I have a 13 month old son who takes 2, sometimes even 3 naps a day. The first is probably 1 hour, the second 2 hours, and MAYBE a 3rd for 20 minutes. Is this too much? It seems like a lot....How do I know if something is wrong?
He does sleep through the night well, but I was putting him to bed at 9-9:20 so he could see his dad after work. We counted up the hours and he's sleeping the correct number/day, just a different schedule than some other children. We did put him to bed at 8:30 instead and he went down just fine, so my husband is going to go to work an hour early and come home an hour early (no set schedule) so they still get father-son time, but my son can get an extra hour of sleep at night. Thanks so much for the advice!!!
You need to look at the total amount of sleep he is getting including at night. Young babies still need at least 13 hours of sleep total in a 24 hour period, and sometimes as much as 15 hours. If his behavior is normal otherwise, I would not worry.
Both of my boys did the same thing - nap in the AM, nap in the PM and a power nap if needed. I talked to my doctor about it and he indicated that children need different amounts of sleep as they are growing - kind of like us when we were pregnant. If they are growing or really active, they may require more sleep. I have never been a fan of the rigid schedule, yet, my children have always been on a schedule they have set, and it is normal. Both have been sleeping through the night since they were 4-6 weeks (without breaking rules of cereal, etc...)
It depends on how much sleep he's getting at night. Is he sleeping well at night? How long? Around 1 yr of age, he should be getting around 10-11hrs of sleep per night plus 1-2 naps a day with naps lasting about 1-2 hours each.
It's possible he may not be sleeping quite long enough for one of his naps, which accounts for his need to take a third short one. It does seem like a lot, but I don't think it's excessive, but you didn't say how long he's sleeping at night, so it's hard to tell. It's also possible he could be in a growth spurt, during which he'd likely sleep a little more.
If he's not getting enough sleep at night and making up for it during the day, it might be time to shorten his naps a little and up his bedtime slightly, allowing for more sleep time at night. The range I stated above is the average, but some kids need less and some need more. It really depends on the child. Every child is different.
If you shorten his naps and up his bedtime, and he's still not getting enough sleep at night, I'd talk to your son's pedi about it, just to be sure. Don't get too worried about it yet. It could just be his body is changing and his sleep patterns are trying to adjust accordingly.
Hope this helps!
Do whatever works for you and your family. Kids are flexible. They will adapt. At that age, my twins were taking two 2-3 hour naps (on average) a day AND sleeping 12-14 hours a night. Granted, when they woke up they played nonstop! Now they are 4 years old and still take a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. They go to sleep around 9pm (so they can get some Daddy time) and sleep until about 6:30am. That is what works for us!
We've always had kind of a weird schedule because my husband works retail and often comes home late.
I think, as long as your son is getting enough sleep ina 24 hour period then let him stay up to see his dad! Just because other people have their children in bed at 8pm and up at 7 am every day like clockwork does not mean that has to work for your family. If y'all enjoy the family time at night, then I think you should keep doing it. I'm sure your husband looks forward to seeing his son after work and we mommas do enjoy seeing our babies love their daddies. :)
If he's not grumpy (your son, not your husband ;) ) and he's sleeping well at night, this schedule works for him and he is getting enough sleep!
I say keep the family time; it's important and it works for y'all!
