Advice on Napping for 5-Month Old

I know this is frustrating for you! I have 2 girls and both of them napped a solid hour about 2 hours after waking up and then took 1 or 2 cat naps during the day. They slept 10 hours at night. The pediatrician felt they were getting plenty of sleep and said not to try to force it (I was never successful in trying to enforce a longer nap). Around a year or so they settled into a one-nap-a-day routine (after lunch).

I clean toys by throwing them into a mesh laundry bag and running them through the dishwasher on the top rack (just toys, not with dirty dishes).

Hi T.,
My son was very colicky, so his napping was unpredictable from the start. It was only when he got about 7 or 8 mos old that his nap schedule worked itself out.
I post this over and over, but I would suggest getting a white noise machine for his room. We bought the Marpac sleepmate 980 when he was around 5 mos old. It is the size of a coffee can and makes a constant noise similar to a box fan (without the wind). We turn it on for naps and bedtime, and my now 16 mo old knows that when it is turned on, its time for sleep. Since we bought this machine, we have not had hardly any trouble getting him down for naps. Good luck!

I think as long as your baby is getting enough total sleep he's probably okay - I would guess about 3-4 hours during the day. But if the cat-naps aren't working for you and you'd just prefer that he take a longer afternoon nap you could probably change his habits. I don't really know how, since I only have one kid myself, but what we would do at that age is feed him a big meal, swaddle him, turn on some music and stick him in the swing. It was a guaranteed hour, sometimes 2.
As far as plastic toys go, our dishwasher has a sanitize option, so we just stick it in there.
Good luck!

My daughter is also 5 months old and she takes 3 naps during the day plus sleeps a consitent 10-11 hours at night. Her morning nap lasts 3 hours, afternoon nap is usually more like 2 hours, and then she has another 2-3 hour nap in the evening. When they get to be about 6 months is when the naptimes will start decreasing little by little and by the time they're 1 they probably will only have one a day.

I HIGHLY suggest reading the book "Becoming Baby Wise." I did my daughter's schedule according to this book and it works AMAZINGLY well (she started sleeping through the night at 7 weeks)! There are two books written for babies, one is for birth to 5 months and the other is from 5 months to toddler. I think there may be more written for older children, but these are the two for babies and they are wonderful!! My daughter is one of the happiest and most alert babies I've ever seen, and that's not just me talking, we get compliments about her all the time. Read both books, it will be well worth your time and your money if you have to buy them!

I kind of know what you mean. I have a 14-week old daughter and we call her the "Queen of cat naps". I don't know what to do either. However, about the cleaning of toys, I would suggest making a mixture of bleach and water like half a cup of bleach and a gallon of water. But, smell it to make sure it is not too strong (I can't remember exactly). But, this mixture (when done correctly) cleans the toys of any germs. Dip the toys in the mixture and then let them air dry completely before allowing your child to play with them or put them in his mouth again. Hope that helped a little.

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Hey T., I am a mom of a now almost 8 yr old. Babies and children grow better if they sleep well.

You baby should be taking 2 naps or at least a long one after lunch. Try feeding at lunch and then put baby down aftrward. I tried to do everything in am errand wise and be ready for quiet time myself during nap. Try that. good luck.
D.

Some plastic toys can be cleaned in the dishwasher, but read the manufacturer's directions first. Another option is to mix antibacterial soap or a mild dishwashing detergent with hot water in a spray bottle and use it to clean toys, rinsing them afterward.

All I can say is take what you can get and it sounds like your little one is napping just fine!! As far as cleaning toys, I used a tsp. of bleach to a gallon of water to clean toys. If you want to double check on the amount just ask your pediatrician.

When my son was five months old, thats about all the napping he did as well. He goes to daycare and is too interested in what everybody is doing too sleep. He would sleep 8 hours at night, take one 1.5 hour nap, then a couple of 20 mins naps until bedtime. He has never been a baby who sleeps a lot.

You might try running something in his room that makes a fan like noise. Or I bought a noise maker that sounds like the ocean or a rainstorm or a few other things. Or maybe you could move his bathtime to right before his nap. I would just generally make the place he naps darker and quiter right before his nap everyday about the same time.

And unless it is electic, I put my son's toys in the dishwasher. Or clorox has that all surface antibacterial spray I've heard is good.

I don't think you can make babies nap unless you lay down with them (and hope not to fall asleep yourself). As far as cleaning toys, when I worked in childcare, we used a bleach solution. It was one part bleach and ten parts water, so it is pretty diluted. There is one cleaner that is great and non toxic called Mean Green. You can get that from Lowe's or Home Depot.