naps for 8 month old?

[Johanna82]

I need some advice... how many naps should an 8 month old be having? My DS usually gets up at 7, then nap at around 9 for 40 mins, then nap at around 12 for 40 mins, then nap around 3.30 or 4 for 40 mins, then in bed around seven (usually sleeps till around 4 or 5, then bottle then back to sleep till seven).

This routine has been working quite well, but lately it's been a lot harder for him to settle and actually go to sleep. (sometimes up to an hour or more) He has also started waking up sometimes hourly throughout the night, and then at six in the morning and it throws the rest of the day out a bit. I've tried dropping a nap and also tried extending his awake time but then he is absolutely exhausted so I'm confused :confused:

Just wondering how much sleep/naps other 8 month old bubs are getting? Why has his sleep suddenly changed when he was doing so well?:(

[mummy2belle]

My daughter is 8mths
She wakes at 7am
First nap at 10am (30-40mins)
Lunch at 12pm
Nap at 2pm (40-1hr)
Snack at 4pm (sometimes a 10min nap after)
Dinner at 600pm
Bath at 630pm
Sleep at 700pm

Hope this helps

[fludo]

My DD is 7 months and 1 week. Her day is similar to your DS's. Up 6:30-7am, 45 min nap at 9am, then a longer sleep at 12/12:30 - up to 2 hours. Then no more naps until bedtime at 7pm. She has been getting up for one quick feed about 4am but this morning slept until 6am so I'm going to try and cut out that feed.

Maybe if you put him down a bit later for the lunchtime nap he might sleep longer then? and then not need a later nap. I think sometimes a later nap can affect their nightsleep.

He could also be waking in the night again due to teething or a growth spurt or reaching a developmental milestone.

I dont' really have an answer, but hope this helps.

[Moops]

I would say he is ready to drop his afternoon sleep. I found that DS started to play up going to bed at night around this age so we stopped putting him down in the afternoon. It was a little hard work at first pushing him through to bedtime but he quickly got used to it. I found it was important that he got a good lunch time nap though. DS is now nearly 15 months and has just dropped his morning sleep and just has 2 hours from 12.30-2.30.

The only times DS plays up during the night is if he's teething (could this be a reason?) or if he has been sleeping too much during the day. They have a way of telling you what is going on! I would suggest giving him 40mins in the morning then a longer lunch time nap of at least 1.5hours this should help him make it to bedtime.

[Johanna82]

thanks everyone for the advice. DS was teething a little while ago but that doesn't seem to be the problem anymore...

For the last two days I've dropped a nap, and just put him down at 10, and then 2 in the arvo. Yesterday seemed to be better than the day before, and today is even better! He's back to his 7 wake up and sleeping through the night yay! :) Guess he just needs a bit less sleep...

[Jaiciesmum]

I have the same kind of dilema.
My 8 mth old's day goes like this...
7ish - wakes up
7.30ish - Breast feed
8.00ish - Breakfast
9ish - sleep (anywhere from 1/2hour to 1 1/2)
11.30ish - breast feed
12.00ish - lunch
1ish - sleep (depending how long she slept for in the morning. Again anywhere from 1/2hour to 1 1/2)
3.30ish - breast feed
4.30ish - tea
5.30ish - nap (only about 1/2 hour)
7.30ish - breast feed
9ish - bed

I know this is probably too late for her to go to sleep but I don't know anyother way to fit in 4 b/f and all the meals.
I have tried cutting out that last sleep but if she doesn't get it she falls asleep on the boob last feed and has a really bad sleep during the night.
She has also been sleeping bad during the night. She used to be so good but now we are really random, sleeping good and then next night up for a lot of the night (don't know why?) any ideas on helping her have more good nights????

[Johanna82]

Jaiciesmum - wish I could help you! It's so frustrating when something was working for ages then it just stops working! :hugs:

I give my DS 4 bottles a day since we've dropped a nap, only difference is that he goes to sleep around 7, and then still wakes up around 5 for a quick bottle then back to bed till 7. (He used to have 5 bottles before we dropped a nap but I've been wanting to drop a bottle so I don't mind). Other difference is that he has his bottle before his sleeps so if he falls asleep while eating it's not a problem.

His problems started when he was teething and just carried on till I dropped a nap. Could your DD be teething? Or could it be a growth spurt and she is hungry? I know that when a while ago I increased the amount DS was eating for his solid meals he slept heaps better (for a while anyway :laughing:)

Sorry I couldn't be more help... hope it gets better soon :)

[rlsmum]

jaiciesmum, my 7mo DS is pretty similar.

