Erratic Napper

Hi D.,

I have a 5 month old son myself, who sounds alot like your baby! SAME exact story here. From experience with my older daughter though, I have found that if the nap is only 45 minutes, I sometimes let him go for no more then 10 minutes, because many times he will fall back to sleep on his own. I can't remember which sleep book I read it in, sorry, but it was referred to as the "45 minute intruder" because many babies wake up at this time in between sleep cycles. I've actually found it to be true for us in many cases. Most of the time he'll fall back to sleep for another hour or so.
Anyway, I know with my daughter at least, things regulated more as she got older. Have fun with your baby!!

Most definitely! That's totally normal. :) Some babies fall into a routine more easily than others.

~C.
http://daisyandpear.blogspot.com

D.- This is normal at this age but I highly recommend a book called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Weisbluth. It totally changed my life. This is a great time to start sleep training before bad habits begin.
S.

I think it's normal. Just try to make her room as perfect for napping as you can--white noise, low light etc. And enjoy the days when the planets all align and she takes a glorious 2 hour nap! ;-)

I'd say that is totally normal. Her schedule will get a bit more predictable as she gets older, but nap times will always vary.. .my son could nap 1-2.5 hours in the afternoon (he's 16 months). Just make sure her room is optimal for sleeping (dark, sound machine, swaddle her if she still likes it) and then let her decide. Also, if it has been a short nap, don't rush in the minute she starts making noise, she might put her self back to sleep.

Totally normal! Relax and enjoy her.

I have a 5 1/2 month old who I have been trying to get on some kind of a routine for 2 months now. She never goes down for naps at the same time and she can sleep anywhere from 30min to 2 hours! I just never know. From reading others' posts here I guess it is more normal than I thought. Everything I have read says to get kids on a schedule as early as possible, so that's what I've been trying to do, but maybe she is still too young for that. What I have been consistant about with her and seems to help get her to go down more easily is to make sure to be putting her down for a nap within 2 hours of her being awake b/c after that she starts getting overtired. I know how frustrating the erractic naps can be. Hang in there. I try to remind myself this precious time while she is a baby won't last long and I try to enjoy every moment I can.