Should I Wake My 9 Month Old from Naps?

If it were me...
no, I certainly wouldn't wake him. If he's sleeping, he's tired and his body needs it. Don't so much worry about the clock, but instead what he needs. Don't stress about it, either way, it'll work out fine!

Hi A.,

Our son takes two naps and the timing of those usually runs around 10:30-11am for the first nap and back down in the afternoon from 4pm til 5:30 or 6pm (usually his afternoon nap lasts for an hour and a half). He goes to bed every night at 8pm. We don't have any problems with him not wanting to go to bed at night from the afternoon nap. He is now 17 months old and has been on this schedule for months now. I'm sure every child is different but have you tried letting him sleep til 5:30 or 6pm and seeing if he will still go to bed around 8pm? Babies tend to adjust well to schedules so hopefully he will get used to this routine. =-)

Hi A.,

The same thing happened with our daughter around the time she turned 9 months. I had to start waking her up earlier in the morning so that her morning nap would be earlier. That sort of shifted the whole schedule for the day a little earlier. I only woke her up about 30 mins earlier in the mornings but that seemed to do the trick for us. If we have a day that she doesn't wake up at the earlier time, then I do wake her up in the afternoon so that she doesn't nap past 5:30p.

I have a 13 month old son that follows a similar schedule. I think he was around 11 months when he was doing the same thing - not wanting to go down until 10 and then wouldn't take an afternoon nap. Everyone told me that he was just cutting out the afternoon nap, but he would be so cranky without it. I too have Happy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, and I felt it reminded me that I was putting him down too late in the morning. I was still rocking him to sleep - I couldn't bare to let him cry it out, and he would not go to sleep at 9am for me anymore! So, I decided to do the unthinkable - one evening, with my husband's help, I let him cry it out. He cried for about an hour with us going and laying him back down, and patting him about every 15 minutes. Then, the next day, I had to do it myself with naps. He didn't cry very long, and then didn't make a peep that evening. He is so good at putting himself to sleep!
Once I got that set, I started putting him back down at 9am. He would play in his crib for about 10 minutes and then go on to sleep, waking at 10:30ish, and go back down at 2pm. He still does this and is very happy.
I'm not sure if you rock your child to sleep of he puts himself to sleep, I was just thinking maybe you rock him since he is determining when he naps...that's the way my child was. But - he is SO SO much happier putting himself to sleep and following the 2 nap schedule at 9am and 2pm.
Daylight savings does complicate things. I would keep working with him, but 10am is probably way too late to still be having an afternoon nap.
Hope it gets better!

I have a home day care and it is strange but my youngest children seem to drop about 10-11. They usually sleep while I am making lunch. Some sleep while the kids are all eating. But I have woken them about 11:30 then after lunch may let them play a little while before putting them down for afternoon nap. I would not let kids sleep past 4pm. Most by the time I change diapers and get mats out it is about 1pm and they usually sleep anywhere from 2:30-4. Most will sleep until about 3:30. It seems most wear out in 3-4 hours want snack or a meal and play another 3-4 hours. I called some centers that feed their children at 11am nap after and they will turn on the lights at 2:30 to wake them up. I do not by what I do like that. I have a light breakfast at 8 or when kids come after we have a snack at 10. Then play until lunch at 12. By 12:30 we are done with lunch and takes time to get out mats and change diapers. I find if they wait a little those dirty diapers are taken care of before nap and they sleep longer. By about 5:00-6:00 they are really ready to go home be fed and bed. I would let him sleep from 10 until about 11:30 the latest then lunch play time and nap by 1pm But they really do chose their own schedules. My son years ago would fall asleep about 4 in the after noon. The doctor said that was his time and was fine. I have kids who may just fall asleep playing their energy runs out and when it is out they are done. So try different things to see what works for you but nice to have a napper. By the time I get breakfast for 6 and snack and change diapers for all of them I am exhausted by nap time. I need my nap and here and there there will be one that will not go to sleep. Seems Mondays they are all crabby and need naps. You are doing a great job and enjoy God's wonderful gift of children. God Bless G. W

The first year can be a little rough sometimes. My son is a napper and during his first year putting him to bed by 8pm would have been impossible. He would wake at 7am, nap by 11am, wake at 1pm, and then would be ready for another nap at around 4pm. Needless to say, he did not get sleepy until about 9:30pm. It changes though and gets better. We were never really on a "set" schedule until he turned about 15 months. Now he is in bed by 8:30 every night. I always let my son nap as long as he wanted, but I did always make sure to wake him up no later than 7AM. That kept him on somewhat of a schedule. Do what is best for you and don't worry, it gets easier.

he just hasn't adjusted to the time change
as far as he's concerned he's still on schedule

I always hated to wake my children from naps, but in your circumstances I'd wake him from the morning one and let him lunch by 11 or 11:30 and I think he would go to his afternoon nap by at least 2:30 if not before that way.. You sure don't want to mess up the night time, or it would affect your whole family. Seems like they get too cranky at this age without the afternoon one, but I think waking from the morning one would do the trick. Hope this works out.

