naps for 14 mos olds

I think our napping is way off.....here's what it's been like lately:

approximate times....

7:30 wake up

8:00 breakfast

10:00 nap (for about 2 hrs)

12:30 lunch

2:00 snack & lunch (about 45 min)

5:00 they start getting tired again, maybe another nap (about 45 min)

7:00 dinner

8:30-9:30 bedtime


Seems like they should be taking 2 naps by now, and longer ones. But they get so cranky towards the end of the day & yawning, I know they're tired.

Someone suggested trying to make the morning nap later & see what happens. Also, another problem coming up is that I have a Baby Massage class that I really, really want to take them to, but it's once a week at 11:00 - right in the middle of nap time.

Any suggestions?

 

I'd definately say no more napping after 5pm! Mine have dinner at 5pm, bedtime at 7-7:30pm. I'd trying moving your afternoon nap back a bit, like around 2:30-3pm and moving your evening activities up. Our schedule is:

6:30-7:00 Wake up
7:30-8:00 Breakfast
10:00-12:00 Nap
12-12:30 Lunch
3:00 Snack
5:00 Dinner
6:00 Bath, stories, etc.
7-7:30 Bedtime

If they're morning nap is too short, sometimes they take another 1 hr nap around 3:30. At 14 months, mine were still taking 2 naps pretty much every day at 9:30 or 10:30 in the morning and 2:30 or 3:00 in the afternoon.

 

I would say to maybe make the first nap a cat nap maybe a few minutes earlier and try to offer one longer nap shortly after lunch.
That way they get more of the rest later in the day but not too close to bed.

 

QUOTE
2:00 snack & lunch (about 45 min)


I'm assuming you meant to write snack and nap. Maybe they aren't quite ready for a nap at this time. Maybe they would be more ready around 2:30-3. Maybe then they would sleep a bit longer.

I wouldn't make the morning nap too much later because then it would interfere with lunch and an afternoon nap. I know if mine aren't up from a morning nap by 11:30, they won't go down before 2:00. Do you think they are ready for one nap? You could try pushing the morning nap back and maybe putting them down around 12 noon and see how that goes, just give them an early lunch. That is what I have been doing on days mine take one nap.

QUOTE
Someone suggested trying to make the morning nap later & see what happens. Also, another problem coming up is that I have a Baby Massage class that I really, really want to take them to, but it's once a week at 11:00 - right in the middle of nap time.


As for the class, I know I personally don't schedule anything during nap time. I don't know what to tell you about this unless they were only taking an afternoon nap. Or you woke them up early from their first nap, but then that would only give them 30 min. of a first nap.

 

If you want to move them to two naps I would probably push the afternoon nap back about an hour or so, and then move bedtime up if they are still tired. Mine are 16 months but have been on the same schedule for a few months now:

Wake 7:30 and breakfast
Snack 10:00
Nap 10:30-12:30
Lunch 1:00
Nap 3:30-5:00
Dinner 5:00
Bed: 8:00

I don't let the boys sleep past 5:00 so it doesn't interfere with bedtime, you might enjoy an earlier bedtime for them too.
As for the class I think it would be hard for them at this age to enjoy going anywhere at that time of day, I know my boys would just be super super grumpy. Good luck!

 

Mine never tended to take long morning naps, so we didn't have this problem, but would you be willing to wake them up from the morning nap after an hour, in hopes of getting a longer nap in the p.m.?

Also, this is a pretty radical change, but if they are getting tired at 5, maybe they want to go to bed MUCH earlier -- rather than letting them have a catnap at 5, you could do dinner at 5 and bedtime at 6:30. When mine are cranky and tired when we get home from daycare at 5:45, we pretty much just rush them to bed after dinner.

We're on a much earlier schedule (by nature and also due to the necessity of work/daycare), but FWIW, here's what it was at 14 months:

Wake 6:00
Breakfast 6:30
Nap 9:30-10:15 (I didn't wake them up, but they almost never slept more than 45 min)
Snack 10:30
Lunch 12:30
Nap 12:30-2
Snack 2:30
Dinner 6
Bedtime 6:30-7

As far as the baby massage class, alas, I agree that you might have to just let it go. It will be frustrating if you're always worried about having to wake them up, or them being tired and grumpy at that time. There will be time for morning activities once they're settled on one nap.

 

I would definitely say put them to bed earlier. If they are waking at 7:00, put them to bed at 7:00pm. When mine first went to one nap, they took it at 10:30 for about 2 hrs, and that did make for a grumpy afternoon. I slowly pushed it back to 12:30, which is where it's at now. First thing in moving the nap back was to move lunch to before nap, even though that made for an early lunch, I just cut out the morning snack temporarily.
About the class, yeah, it's probably going to have to wait until they move to one nap later in the afternoon. When we were on a morning/earlier nap, we couldn't do much either.

 

Just wanted to give some alternative advice on the class. My boys have been on a 2 nap a day schedule for almost 6 months now. Once a week we go to a library baby storytime class that runs from 10:30 to 11:30. They normally nap from 9-11, so on that one day a week I simply put them down for their nap a bit earlier - 8:30 or 8:45 depending on when they woke up, then wake them up at 10 so we can get to the library on time. I really do believe they get a lot of pleasure out of these classes, and it gives me a chance to go out and meet other moms. If it means they're a bit cranky later in the day, it's worth it in my opinion - it's only one day a week, after all. Don't discount yourself in all of this - if you enjoy that class, then it might be worth trying to make it work for all 3 of you.

 

Anyway to change dinner and an earlier bedtime? This is our schedule right now (my girls are 15 months old)

7am-wake up
7:30-breakfast
11am-nap
1pm- wake up
1:30-lunch
4:30-dinner
7:30pm-bedtime

I agree, no naps after 5. When mine were still on 2 naps a day, I didnt let them nap past 3:30 or they would not go to sleep at 7.

 

Mine have about the same schedule as your but have their dinner at 5 and they are in their bed at 7pm.
They only occasionly have an afternoon nap x

 

Thanks, ladies, for all the replies. We had been doing much better before on schedules & they were going to bed by 8:00, but then dh started working LOOOONG days & I just felt bad for putting them to bed before he got home. Plus, that made dinner a lot later, too.

I haven't got the chance to try anything new yet.....right after I wrote that I came down with a horrible flu.....but I think I will try working with the times & moving up the dinner & bedtime to see if that helps. Thanks so much!!