake him up to feed him, blah blah blah. You know what I did? I LET HIM SLEEP when he wanted to (I was not that tired as a new mom because I slept then too!), I FED HIM WHEN HE WAS HUNGRY (not every stinking two hours, wonder why your kid spits up?) and I NEVER woke him up to eat (are you CRAZY?) He was on the opposite end as far as naps go, he never wanted to go to sleep because he was afraid he'll miss something, but once he did, he slept WELL. Some of us need more sleep than others, and the only reason you might consider not so many naps during the day is if she's not sleeping well at night. Otherwise, if she's tired, let her sleep. They grow while they sleep, you know. By the way, Seth is now a 6 foot tall, 180 pound strapping 15 year old now who still sleeps 12 hours at a stretch if he can. I STILL LET HIM.
Good luck and blessings to you and yours.

I think you know your child better than anyone first off! secondly, my kids took a late cat nap (making it 3 a day) for a while when they were little). I wouldn't force her to sleep, but if she is cranky, she may need "me" time, just some time alone, without all the stimulation. If she falls asleep, then I'd assume she needed the sleep as well. Is she sleeping well at night? If not, maybe she needs less during the day, but if all is going smoothly, simply say to your advice givers "thanks for your input, I'll think about that" because again, you know best!

Have you heard of babycenter.com? It's a great website. According to them, your baby needs about 14 hours sleep total at 9 months. Typically, 11 hours at night and 3 hours during the day in 2 naps, but again, every baby is different.

I think that's perfectly normal. My son is almost 2 and his whole life has needed 12 hours at night and a 2 to 3 hour nap during the day. I have always perfered him to take one long nap instead of 3 little ones and you can get your baby on a schedule if you stick to it everyday. You'll have to really keep your baby busy until 11am and then to lunch and then lay her down. Many times children need a lot of sleep when they are going through a growing spurt. Also just having your baby on a strict hourly schedule will help her know what to expect and she'll be less fussy when she's not napping. She'll get used to knowing nap is after lunch and she'll get a good 2 hours of sleep and be good for the afternoon. This is way daycares have exact schedules. After only a week you'll see her mood improve. Try it out and enjoy the free time! Hope that helps!!

I have a 9 month old and am on the opposite end of this. He cut four tteth in one month and could not sleep at all so we are retraining ourselves into sleeping through the night and naps. This is my second, and every child is different. My first took one long nap lasting around three to sometimes four hours at this age. My second takes two 1-2 hour naps (when I convince him to go down) I guess what I am saying is an infant needs lots of rest and if she is cranky with out these naps, then that is your cue she needs them. It sounds to me that she just wants to take smaller naps and that is ok. My pedi told me anywhere from 2-4 hours of naps per day. She even told me my four year old should still be taking a 1 to 2 hour nap daily!!! Ignore people and their comments, Mother knows best....besides you are the one that has to be with the cranky baby..right?!

Some kids need more sleep than others. This seems pretty reasonable for a sleepy child. My first needed two naps past 1 year of age; however, she was in daycare and was told that they only take one in the next room. I have felt so bad ever since depriving her of her two naps. My second is so different and will be fine with just one past 1 year of age. Anyway, you are doing the right thing. Obviously, if he is cranky then he needs to sleep. Good luck!!

There is a great book out there (paperback with red cover) called How to Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems. This book includes a chapter near the beginning about how much sleep kids typically need at different ages, all the way to adult. It also shows that there is a pretty wide normal range. I encourage you to look for that book and read at least that chapter. -- It sounds to me like your daughter needs some quiet play time when she gets fussy and then takes relatively short naps (sometimes only 1/2 hour). It sounds to me like this is what she needs to recharge. Each child is so different, even within the same family.

All children are different so you need to discuss these concerns with your doctor, who has been treating your daughter on a regular basis. Don't just go by some mom who casually says thats to much! Your her mom and know best, I think my daughter slept just as much. If her sleeping to much caused her to eat alot less or she changed in some way I would question it, but they need alot of sleep at that age! Good Luck!

My daughter switched from 3 one hour (or hour and a half) naps at 9-10 mos. to two naps of about two hours...Only because she was ready, her late afternoon naps got very short. It took a week or two for her to adjust. If you think three naps work, let her take 3 naps!

A child can never take too many naps. I did the Babywise book which put thems on a schedule. My boys are awesome sleepers and napers. She should definetly be taking 2-3 naps a day. I think mine did 9-11 in the morning and 1-3 in the afternoon and then 5-5:30 in the evening. She will drop the cat nap soon and then you will be left with 2. You usually take them down to 1 nap at about 18 mths. You will notice when she starts sleeping less in the morning then you will drop that one and move to 12:00-3:00. It will all fall in place. Sounds like you are doing great.

little ones of this age need approx 14 hours of sleep per 24 hour period. The length of her naps isn't veyr long and I am guessing she is still waking at least once in the night. So she i sprobably not getting to much sleep in hours. It just soudn sto me like she needs a little sleep training to take 2 longer naps instead of several cat naps. Send me a message if you would like any advice. I had the same problem with my little one. It was so much better for the both of us when he took longer naps.

Yes, young babies do take 3 naps. I don't think DS did this but I did read about 3 naps in Weissbluth's Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. He is a pediatric sleep expert.

Yes, you are giving your baby too many naps. 9 month olds should have 1 or 2 naps a day. One nap in the morning, and one nap in the afternoon, or one long nap starting at 11:30 or 12:00.

My oldest was a BIG sleeper - when he was supposed to be down to 2 naps he still took 5 a day, including a nap from 5-6 PM! And he still went to bed by 9 and slept until 8am. Just needed a lot of sleep. If we skipped a nap, he was a behavioral disaster AND slept worse at night (He started waking 4 times a night and we figured out to put him to bed 30 minutes EARLIER, then he slept fine again! Kids are just weird, and each one is totally different. The reange of normal is simply HUGE!!!

All children a different. My daughter was a sleeper At 9 mths she was sleeping 2x 2 1/2 hrs and at night 9 to 10 hrs. My nephew was totally different. He basically took 1/2 hr naps every two hours and maybe 4 hrs at night!!