I Don't Understand My Daughter's Napping Habits

My DD was also a spotty sleeper when she was an infant and now, at almost 12 months, she has two chunks of time when she takes naps... but I never know exactly how long those naps will be. Sometimes the afternoon nap is 40 minutes, sometimes 2 and a half. Sometimes, when she wakes up after a 1 hour, she decides she's still too tired and falls back to sleep. I think she needs more than just 1 hour, but if she's not going to sleep then I've found it's just not worth fighting or fretting over it. It's better to just move on and keep her happy (hence, also keep me happy).

I think babies in general have completely different napping tendencies, and our girls seem to be similar in that they're unreliable. I don't know why they're unreliable, perhaps they just haven't developed the means/desire to sleep for a set amount of time yet, but I do know that it's not really worth dissecting too much. She may develop a more reliable schedule in a few months, but she may not. The important thing is that your daughter is still generally happy and healthy.

my son always sleeps better if he has eaten really well. Just a thought.

She sounds just like my son. When he went to one nap a day it started lasting between one and a half and two hours. Some days it only last one hour and fifteen and other days he stays asleep for 2.5 plus hours. I know it can be frustrating on your end while trying to get things done but I don't think many babies clock the same number of minutes of sleep every day. I count on 1.5 hours and anything over that is bonus time. You may also find there are patterns. For example once a week there is an extra long nap and then the next day it is always shorter. Good luck.

Those current naps don't seem too unusual to me. You're getting between 1.5 - 2.5 hours. That's pretty average in my book.

I'm in the exact same boat as you, but never even thought it was strange! Hey, as long as she IS taking a nap, I call that good. And, the naps aren't short either. No naps are something to worry about. 12:30 consistent nap time is terrific. You'll likely be able to keep this schedule going strong. It's a good thing!

I wouldn't expect her to sleep the exact same amount everyday. I think that her sleeping patterns are quite normal. Some days she may be more tired than others, it may depend on what she ate, or how much activity she had. As long as she is napping, I don't think there is anything unusual.

Unfortunately some kids are just bad sleepers or nappers. My son took one nap a day for 1-2.5hrs & gave that up at 2yrs old. My daughter took cat naps & never really got on a schedule. It was frustrating to not know if I would get 10mins, 2hrs or nothing at all. Both of my children gave up napping completely at age 2. What I did was picked a time in the afternoon when I would have them watch a movie alone, so I could get stuff done like take a shower... Doesn't sound like your there yet, so enjoy whatever napping she gives you while you can. Good luck.