Naps

So, my almost 8 mth olds - 6 mths corrected - are napping great 2 times a day...my dilema is the evenings, they seem to be tired around 6:30 but won't have a little cat nap. I can usually entertain them until it's time to get ready for bed, but it's a looooong 45 minutes! I feed and put them down at 7:30, should I move up their bedtime? Or should I force a 3rd nap at 6ish for 30 minutes?

What are your thoughts?

Edited to add that they sleep great at night - they sleep until 5:30ish for a quick feed and then until 8.

 

If they'll go down at 6:30-7:00 I would personally put them down then. Or at least start the bedtime routine at 6:30 so when you lay them down at 7 they are only about 30 minute early. Over tired babies are no fun.

 

My twins are the same age as yours. Yeah since time changed, they always cat nap around 5-530 then wake up at 6.and their bed time got push back to 830-9 too. Today they had 2 long naps (2-3hours each). So I'm keeping them up and will send them to bed at 730. They are in their feeding chairs with their farvorite toys on their trays. Baby eistein is playing. They are having fun.we'll see how long its going to last. I always have 1 good hour if they play in their feeding chairs.

If I were you, I'd try out all options see what works the best. Its hard to tell though, babies are different.my kids If I wake them up when they're sleeping, it will be a mess. They fuss, cry and nothing I can do to help hahah.good luck!

 

I would say to move up the bedtime. A late catnap just doesn't seem right (to me) if their bedtime is so close to that time. Sometimes I find its best to do what it seems the babies want to do. If they seem tired at 6:30, then I would go with that. What time is are their naps?

 

I would also move up their bedtime. My guys go down at 6:45 and 7:15, have been since about 8 months of age.

 

I would also say move up their bedtime, as long as that doesn't mean they wake up super early. When our boys started fighting their third nap, which I think was around 8 months, we skipped it and bedtime became 7:15 instead of 7:45. Unfortunately they are early risers, though, so lots of mornings they are up around 5:30am - that became worse with the earlier bedtime, but I figured I couldn't force them to take a third nap if they didn't want it anymore.

 

I would also just move up bedtime. It is a little trickier when you are talking adjusted age, but to me it sounds like they are ready to drop that third nap and just settle into the earlier bedtime. i like to try drastic things...I would try starting bedtime routine at 6 pm and down by 6:30. When do they wake up from 2nd nap? That is something I would consider too. At that age we were up by 3:30ish and could not last more than 3 hours until bedtime without becoming overtired. Usually we were down by 6/6:30 and slept until 7/7:30. That is different now...we are early risers too...sigh.

 

Your kids nap that long??? I seriously had a tear in my eye when I read that!! I was going to ask you what kind of schedule yours are on since ours are so close in age

They nap at 10 and 2, and they stay down for 60 to 90 minutes.

Last night I fed them at 7 and they slept until 5ish for an woke up at 8, we'll see how tonight goes

 

I agree, move the bedtime earlier, mine were going down for the night at 6:30 then and still do go down now at that time, with an occasional 7pm bedtime. They are early riser though and are up by 5:30-6am but that works great for us during the week, it sucks on the weekend though!