Help! I cannot get my 6.5 month old's schedule figured out. I feel like his naps and nighttime sleep are all over the place. He had been sleeping through the night (7-6) for about a month and a half, but now wakes up several times a night and then sometimes for good super early in the morning. I wonder if it's because of his daytime schedule. I can't figure out whether he needs 2 or 3 naps. Right now he gets up anywhere between 5:30 am and 7 am (but more often the earlier time lately). I try to put him down for a nap around 9 am. Sometimes he can't make it that long, and it's totally unpredictable whether he sleeps for 40 minutes or 2-3 hours. I then put him down for his second nap around 2.5 hours after his wakeup time from his first nap. Today, that means he got up at 3 pm from his second nap. He typically won't go to sleep for his third nap until at least 2.5 hours after his second nap, so that would mean a 5:30 pm nap. Isn't that too late for the third nap since it would push back bedtime to around 8-8:30? Then again, if I don't give him a third nap, I'm not sure he can make it to 6:30 even. Last night, like normal, we tried three naps and an 8:00 bedtime. He woke up three times and then for good at 5:30 am. That is not enough nighttime sleep for him (or me), right? This is driving me crazy. I work 50 hours a week, my husband works over 60, and we have a toddler. Help! Should I try to push him to a 2 nap schedule since it seems his nighttime sleep is suffering with 3?
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DD was on a loose 2-3-4 schedule at that age and still is at 9.5 months. She goes down for her first nap about 2 hours after she wakes up for the day. Then she takes a second nap 3 hours after she wakes from her first nap. We start her bedtime routine 4 hours after her second nap. If she took a third nap she wouldn't want to go to bed.
ETA: she still woke up twice a night at that age.
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My LO is a month older than yours and we are in the same situation. If she wakes at 7 she does great with the 2-3-4 schedule that @Mrs. Pickle: described. But if she wakes at 5:30 she needs three naps. I feel like she needs to go to bed earlier but we also have a toddler and I can't quite figure out a schedule that works to get her to sleep earlier. And one night she will fight going to sleep and need to be rocked all the way to sleep, wake up crying two hours later, then one night I can calmly lay her down in her pack and play and she rolls around for a few minutes and sleeps through until 5. It's driving me crazy!
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@Mrs. Pickle: Thank you! That is good to hear that you had success with the 2/3/4 schedule. I know it worked well for my son at some point but I can't remember when. I think I am going to try to stretch him out today and try it!
@Foodnerd81: Baby sleep is the worst!
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We are also having success with a loose 2/3/4 schedule. I still try to follow his cues though and like @Foodnerd81: if DS wakes up at before 6ish, he needs 3 naps. But the third one is usually around 20-30 min and doesn't really affect his bedtime. He's 8.5 months old and we started this sched about 6 weeks ago
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My 6.5 month old is still solidly on a 3 nap schedule but he doesn't take long naps. He wakes around 630/700, naps at 9:00ish, 12:00ish and 3:00ish. Naps for about 45min to an hour each time.
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@travellingbee: you have a toddler too, right? Does he still nap? Do you ever leave the house?? This is one part of my struggle- my almost 3 year old naps early afternoon. If the baby napped on that schedule we would have like, no time to go anywhere. But of course what's happening right now isn't working so I am trying different things to see what helps.
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@Foodnerd81: DS1 is in preschool full time so he naps there. Often 1 nap per day is in the car. I would prefer to be on a two nap schedule but he absolutely can not make it.
He also does NOT sleep through the night. I'm thrilled if he only wakes once.
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DD3 is on 2-3-4 but if either of her naps are short she takes a 20 minute cat nap before dinner. She's 6.5 months.
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@oliviaoblivia: what's a short nap for her?
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@travellingbee: an hour. She's usually 1.75-2 hours per nap. Awake at 7:30 in bed at 8:00.
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@oliviaoblivia: oh wow! Amazing. Yeah he clearly has to sleep more often because he doesnt nap long.
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We had a great schedule just like @oliviaoblivia: for a while- she would wake around 7 ish, have two good naps on 2-3-4, roughly, and wake maybe once a night, sometimes not. Not anymore. She's also working on a lot- just started babbling big time and is this close to crawling, so I think its all related... but I'm tired. And tired of trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong.
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@oliviaoblivia: dude. Please come to my house and fix my kid. My 8 month old's night sleep is a wreck right now - waking 2/3 times a night and taking forever to go back down. So jealous of your zzzzzzzzzs.
