Tired signs or scheduled naps

I got an email today from http://www.babysleepsite.com/ (I love this site, by the way!) The sleep expert was talking about how older babies/toddlers do better with scheduled naps rather than putting them down based on their tired signs. She says for older babies and toddlers tired signs can be misleading. Has this been your experience? I still put my LOs down for a nap based on tired signs and the amount of time since the morning wake-up or their last nap. Do you put your LOs down for naps at set times everyday? Our days can look very different because I'm pretty flexible with naps, but it can be hard to schedule things.

 

I function better in order myself, therefore I had my twins on feeding, sleeping schedule since their birth. Now they are 18 months and they always take 1 nap at noon for couple of hours.They usualy wake up around 7-7:30 and bedtime is always 8-8:30.Works for us.
I notice they get tired and sleepy and it is always around lunch time at 11:30, but with books or toys we manage to have lunch .But funny thing, after they eat they don't seem to be sleepy anymore, run around,scream, play etc. You would think they are not ready for the nap. But ones I put them in their cribs, they are out.

 

Ditto here. My LO's have been on the same schedule and are down to a single nap between 12-2PM. Not that they are super tired or even fall asleep right away, but its rest time and it helps to make for a more predictable day.

 

Since mine were 4 months we had scheduled naps. Of course the schedules have changed but I learned through HSHHC book that once you see the tired signs then they should already be in bed. I'm not sure if it's true but it sure did help with mine.
Mine now go down at the same time every day, but we have the same routine every day as well, so they know that after breakfast they go down for a nap.
I can also say that my oldest was never on a schedule and it worked for him. We just put him down when he was tired, and I can honestly say that he stopped naps at 2. I have no idea if this is because he wasn't on a schedule but I'm hoping beyond hope that the twins continue to nap for a very very long time LOL.

 

Just like beendbee, my guys tend to get sleepy before lunch, then wound up afterward (we just made the transition to 1 nap). I don't go by the clock per se, but I also don't wait until they look sleepy to put them down. Usually it's a certain time from the last time they had a sleep cycle or feeding. So when they were on 2 naps a day, we did the 2-3-4 method (naps 2 hours after waking in the morning, 3 hours after waking from the first nap, and bed 4 hours after waking from that). Now that we're on 1 nap a day, we do snacks at about 2 hours after waking, lunch about 2 hours after that, nap, snack, play, dinner, bed.

We've been pretty scheduled since around 6-7 months (with feeding and sleeping) and my guys seem to find the routine pretty comfortable.

 

at the 1 yr mark we were doing a modified 2-3-4 schedule type... and it seemed to work for us that naps were typically at a certain time, though I was flexible too. around 15 mo. I was able to be more flexible with doing either 1 nap or 2, but still mostly 2 naps. It really wasn't until just recently at 20 months that we've really gotten to a more timed nap.

its hard when you think they are being good and staying up longer and you're wondering if you should lengthen their awake time etc...

I agree with the signs being misleading though... b/c like the pp said ours get tired and cranky mid morning and then once they have lunch they appear to be raring to go for more play, but they are worn out and go to sleep right away...

 

We were using the 2-3-4 schedule until they started going through the transition to the one nap which is where they are now (some days they still need two naps). So in saying that, some days I do still read their tired signs but on those days it's ususally because they woke up earlier than normal so I'll put them down about 2.5 hours after waking (falling back to the 2-3-4 routine we had). On most days now they take their nap after they eat lunch at 11:30. Then it's straight up to bed. It seems like on those days, which are more frequent now than the two nap days, that they expect the nap after lunch and are definitely ready for it! Hope that all made sense :laughing: ... GL!

 

We started doing a 2-3-4 nap schedule around 6 months old and stayed on a nap schedule. Our naps have been at 1 pm since 15 months when they went to one nap.

 

We have always gone by the clock (which seem to coincide with tired signs a lot of the time). Now ours go down for a nap at noon and they don't get out of their cribs until 2:30 whether they are sleeping or not. It does make us a little less flexible, although it is better now that we are on one nap), but I know when we are available and when we are not since naptime at our house is non-negotiable.

 

We have scheduled naps, and it seems to work best. Mine usually nap starting at 11:30-12:15 for a few hours. I make a decision on when to put them down depending on how well they slept the night before and how early they woke up. They always have a lull and look tired sometime in the mid morning. I used to try and get them to sleep, but it would backfire. So now I stick with the schedule and it is usually very good (except for colds and teething!).

 

I think we're going to switch to more scheduled naps ... probably around 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Thanks for your thoughts!

 

Mine always had a schedule for everything. When they nap, it's on a schedule. If they show signs of being really tired and it's before 6pm, I"ll let them take a brief nap if their earlier nap was not very long. Otherwise, no more than 3 hours worth of napping during the day or they don't sleep well at night.