For those with babies under 12 weeks...

Do your little ones nap at the same time everyday, or just whenever they feel like it? Ava has no nap schedule whatsoever, however, she does seem to have a "pattern" overnight. I just let her sleep whenever she wants during the day (she's 9 weeks) because I feel like she wouldn't sleep if she didn't need to. But should she have a schedule or pattern of naps by now? I mean, she definitely has a pattern of taking a LONG nap in the afternoon/evenings. She sleeps for three hours every afternoon, but it's just not at the same time everyday. It's a little frustrating because I can't plan my day really.

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

Hi Rach!
Aly is exactly the same way as Ava. they are the same age - I think this is somewhat normal. It takes awhile to establish a routine with naps I think. I know what you mean about planning your day - - I am glad that she sleeps through a lot though. If she fals alseep and I have somewhere to gho , I just scoop her into her carrrier and off I go. she usually sleeps right through the transition.
Do you actually lay her down for naps? Aly just falls alseep wherever - in my arms when I am olding her.....in her bouncy while shes playing....on her play mat....wherever. LOL
Dawn

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

No, she totally just falls asleep wherever. If it's in her swing or bouncy seat, I'll leave her. If it's on her playmat or in my arms, I usually put her in her pack n play in the livingroom. Today, though, I happened to just put her in her crib, and 3.5 hours later, she's STILL sleeping I just went to try an wake her up and she's out! Sleeping like a log! I'm just afraid she won't sleep tonight.

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

sometimes Aly naps very late in the day for a long period of time and I worry that it will throw of the night - but it doesnt. I guess they need the extra rest. I read somewhere that kids this age should nap 5 hrs a day atleast. and that they need 10 at night - - Aly doesnt sleep anywhere near 10 at night! Im lucky if I get 5 out of her so far Ava is sleeping through the night now right?

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

We get about 7 hours from her, but for us, that IS our night. She goes down anywhere from 10-11pm and gets up around 5-6am. As far as I'm concerned, that's good enough!
ETA: She wakes up at 5-6am, has a bottle and goes back down till 9am. Hopefully she'll eliminate that bottle soon.

Message edited 8/15/2006 7:08:35 PM.

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

I think that they are still too young for a nap pattern. With my son, he is ready for a nap afer he is up for 2 hours like clockwork. But its always different because it depends when he wakes up. Then he will nap from 1-3 1/2 hours. I figure by the time he has a schedule I'll be back at work already.

P.S I'm so happy Ava is sleeping through the night because I have read about her allergy issues....but i am jealous. My DS goes in at 10 and is up at 1, 4 and 7.

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

The only pattern that I have noticed is that Ryan takes a nap in the morning a little while after his first bottle. Other than that, it's different everyday. He is sleeping anywhere from 7-10 hours at night now, so I'm loving that and not worrying about naps.

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

My DD is 9 weeks old and has no pattern. She takes several naps a day. Some short 20 minutes and as long as 4 hours. I can't get her to nap in her crib or bassinet during the day so she usually naps in her swing.

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

Ella has a loose schedule. I know she'll go down for a long nap (2-3 hrs) between 10-12pm. Though lately, she's been pushing that off until further in the afternoon.

She slept 8 hours in a row last night though, so I have no complaints

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

OK...Lisa Kate and Rach! we all had our babies around the same time and you guys are getting waaay more hrs of sleep out of your DC than I am!! Im soo jealous

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

Posted by dawnygirl25

OK...Lisa Kate and Rach! we all had our babies around the same time and you guys are getting waaay more hrs of sleep out of your DC than I am!! Im soo jealous

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

my dd also doesnt have a schedule..she is 4 weeks..she mostly sleeps the same at night as well..during the day its kind of the same time ..but then again sometimes she is just up alllllllllll day long..which is ok for me because last night she slept for 6 hours. ..i think that soy formula is finally working for us..I HOPE.

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

Posted by alex7-2

my dd also doesnt have a schedule..she is 4 weeks..she mostly sleeps the same at night as well..during the day its kind of the same time ..but then again sometimes she is just up alllllllllll day long..which is ok for me because last night she slept for 6 hours. ..i think that soy formula is finally working for us..I HOPE.