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My daughter is almost 8 months and still takes three short naps per day. It's best if she wakes from her last nap no earlier than 5:30 for an 8/8:30 bedtime. However, I have learned not to be afraid of her taking what seems to be a really late third nap - it doesn't mess with bedtime all that much, and it seems better for her nighttime sleep that she not be overtired. Sometimes, if we've had a wonky day, DH will put her down for a 7pm nap. She'll sleep 20-30 minutes and then still be down for the night by 9ish.
However, the big caveat is that she doesn't have to be up for anything in the morning, so we can push and monkey with bedtime all we want, knowing that she can sleep in. What time do you want/need him to wake up?
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@Foodnerd81: you aren't doing anything wrong!
I think the expectation of awesome sleep is so much harder than crappy naps. For me accepting that some days have crappy naps and night wakeups made it easier to swallow. I really think sleep just happens however it happens, some days amazing and some days terrible. Going with the flow has really helped me keep my sanity. And honestly somehow the little ones get it. If I really need then to sleep they won't. And if I need them to be awake they take monster naps. I just don't care to fight it.
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@Madison43 at eight months a ton of exciting stuff happens... Why would they want to sleep through it?
I've had trouble with all my girls around major gross milestones. Standing and crusing were big sleep disrupters.
Your LO will asleep again. And when you can, let them get as much physical energy out during the day. My girls sleep like rocks after swim class. Rainy days when we stay home they fight bedtime.
A mom of eight once told me her secret was to burn them out during the day. Made for easier nights.
I'm finding that to be true. -
Right now my 6mo is on 3 naps., a lot like @travellingbee:. Wakes at 630-7, naps at 9ish, 12ish, and 4ish. He usually takes two 45min naps and one 1h30min nap. About once a week it will be just two long naps, and then we attempt a 2-3-4 schedule. No rhyme or reason to why or when those 2-nap days occur. So right now he is on like a 2 - 2.5 - 2.5 - 3 schedule, in terms of awake time.
As for night sleep, he was waking every 2ish hrs 3.5-5mo when we gently sleep-trained. Now he goes to sleep around 7:30 or 8, sleeps until 5, cries a little at 5 (sometimes we rub his back, sometimes not), and then wakes up sometime between 6:30-7.
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Would you maybe consider putting him down for a 3rd nap but waking him up by like, say, 6pm, to help with bedtime? I hate waking a sleeping baby, but if it's to help bedtime and to get through this 3-down-to-2 nap transition?
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I think shortening that first wake time to 2 hours max, maybe 90 minutes will really help. Then either do 2-3-4 if the naps are close to two hours, or do more like 2-3-3-3 if they're under an hour and you need to do 3.
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Another option might be a super-early bedtime on those days when it all lines up that way. For awhile, my DD2 could NOT make it past 615p because I would have to take her up around 3p to go pick up her sister from school.
I think babies don't always follow a logical, consistent schedule (esp when hitting developmental milestones, but also teething, sickness, etc etc etc), and it drives parents crazy. But I've found it easiest to just roll with it. If a short 20m nap and a later bedtime works for your family, great. If 2 naps and a super early bedtime works for you guys, also great! If it varies by day, whatever!
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At that age we were definitely still doing 3 naps--one around 8am, one around 12, and one around 3 (usually a shorter one). DD was in bed by 6:30 and up around 6.
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@lady baltimore: His brother and I are night owls so I'd like him to wake up when his brother does at 8, but I know there is no way that is happening! 7 would be nice!
@oliviaoblivia: @KayKay: I like both of your go with the flow attitudes! I definitely need to internalize this more. You'd think the second time around I would no better! But the sleep deprivation makes me irrational I think.
@DesertDreams88: I think keeping the third nap short would definitely help. The nights where he takes a long one seem to be worse.
@hilsy85: That's pretty much the schedule we had with my first I think, but I feel like the second may be able to stay up longer at this age.
@Foodnerd81: Having a toddler too is soo frustrating. With a three nap schedule and an early bedtime, we pretty much can never leave!Thanks everyone! So last night, I kept him up from 3-7ish. He slept until 7 am straight through! But I don't know if it is the 2-3-4 schedule or the fact that I topped him off with a bit of formula before bed out of desperation! I'll have to do more experimenting and keep y'all updated.
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I am a big fan of more naps and a later bedtime. My 6.5 month old usually has three naps, sometimes even a fourth if they are short. He naps on demand, but the first nap is always less than two hours after waking for the day. I keep bedtime mostly constant. I usually start the bedtime routine at 9 to go down around 9:30. Sometimes I start a little earlier if he seems tired. Sometimes he has a very late evening nap, and I wake him from that to do bedtime (this has decreased lately, though). He STTN pretty consistently, waking between 6 and 7.
He also does NOT sleep through the night. I'm thrilled if he only wakes once.
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