Does my baby nap long enough?

  • Friday, December 17, 2010 10:14 PM
    Message # 482214
    Mehrnoosh
    Hi,
    I have a 9 month girl who I'm still breastfeeding. She has never been a good sleeper.  She still wakes up a few times through the night for feedings.  We tried to sleep train her but couldn't go through with it.  She is not a good napper either.  She has about 3 1/2 hour naps. I've tried to get her to sleep for longer but no matter what she wake up after 30 or 45 minutes.  Are her naps long enough for her or should I be doing some thing differently to help her sleep longer.  She goes to bed at 8 and wakes up around 6 am.  I am really stressing about her naps as I think that she is not getting enough sleep during the day.  Please let me know what you think.
    Thank you
  • Monday, December 20, 2010 1:57 PM
    Reply # 483288 on 482214
    Jane
    Mehrnoosh Khayatian wrote: Hi,
    I have a 9 month girl who I'm still breastfeeding. She has never been a good sleeper.  She still wakes up a few times through the night for feedings.  We tried to sleep train her but couldn't go through with it.  She is not a good napper either.  She has about 3 1/2 hour naps. I've tried to get her to sleep for longer but no matter what she wake up after 30 or 45 minutes.  Are her naps long enough for her or should I be doing some thing differently to help her sleep longer.  She goes to bed at 8 and wakes up around 6 am.  I am really stressing about her naps as I think that she is not getting enough sleep during the day.  Please let me know what you think.
    Thank you



    Hi Mehrnoosh.

    My daughter is almost 9 months and I'm also breastfeeding.   She still gets up twice a night to feed but sleeps from 7pm-7:30/8am.   She only takes 2 naps a day and most are 35-50 minutes as well.  Once in awhile we get a nice surprise and get an  hour and 15 minutes or 2 hours, but that is very rare!!   I think your little one is probably getting enough sleep unless you find she is really irritable all the time because she seems tired?  You could try and put her to bed a bit earlier (I've read that in a few places that surprisingly it doesn't make them get up any earlier) if you want her to get more sleep.

    Hope that helps a bit!


    Jane
  • Monday, December 20, 2010 10:17 PM
    Reply # 483592 on 482214
    Maria

    HI.

    Great to read your posts, as I have been battling the sleep and nap issue as well. my daughter will be 11 months in one week, and is still breastfeeding. Great sleeper and napper until she turned 8 months. She naps once a day now,about 1 hr and 15 mins. She goes to sleep at 7-730, sometimes 8. She wakes up throughout the night, once but mostly twice, not for very long,  . I have tried the cry out, but was not working. I have even thought maybe my milk supply is low and maybe she was not feeding enough during the day. Lastweek she was waking up 3-4 times a night, I was so sleep deprived, like a zombie.This week there has been a change, for the past 2 days, I have consciously made an effort to makesure she gets more milk in during the day , I feed her a bigger lunch, and a moderate supper. I was told that if baby has too much of a full tummy at dinner she can wake up more frequent. My doctor, said that sometimes babies awake due to anxiety, and because they are getting more active, some nursing babies want to nurse at night when they are more relaxed. I have a little blancket toy, and for the past two days I have put in my bed to get my scent , and than put it in her crib at night,  so she has my scent in her crib.  I hope this helps, I have read a few posts on babycenter and seems that past the 8-10 month area many babies battle sleep/nap issues.

    There is light at the end of the tunnel, Goodluck!
  • Tuesday, December 21, 2010 4:44 PM
    Reply # 484003 on 482214
    Lisa
    My son is 20 months old now and is a pretty good sleep, finally!