He is always happy and alert and lovely during the day, but nights can be a struggle at the moment. His routine is:

BF at 5.30am - straight back to bed
Up at 7am
BF at 8.30am
Down at 9am (sleep 40mins)
Solids at 10am
BF at 12.30pm
Down at 1pm (sleep 40mins)
Solids at 2pm
BF 3.30pm
Down at 4pm (sleep 40 mins)
Solids at 5pm
Bath at 6.30pm
BF / Bed at 7pm

If he sleeps in til 8am, I move everything forward 1 hour but do afternoon sleep around 4.30pm, solids at 5.30pm and still bath at 6.30pm.

So he is getting his 3 meals plus 5 breastfeeds (he won't take a bottle). It would be a great routine, except at the moment he also does:
Night feed at 10.30pm
Awake at midnight
Awake at 3.30am
Sometimes awake at 4.30am

The night waking only started when he had his 6 month shots (and teething), and I was comfort feeding him. He then decided he liked the comfort feeding a bit too much so wakes up for it as a habit now! I am starting cc and he can go back down anywhere from 5 mins (last night) to 1.5 hours (the night before when I give in and bf him again!).

Also, DH goes to work at 5.30am so I am awake briefly then to do that feed anyway. I don't start the solids til a bit later in the day, as he is just not interested in them before 10am-ish.

[AlexandKaitsmum]

I have the same kind of dilema.
My 8 mth old's day goes like this...
7ish - wakes up
7.30ish - Breast feed
8.00ish - Breakfast
9ish - sleep (anywhere from 1/2hour to 1 1/2)
11.30ish - breast feed
12.00ish - lunch
1ish - sleep (depending how long she slept for in the morning. Again anywhere from 1/2hour to 1 1/2)
3.30ish - breast feed
4.30ish - tea
5.30ish - nap (only about 1/2 hour)
7.30ish - breast feed
9ish - bed

I know this is probably too late for her to go to sleep but I don't know anyother way to fit in 4 b/f and all the meals.
I have tried cutting out that last sleep but if she doesn't get it she falls asleep on the boob last feed and has a really bad sleep during the night.
She has also been sleeping bad during the night. She used to be so good but now we are really random, sleeping good and then next night up for a lot of the night (don't know why?) any ideas on helping her have more good nights????

If you would like to put her to bed earlier you could do what i have done with my babues. It is called the "dream feed" I get my babies up at 8.30 not waking them too much and giving them a feed. sometimes i can do this when they were asleep the whole time. That really helped. I would put them to bed at 6-6.30 give them a milk to sleep with then, then give the dream sleep. Worked wonders for us. :) Just an idea for you.

[Jaiciesmum]

Yeah your bub sounds very similar RLSMUM.
Last night was very bad waking every hour (most she slept was 2 at once). She didn't really wake up though she was still kind of asleep but started crying so I put her into bed with me and she would sleep a bit and then get really jumpy.
She won't let me touch her bottom gums at the moment though so I think they must be bothering her quite a bit.
AlexandKaitsmum - If I feed her to sleep she seems to be up all night with pains (like she hasn't got all her wind out), but then again we are up at the moment anyway!

[AlexandKaitsmum]

AlexandKaitsmum - If I feed her to sleep she seems to be up all night with pains (like she hasn't got all her wind out), but then again we are up at the moment anyway!

I always make sure that I burp when i dream feed. As for her teeth have you tried a teething gel with lignocane in it? That is a local which numbs the pain for up to three hours. We used SM33 gel and it works a treat. I don't know how you are about giving pain relief but nurofen is way better for them at night time then panadol. It lasts 6-8 hours and helps with the inflamation in their gums. I give it to DD with her last bottle before bed if i know that she has been having a really bad time with it and she sleeps through. If i dont give it to her sometime she will wake up during the night and nothing that I do will settle her. Thats when i will give her sm33 gel and panadol. with in 20 minutes she is sleeping. I recommend it and my childrens Doctor also recommends nurofen and panadol when they are sick or teething. I believe in pain relief for babies. Used correctly it is very soothing for a baby. They are made for babies so the dose is not that high. When you think about when you are in intense pain do you take panadol or nurofen?? Thats just the way i see it. Sorry if i sound a little pushy. I have just come across a few mothers that refuse to give their babies anything. I feel for the little guys. I know that these mothers use pain relief them selves so I think thats a double standard. Sorry just felt like i had to explain so you didn't think that I was having a go at you.:)

[Jaiciesmum]

Yes I believe in pain relief for babies too. I have been rubbing some Lignocaine gel onto her gums and giving her the Brauer teething relief, I might get some nurofen today though and see how that goes. We were up every 45 min/1 hour last night (yes I am struggling already today!). Hopefully it is just teething and not getting herself into a crazy routine!
How long did you DD suffer with teething? This is only the first so I assume you are going to tell me it is still a long road!
Thanks for your advice.

