Napping for 5 Month Old

As one of the other posters said, all kids are different when it comes to sleep. My 8 month old was taking 2-3 naps at that age and still is, but he won't sleep that long at night (he sleeps from 8-5:30 or 6). If he isn't fussy in the morning and is happy playing until his 1pm naptime, then I would leave well enough alone. If he's fussy earlier than 1pm and you have fed him, then he's probably tired and I would try an earlier nap and then another later in the afternoon. Unfortunately, you're just going to have to see what works for him.

by that age, he should be on a more consistent schedule. he needs at least 14-16 hours of sleep still. my kids' schedule at that age was 6:30pm bedtime, 6:30am wake up, 9:30am nap for 1-2 hours, 1pm nap for 1-2 hours. This is all approximate. It was usually give or take 30 min. I tried putting them to bed later, but they would still wake up early and a baby needs a good 12 hours solid at night (waking up once or twice for a bottle/nursing is still normal at this age though)

My little one took 2 naps at that age. One of them about 11:00 for an hour or so and then one later about 2-3 for about 2 hours.

Every child is different. See if two works. If it doesn't try something else.

It doesn't seem that 1 short nap would be enough. Ask your pediatrician for more advice.

My son just turned 5 months on Monday. He does not and has never slept 12 hours at night! He goes to bed between 9pm & 10pm. He sleeps until 6 or 7am, with 1-2 overnight feeds (we BF). He takes several catnaps on his daycare days, 30-45 minutes. On daycare days, he will take a longer evening nap of 1-2 hours. On the weekend, he takes an am nap of 45-60 minutes, and usually a longer afternoon nap of 2-3 hours. He averages out to 14 hours of sleep a day. He is happy, healthy, and meeting his milestones. We do not have a set schedule, but he is thriving. I don't believe in hard and fast rules of what you should and should not do...I take my cues from my son and adjust if I don't think something is working well for him.

Good luck...I've discovered that sleep is such a charged issue and everyone has their opinions about it.

Hi Rhonda
Babies that age it is usual for them to take two naps a day- on in the am and one after lunch- it depends on the child how long he will sleep- most daytime naps last about an hour or hour and half- you are lucky he sleeps all nite at this age-
I would not worry if he sleeps longer during the day or even if he wants to "give up" one of his daytime naps. He will sleep when he is sleepy-
Good Luck
Blessings

kids are odd little ducks...what works for one doens't necessarily work for another.

My oldest took two 3 hour naps at that age. 1 at 10:00 am and the other about 1:30 or 2:00pm...then went down for about 10 hours at 8:00pm

My twins however...were down to two 1 hour naps by then and I was lucky to get them down within a half hour of each other...

Naps were gone altogether by the time they were one, whereas my oldest still took 1, 2 hour afternoon nap well into 3 years old...

So, I say go with what works well for you and your darling little one..Just be consistent and he will let you know what he needs and wants... ;-)

Good Luck...

my son was taking a morning nap and a after noon nap at that age. both for an hour or two. a book i suggest that has quick ref for the age is WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE FIRST YEAR. it touches base on things like this and development. good luck.

My daughter, now 8 months, wakes up at 9:00 AM and goes to bed at 10:00 PM. She still takes a nap around noonish and then another around 4-5PM. However, the noon nap is usually shorter. My best advice is to listen to your baby because every human child is different and has different sleep needs. If the one nap is good for him than that's what he should get. If he's cranky and won't go to bed at night easily than he might be too tired and might need a second nap during the day. If the one nap does him well and he's not too tired then go with it.

Good luck!
Jen
http://www.mommysjoy.com

A baby your sons age needs 14-16 hours of sleep per day. It's great that he is sleeping through the night (God gave me good sleepers, too). My twins wake around 7:00am and go down for their first nap from 10:00-12:00am and then they have an afternoon nap at 2:30 which, as they've gotten older, only lasts about an hour. They go down for the night at 6:30pm. If your child gets adequate sleep, he will be a joy to be around. If not...look out!
HTH