    Up until almost 7 months old he was a terrible sleeper.  He was waking up several times during the night.  I was still nursing him at that point but cut out night feeding because he was drinking and eating well during the day. Our doctor said at this age they don't need the night feeding.  They only want to feed so that they can be with you!   
    He was waking up for no reason, it got to the point that he would wake up every half hour and if I got in there fast enough and he heard me or even just felt my touch he would go right back to sleep.  I tired everything, rocking him, holding him, just leaving him in the crib and talking to him and nothing was really working. 
    It took me a while to get up enough courage but I finally decided to do the Ferber method 
    I was extremely hard but after 2 days I noticed a big difference and by the 3rd day he was sleeping through the night.  It was amazing, I could finally get some sleep!
    It also taught me the it is okay if the baby cries as long as he is safe.  I have a video monitor so I could see what he does (best thing I have ever purchased).  I have only had to go in his room 2 times during the night since I did this.
    Now he still has 2 naps a day, usually around 1 hour 15 minutes each.  He goes to sleep between 8-8:30pm and will wake up around 7:00am (most days).
    I really recommend this method, it really worked for us.
  • Wednesday, December 22, 2010 10:55 AM
    Reply # 484385 on 482214
    Kimberly
    my son is 22 months now...for the 1st 6 months he was a great sleeper....he was doing 6 hour stretches at night even though I was bfing. Then he started teething....he hasn't had great nights since then. He has gone through phases where he was up every half hour or hour but normally he's up every 3 to 4 hours....which is only about twice a night for him. He doesn't go to bed until 10 which shocks most ppl...and he's up around 7.....BUT....he is and always has been a good napper....he has a 3 hour nap still....and I nap with him. People often say I should shorten his nap to get him to sleep earlier at night but we like his schedule....it gives us time to do stuff in the evening and I can still be home to nurse him to bed. I have never pushed my schedule on him....i have always taken the cues from him. Point is... Each family and each baby is different...do what works for you and don't worry about how long they re "supposed to" nap. As long as they seem rested and content then all is well
  • Thursday, December 23, 2010 2:58 PM
    Reply # 484939 on 482214
    Debbi
    Do you struggle to get her to sleep or to sleep longer, or both :)

    When my baby was about 9 months old, I really struggled to get her to nap in the first place. She was a big nap resister. Eventually, I found the best way to get her to fall asleep was to strap her in the the baby carrier (I have a Catbird pikkolo and had her front facing forward) and go for a slow walk outside. It usually took less than 10 minutes before she fell asleep - I guess the gentle motion and fresh air helped. Then once it started getting cold, I used to clip a blanket on to the carrier and over her head so she'd be kept warm, and I found that she fell asleep much quicker (maybe because she couldn't see anything, or she just knew the routine by then),

    The biggest challenge is being able to get baby out of the carrier and in to the crib/ on to the bed once you get back home. It takes practice and of course depends on the baby carrier you have. I used to only do the transfer after she'd been sleeping at least 20 minutes as I found it less likely that she'd wake.

    A surefire method that worked for me to get her to sleep longer, was for me to nap with her. She'd nap for three hours sometimes, and of course it was good for me to catch up on some sleep, too!  (Note: we co-sleep, so this may not be suitable if you're not comfortable sleeping with your baby) After she fell asleep in the baby carrier, I'd transfer her to the bed and then sleep next to her. If it was dreadfully cold outside or she wanted to nurse, I'd sometimes just nurse lying down next to her , then unlatch her once she fell asleep.

    Lastly, perhaps you can read and try some of the techniques in Elizabeth Pantley's No Cry Nap Solution, or No Cry Sleep Solution? (I borrowed both of these from the Vaughan Public Library).
    There's also some extracts from all of her "No Cry" books that you can download for free from http://www.pantley.com/elizabeth/links/PantleyNoCryBooklet.pdf
  • Thursday, January 06, 2011 3:52 PM
    Reply # 490677 on 482214
    Randi
    Mehrnoosh Khayatian wrote: Hi,
    I have a 9 month girl who I'm still breastfeeding. She has never been a good sleeper.  She still wakes up a few times through the night for feedings.  We tried to sleep train her but couldn't go through with it.  She is not a good napper either.  She has about 3 1/2 hour naps. I've tried to get her to sleep for longer but no matter what she wake up after 30 or 45 minutes.  Are her naps long enough for her or should I be doing some thing differently to help her sleep longer.  She goes to bed at 8 and wakes up around 6 am.  I am really stressing about her naps as I think that she is not getting enough sleep during the day.  Please let me know what you think.
    Thank you