Allison,
Do what your instincts tell you to do, and try a few different ideas, to see what works for you and your child. Each child is a little different -- like each adult.

One of my children went to nap between 1 & 1:30, and slept until about 3 to 4, the other one was a 3 to 4 or 5 pm napper. That gave me some one on one time with the other one, maybe a wee nap for momma (!!!) or some time to tidy up the house while both were napping.

A.

Maybe try to see if you can delay his morning nap until around 11:30 and see if he will just take one long nap in the afternoon. Both of my children switched to one long nap a day around 10-11 mos. Hope this helps!

The wonderful world of sleep schedules! I think he is ready to drop another nap. Keep him going/active till at least 12 and let him sleep then. You will be exhausted from his fussyness for a while before he completely changes but if you can retrain him to fall asleep later it will work out better for night time. Just think of this as your work and roll with the changes! Give it about 2 weeks to completely change with some days that you just can't keep him awake that long. This is the afternoon nap schedule that just might last for years! Hang in there you are almost done with the changes.

I know you've gotten a lot of responses, but he's probably ready to go with one nap a day now. If he can eat lunch at 11 or 11:30, then put him down for a nap right after lunch. He'll be ready for at least a 2 hour nap by then.

I never went by a book. I went by my kids. I have 4. My 1, 3, & 4 aren't much of sleepers. My 2 is still a sleeper and she's almost 15 1/2. When it came to naps.... the afternoon nap is ALWAYS the last to let go of. I also do daycare. We do alot of our activities in the morning hours. Also story time at the library is in the morning. But at nine months - I haven't met a kid yet at that age that doesn't need a little morning nap and a good afternoon nap. I usually do a morning nap by 9am and it's only for maybe 30-45 minutes... takes the edge off. Then lunch at 12pm - then a little playtime - and cleaning up of toys and dishes. They go down around 1pm or 1:30 until about 3:30. Then we have snack and outside time or coloring. Parents pick up their kids by 6 - I do dinner at 5pm. It works great for the older kids and the little ones.

9 month olds still need 2 naps. Until 18 months then just the afternoon nap.

Good luck! Don't get upset if your son doesn't follow some book.... he doesn't know how to read! haha

I am going through the same thing with my son who just turned 1. He was taking a 3 hour morning nap, and then not wanting to take an afternoon nap. I thought he was trying to tell me that he wanted to go to 1 nap, but that didn't work either - he was exhausted. SO.. I started limiting his morning nap to 1 hour, and putting him down in the afternoon. It really worked. I also make sure to wear him out between naps so he goes down easier.

Good luck!

WHat about eliminating the afternoon nap? Let him sleep until he wakes up from the morning nap and then put him to bed a little earlier at night ... do you think that would work?

I did the Babywise book which is basically the same. I disagree on dropping a nap. Most baby websites and books will say they should have 2 naps until 18mths. Using Babywise I put mine down and 9:00 in the morning, he would usually sleep until 10:30 or 11 and then back down at 1:00 in the afternoon and he would usually sleep until 3:00. Sometimes I would still do the 5:00 short nap if he needed it which was usually about 30 min. But then when he does drop the morning nap you would move the afternoon one back to noon. Then they should sleep noon to 3:00 and back down at 7:30. I used this for both of mine and it worked perfectly. When my first one got to preschool he was on track with their schedules. Most schools lay them down at noon. Good luck but don't drop the morning nap.

Love that book, BTW!
Sounds to me like he might be ready to drop the second nap already! Read ahead a little and see what Dr. Weissbluth says about single naps.
I have twins, and one has always been a better napper. I have them nap in separate rooms because of it. Transition periods are always rough. The time change actually helped me out a lot! Can you maybe see if he'll take his "morning" nap a little later each day, until he's napping closer to lunch time? Then he may just go down for the night around 6 or 7....

hi A.,

i have @ 11 m/o twinboys & they've done the same thing. I'd let him sleep & when he wakes he can eat, have bath & bottle, play & bed again w/in 1.5 hrs. hope this helps! have a great w/e