[rlsmum]

I dropped the 10.30pm dream feed last night, to see if it made any difference, and he slept thru til 2am :yelclap:. He then cried thru 30 mins of me trying to settle him, til he woke his dad up (rare occurence). He went into nursery to try and help out, and picked DS up out of the cot!!! :hair: So of course I had to bf him back to sleep. Then he woke at 6am for bf, then up at 7am (seems to be woken at this time by a dirty nappy each morning).

This was a much better night for me, so have skipped the dream feed again tonight (and tactfully banned DH from any late night helping!). Fingers crossed all goes well.

In fact I am not sure what I am doing awake right now. Should have gone to bed hours ago to get some unbroken sleep. It is just that I have so much confidence at the beginning of every night that tonight is the night he is going to start sleeping thru again!!! :goodvibes:

The cc seems to have worked for us. I go in as soon as I hear him and reassure him for a minute. Then I leave and give him 5 mins of crying then go in and pat for 2 mins then go out for 7 mins then pat for 2 mins then out for 9 mins etc - I do give in after 1 hour and bf.

Most times I only have to go in twice and he is back out. But I have to really keep an eye on the clock, as listening to him grizzle or cry for 5 mins seems like 1 hour. And it is disheartening when he only sleeps for 20 mins then wakes up again, but I am perservering as I do believe I am seeing positive results (just not as quickly as when he was 5 months and it only took 2 nights to get him to sleep thru).

He is still having his 3 sleeps a day though and seems to really need them, so I'm not looking to change that just yet (I'll give this cc another week before I try something new).:thumbsup:

[Jaiciesmum]

RLSMUM - It's good when you try something new and it actually pays off (or will pay off)!
The last 3 days DD has only had 2 sleeps during the day. She has been having one in the morning from about 9.30 till 11 and then again about 3.30 till 5.00. I have been giving her the 11.30 feed then lunch and then playing until the 3.30 bf when she falls asleep.
I gave her some nurofen last night and the night before. The night before she slept really well but last night she was back to her old tricks (waking up every hour) until 2 when i picked her up and patted her back for a while and she let out a burp and then slept until 8! :yelclap: which was very nice! I don't know why she has troubles getting all her wind out and it keeps her up. Anyway at least I got a bit of sleep after that! I still think she is teething though and maybe even going through another growth spurt, do they have one around 8 months???
Anyway good to hear from you :ecomcity:

[AlexandKaitsmum]

RLSMUM - It's good when you try something new and it actually pays off (or will pay off)!
The last 3 days DD has only had 2 sleeps during the day. She has been having one in the morning from about 9.30 till 11 and then again about 3.30 till 5.00. I have been giving her the 11.30 feed then lunch and then playing until the 3.30 bf when she falls asleep.
I gave her some nurofen last night and the night before. The night before she slept really well but last night she was back to her old tricks (waking up every hour) until 2 when i picked her up and patted her back for a while and she let out a burp and then slept until 8! :yelclap: which was very nice! I don't know why she has troubles getting all her wind out and it keeps her up. Anyway at least I got a bit of sleep after that! I still think she is teething though and maybe even going through another growth spurt, do they have one around 8 months???
Anyway good to hear from you :ecomcity:

Hey sorry I haven't been on here for a while. The teething lasts for a while. My son is two and is still teething.

Nurofn works a treat. If you give it to her and she does cry you know its not her teeth thats causing it. Wind is a problem, you cant really control cry/settle when they have it. As you know they dont stop crying until they get it all up. Have you thought of giving her infacol before each feed then just give her a good "Burp" for ten minutes after just to make sure you get all the wind.I just sit in the rocking chair with her upright having a cuddle tummy to tummy patting lightly. that helps sooth to as she can hear my heart :) . My DD is the same some times she just stops burping it all out and it builds up in her bowel. Poor thing, sometimes even c/c doesnt work when they are teething. I'm big on c/c as i feel that it really helps when done properly. The other night i had to cuddle settle DD as nothing else was working and she was just so worked up poor thing. As soon as i stopped patting her she would scream. So i just rocked on the rocking chair with her upright so if she had anywind she could get rid of it and so she could hear my heart. So just go with your gut on what is right and make sure that she is wind free:)

I love nurofen. Both my babies responded to that, I would give it at 6 so if they woke at 2 i knew it was from pain and would give then panadol. They settle again after 20 minutes with out having to have a cuddle or bottle :)

Poor things.

Hope that helps.