    Hello Mehrnoosh,

    My daughter is almost nine months old.  She never was a good napper (and still not).  She has 3-4 half hour naps each day.  She goes to bed at 7:30/8pm and sleeps until 8am.  It's been this way for almost three months now.  She was hastily weaned at almost eight months because of an accident that landed me in the hospital last month.  The formula hasn't changed a thing. She never liked napping.  So I decided that I'd rather have a baby sleep all night long than all day long.  She sleeps long enough in the day to keep her going another two-three hours before her next cat nap.  She's healthy and happy so I don't stress too much about her cat naps anymore.  Not all children require the same amount of sleep.  Sleep training took a while but we successfully Ferberized her.  She cries at night occasionally but can put herself back to sleep without my help.  If she's ok with the little naps, then that's ok too. :) 
  • Thursday, January 06, 2011 5:30 PM
    Reply # 490725 on 482214
    Mehrnoosh
    Thank you ladies for your replies.  I value all of you input/experiences.  As much as I try not to worry about her cat naps I still fell that she needs more.  When we co-sleep for her naps she sleeps much longer and as soon as I leave her side she wakes up.  Another part of the problem is that she falls sleep breastfeeding and doesn't want to let go of my breast.  She also wakes up 3 or 4 times during the night for feeding.  I don't think she's really hungry I think she just needs my breast for her comfort.  We are thinking of sleep training/ Ferberizing her but I'm not too sure abut it.  I'd like to know what you think.  We tried letting her cry it out once and she cried more and more each night.  We also noticed a big difference in her attitude.  Is sleep training traumatic for them?
  • Friday, January 07, 2011 12:15 PM
    Reply # 491129 on 482214
    Debbi
    In terms of baby falling asleep breastfeeding, this is what worked for me: Once baby falls asleep, give her a few minutes, then gently put your finger in the corner of her mouth to break the latch then as you pull your nipple out, use a finger under her chin to gently push up (i.e. hold her jaw/ mouth closed). Give her a few seconds before releasing. If baby roots (looks for your nipple), let her have it, and repeat the whole process. It may take a few tries but eventually, she'll give up and you'll "free". If you keep doing this, eventually you'll be successful on the first "unlatch".

    Have you read Elizabeth Pantley's "No Cry Sleep Solution", there are lots of good ideas in there that actually work. There's also the Dr Sears book "The Baby Sleep Book" that has some very good advice (The above 'trick' is from both of the above books). Elizabeth Pantley also has a No Cry Nap Solution book that gives some nap schedules and tables.

    I personally feel that babies are traumatized if they are left to cry to sleep for long periods of time. I also think that it really depends on the baby and her temperament. In my situation, DD (dear daughter) actually regresses in behaviour if I let her cry: she cries harder or becomes more clingy and wants to be carried. I find that by letting her get "more" cuddles, nursing, hugs, mommy time, etc she is less likely to cry, have tantrums or be clingy when we do have to separate, go to sleep, go to daycare, etc.

    Ultimately, it's your decision on what you decide to do - and you do what works for you, your baby and your family as a whole. Good luck!!
  • Friday, January 07, 2011 8:38 PM
    Reply # 491465 on 482214
    Mehrnoosh
    Thanks Debbie!  That is exactly what I've been doing with her from the beginning. She falls sleep on my boob then I latch her off, slowly place her in her crib and inch my way out of the room.  The problem is that she has learned to only fall sleep with the breast in her mouth and when she wakes up at the end of her sleep cycle she doesn't know how to get herself back to sleep with out the boob.  I am reading "NCSS" at the moment.  It's got a lot of good tips but it's also a very slow/gradual process.  The other problem is that I am going back to work mid February and I cannot do the overnight feedings every night any longer.  I'm hoping something will start changing. My main concern is her health and if she is getting the proper amount of sleep that she needs.