I keep reading conflicting information. Do I....
Stretch awake time? or Put down as soon as I see sleepy cues.
(LO is 5 months old and very inconsistent with naps-- currently his awake time is about 2 hours and naps are between 25 min and 1 1/2 hours, depending on the day.)
persimmon / 1026 posts
I found that no matter what I did, LO would not nap longer than 45 minutes until he was 6 months old. Then one day he started sleeping for 1.5 hours and has been doing that ever since. I get jealous of LO's that nap for 2-3+ hours at a time!
hostess / papaya / 10219 posts
@littlecasita1122: Yeah, that may be the case... It is just that sometimes he does sleep longer and other times, nope! He sleeps best in his swing and I am sure we are creating a nap-crutch that is gonna come back to bite us later. LOL. I just want him to NAP!
honeydew / 7687 posts
ditto to what @littlecasita1122 said. i bent over backwards trying a million different things (separately of course) trying to lengthen naps but it was just a developmental thing. He went from 20 to 30 to 45 and then around 5.5 months started lengthening. Sorry, not helpful, but just time 
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
Sleep cycles are often 45 minutes... once your LO learns to self soothe, they can put themselves down again after they come out of that first sleep cycle!!
pineapple / 12526 posts
Honestly, 6 months was the sweet spot for us too. She went from cat-napper (lucky if we got 30 minutes) to champion napper (2, 2 hour + naps) in what seemed like overnight.
I did used to leave her for 15-20 minutes after every nap, to encourage her to go back to sleep (as long as she wasn't screaming). Not sure if it helped or not though.
coconut / 8498 posts
Yeah, I think it's a hard thing to force at this age. Sleep is like any milestone, you can't make it happen until they're ready.
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22276 posts
A just started taking longer naps about a month or two ago and she is almost one. She would take ok naps but it wasn't until recently they are about 2 hours, sometimes 2.5. She only takes one nap a day though, and he awake time is several hours before her nap, so I think that makes a difference.
pomelo / 5607 posts
I've always stayed in the room and watching for signs they're starting to wake up, then soothed them before they could fully wake (patting a shushing without picking up). After doing that for a few days or longer, they start to stay down on their own better because their bodies have learned to nap longer better.
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