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

Alex will be 3 months old next week and he naps different times everyday.

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

Rach! the soy has made Aly a new kid! she has been so much better! thank goodness.

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

Kerri is 12 weeks today and has no nap schedule. She sleeps 12 hours through the night...usually 7pm to 7am straight and has been for 3 weeks. She will go back to bed after her 7am bottle and sleep for another hour, sometimes two.

She naps during the day but it is more like 30 mins here or 20 mins there. She sleeps in swings, chairs, etc....never could be put down in her crib for napping. But I don't care as long as she keeps these 12 hour nights up

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

Moe, you are one lucky lady with those twelve straight hours!

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

Posted by prncssrachel

Moe, you are one lucky lady with those twelve straight hours!

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

Posted by prncssrachel

Posted by alex7-2

my dd also doesnt have a schedule..she is 4 weeks..she mostly sleeps the same at night as well..during the day its kind of the same time ..but then again sometimes she is just up alllllllllll day long..which is ok for me because last night she slept for 6 hours. ..i think that soy formula is finally working for us..I HOPE.

I'm glad the soy is working out!!!
Dawn, is the soy agreeing with Aly?

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

Andrew will be 12 weeks tomorrow and before he got sick he started sleeping about an average of 7 hrs a night. Now forget it

I hope he will go back to that once he is feeling better

Wakes up around 6:30 or 7 am. He naps right after his breakfast for about 4 hrs. Then has lunch and is up pretty much until 4pm. Then has dinner around 7pm and down again for a nap. Then he wakes up around 10:30 pm for a snack and then it's storytime and off to bed.

And if he is thrown off his schedule forget it. I have a crazy baby on my hands.

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

Ellie sleeps at least 7-8 hours a night, but just within the last week and a half she's started going more like 10 and once 12 hours I had to check to make sure she was still breathing. She used to sleep a precise 7 hours and then go down again for 3 hours after nursing. Now I think she's connected those two which is super! Napping on a schedule (all be it a loose one) is a new thing for us. Also about a week and a half now. I started reading Dr. Weissbluth and I've been noticing that she does start to show signs of tiredness even though she's still playful so I've started putting her down when she does that. It's definitely not the same time each day but is regular in the sense that it does happen after she's been up for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Then I let her sleep for as long as she needs. Some days she'll take 2 two hour naps, other days she'll take several naps that are only a half hour long. We're still getting into a routine. We're not there yet. But she's definitely on the road to developing one.

ETA: Ellie will be 12 weeks tomorrow

Message edited 8/16/2006 9:28:37 AM.

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

DD is 7 1/2 weeks and no real nap schedule. I am still working on the night thing, lol. She is slowly sleeping more at night. During the day, she will go back to sleep after her morning feeding and sleep for 2-3 hours. Then usually she stays up for about 1 1/2 hours at a time and naps in between. I will usually at least get one more 2 hour nap out of her. I can't complain.

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

we have no schedule either and actually DS has not been napping much during the day! he's 6 weeks and i can't believe he can just get by on catnaps! he has been sleeping very well through the night though so that may be the difference. he's awake for about 30 minutes between 230and 3am just to eat and then goes back til about 6am. when he gets a little older i'll try to enforce a nap schedule but for now i'm not stressing it

Re: For those with babies under 12 weeks...

DS never had a nap pattern, although now I actually try to put him down for a nap an hour and half after he is up. For the most part it usually works and it only started when he was about 3 months. Before that the only way I could get him to take a long nap was on me and I would let him. When he was younger, around Ava's age he would sleep almost anywhere and I would just leave him. Also when DS started sleeping through the night he had the same pattern as Ava with the eception he wouldnt go back to sleep for 3 hours once he woke up. And it seemed like a week at a time he would sleep an hour longer and before we knew it he was sleeping 10-12 hours a night. One thing that I did do though that did help him sleep longer was put him to bed earlier. So he goes to bed between 6:30-7 anything after 7 and I am in for a half hour of crying.