Napping afte 4pm?

Hi... I am trying to get my twins on a schedule.

Lately, the schedule is:

Wake up around 4/5am, feed.
Sleep till 8. Feed. Play until 9:30.
Nap until Noon/12:30. Feed. Play until 1:30/2.
Nap until 3/3:40. Feed. Play. ????

Then I usally follow the same scenario until bedtime around 7:30 but I keep hearing that napping after 4pm is bad. But if I try and keep them up they get really cranky unless I put them in front of Baby Einstein and then they end up falling asleep anyway.

Suggestions?

 

Hi... I am trying to get my twins on a schedule.

Lately, the schedule is:

Wake up around 4/5am, feed.
Sleep till 8. Feed. Play until 9:30.
Nap until Noon/12:30. Feed. Play until 1:30/2.
Nap until 3/3:40. Feed. Play. ????

Then I usally follow the same scenario until bedtime around 7:30 but I keep hearing that napping after 4pm is bad. But if I try and keep them up they get really cranky unless I put them in front of Baby Einstein and then they end up falling asleep anyway.

Suggestions?

 

Hi there. My guys never make it past 7pm, but there are days that due to nap strikes or whatever, they have not slept enough during the day. I will put them down for a bit after 4 (sometimes as late as 5)and they always wake up by 6. That gives them time to play, bathed and then eat before crashing at 7.

I have had a number of nights where they were so tired if I didn't give them that last nap that they would refuse food by crying to go to sleep. I have not found that this mini nap impacts their ability to sleep at night. I only do it on nights where it is obvious that they won't make it until after 6.

HTH,
Tammy

 

My oldest would wake up at 4 pm at the latest (only when she had 3 naps) and then she would be in bed at 6 pm. That way I never had to deal with it. She would sleep 13 hours straight (from 4 months onwards).

 

I would try making their bedtime earlier. At 6 or 6 1/2 months my girls started going to bed no later than 6:30, often 6. And at almost 11 months they still go to bed no later than 6:30.

 

My girls usually take a nap around 4 or 4:30 every day. I get them up by 5:15--at the latest 5:30--so that they are in bed by 9:00. I, too, have heard that same thing, but my girls usually refuse to go down before 4.

 

Unfortunately, I really don't want to put them down earlier than 7 otherwise my husband would NEVER see them.

 

my girls go down no later than 6:30pm and they are six months old. They would be holy terrors if they stayed up later. I know you want your husband to see them - is there anyway he can go to work earlier and then be able to come home earlier?? mine started sleeping longer once I put them down earlier. Maybe it's worth a try?

 

Try an earlier bedtime with a dream feed? Just a thought....

 

the books on sleep training specifically discuss child bedtimes and the wish for keeping kids awake for parents to see, play with late in the day. you may want to check out Weissbluth's book as it discusses this in detail and may help you decide which is best for the babies.

We solved this by having my husband play with the kiddos in the morning (which is a better time for them anyway) In any event, it's what works best for you.

Good luck, sleep training is hard.

Teri D