The 45 Minute Napper

[BumbleBee]

6 months old. Very sweet disposition. Eats well, plays well, goes with the flow. The issue is naps. Here's a typical morning:

Wakes up & eats at home at 5:30am (been sleeping since 9pm the previous night). Arrives at daycare at 7:30, bright eyed & bushy tailed. Happy, chatty, playful.

8:30am: 6oz bottle
9:00am: 2 TBS oatmeal or rice cereal w/1oz breastmilk
9:15am: poops, change diaper, put on sleep sack
9:25am: lay down for nap
9:30am: asleep

I don't rock her, sooth her, etc. Simply lay in the pnp, insert the paci, walk out & close the door.

10:15am: awake & cranky. If I leave her be she'll scream bloody murder & kick, scoot all over the pnp, roll around. Longest was 30 min-went in twice & put the paci back in-tried to sooth w/o picking up. (Mom's suggestion-what they did at night time to get her to sleep through. 30 min max) Just ticked her off.

If I get her up she's cranky and wants to go back to sleep at 11am...but then she's up & hungry at 11:30.

Same thing happens in the afternoon. Then she goes home and sleeps for another hr (4:30-5:30) and goes to bed at 9.

WWYD? I have her 5 days a week, 8.5 hrs a day.

[TwinKristi]

How long have you had her? This is a tough age because they're developing sleep patterns. Is there a way you can try and keep her up longer in the AM to see if she'll nap longer?

[BumbleBee]

She's been here since 3.5 months.

How long would you recommend keeping her up? Maybe 4.5 hrs? At 5 hrs she'll fall asleep on the floor (hectic day, forgot to lay her down.)

Thanks :-)

[TwinKristi]

I would just test it and see. Maybe see about waiting until 10 instead of 9:30, but does she sleep better if she falls asleep on her own exhausted at 10:15? I had a baby here for about 2 mos, but he was 11-12mos old, and at first he wouldn't nap for long at all. 30-45mins... but I started letting him get more tired and he would sleep for longer. He wasn't a big napper though, maybe an hour and 15 at the most but when he woke up sometimes he would just play and babble for a bit. I have another one who as soon as he opens his eyes, he's screaming bloody murder to get out of his PNP.