The 40 Minute Napping Baby Situation
Anybody else the proud mother of a little catnapper? Yes my little rascal loves a good nap during the day, just not for very long. He is like clockwork, in that he always wakens 40 minutes into a nap. I of course have Googled this at various stages since he was born and the 40 minute sleep cycle explains this, in that babies come into a period of light sleep after 30-45 mins. This is very typical of younger babies who haven't learnt to settle themselves back to sleep again, but according to guides my 10 month old should really be napping for 1 hour-1 hour 30 minutes, well for 1 of his naps at least. We recently went on holiday & I was very excited that the heat might take it out of him, hence leading to longer naps. In fact the opposite happened. 1) It wasn't that warm 2) He napped for only 20-30 minutes.
Now I have to admit there is the occasional day when he will have a longer nap, but of course I don't know what triggers these. My mum was very pleased to inform me when he slept for 2-3 hours for her, but those were short-lived times indeed. I think maybe he's done it 3 times?
I can hear everyone saying, "What you need is a good routine." Ah I hate that word sometimes! While we do have a rough routine, it can't be the same each day as he isn't with me everyday. He also has to fit in around nursery school drop-offs and pick-ups as a poor second child.
He is up at roughly the same time each morning (although this is getting earlier!) and he has his bottle & breakfast, but then some days he stays with us. Other days I go to work and so he travels up to his Grandparents who go out and about in the morning. This means his morning nap is in the car or buggy. For 2 days he is with his Nanny and cousins having too much fun to nap! Aw no, as previously mentioned on occasions he has a LONG nap at nanny's, but other days he just catnaps again. So all in all, I have no idea. His big brother also started with 40 minute naps, but soon graduated to a 2 hour nap over lunch time. I must dig out the little books we used to keep for Rowan detailing his naps, nappies and nummies! Poor Theo's diary went by the wayside after a couple of months. Maybe that's the key, we should start the diary up again and see which routine helps him nap for longer.
In the meantime, please feel free to share any tips with me if you have managed to get a catnapping baby to sleep for longer. Don't even get me started on night time routines either, that is a blog for another day after a large coffee. I in turn will be delighted to share my tips whenever it actually happens for us!
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| Having a quick holiday catnap. Just look at those lips though! |
Now I have to admit there is the occasional day when he will have a longer nap, but of course I don't know what triggers these. My mum was very pleased to inform me when he slept for 2-3 hours for her, but those were short-lived times indeed. I think maybe he's done it 3 times?
I can hear everyone saying, "What you need is a good routine." Ah I hate that word sometimes! While we do have a rough routine, it can't be the same each day as he isn't with me everyday. He also has to fit in around nursery school drop-offs and pick-ups as a poor second child.
He is up at roughly the same time each morning (although this is getting earlier!) and he has his bottle & breakfast, but then some days he stays with us. Other days I go to work and so he travels up to his Grandparents who go out and about in the morning. This means his morning nap is in the car or buggy. For 2 days he is with his Nanny and cousins having too much fun to nap! Aw no, as previously mentioned on occasions he has a LONG nap at nanny's, but other days he just catnaps again. So all in all, I have no idea. His big brother also started with 40 minute naps, but soon graduated to a 2 hour nap over lunch time. I must dig out the little books we used to keep for Rowan detailing his naps, nappies and nummies! Poor Theo's diary went by the wayside after a couple of months. Maybe that's the key, we should start the diary up again and see which routine helps him nap for longer.
In the meantime, please feel free to share any tips with me if you have managed to get a catnapping baby to sleep for longer. Don't even get me started on night time routines either, that is a blog for another day after a large coffee. I in turn will be delighted to share my tips whenever it actually happens for us!
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