Very Short Naps - Help!

My almost 4 yr old was the same way. She had very short naps (even at daycare, she went to daycare from 6 mos to 15 mos). Eventually, at about 14 mos she took 1 longer nap, and she started napping every other day at about 2 years old. She completely stopped naps shortly after (unless we had a long day out, we were driving, etc. she would nap in the late afternoon). She has always been a fabulous night time sleeper so I didn't worry about the naps since she is such a happy, well behaved child and she sleeps good at night.
I now have an 11 month old, her naps are also short and she sleeps very well at night and she is also a happy, spunky little girl. The cat naps are just what suits my girls I guess!

Both of my kids were very short nappers and it didn't seem to matter what I did. My daughter consolidated her naps into one at only 8 months and my son at 9 months. At 16 months my son tried to give up on naps altogher and I had to drive around it the car for about 15 minutes just to get him to fall asleep. Both kids gave up naps completely by 2 1/2 which I was acutally happy to see because they added an extra hour to their nighttime sleep. I have just come to the conclusion that some kids just don't need as much sleep and there isn't anything we can do as parents to force more on them. I do know that at your daughters age you don't want to try to "wear her out" to make her more tired. It will actually backfire on you and she will not get a full restul sleep when she does go down.

I am in the EXACT same situation. My daughter will be one this Friday. Two 34 minute naps per day. She sleeps eleven hours a night. If she is put to bed later, she still wakes up at the same time. We're going to start putting her to bed ten minutes earlier for a week and see if we can add to her total sleep, but I've given up on the naps.
I read your comments. I've tried cry it out. When she wakes up, she plays quietly by herself. She won't sleep any longer.

My daughter was the same way. We tried putting her in different spots to nap and found that she's the most comfortable on the couch. So, we put our coffee table up to the couch next to her so she doesn't fall off (it happens to be the perfect height...) and she has usually slept well there. But now-a-days she naps just about every other day and it can be for 1-2 hours (She's 3 1/2 now). She still naps on the couch though except at preschool where she has a little cot. And she doesn't always nap at preschool either... So, I know it's not just at our house. :) At least your daughter sleeps well at night. I wouldn't worry about the short naps. I bet they'll get longer as she starts to only do 2 naps a day and then down to 1 a day. Good luck!

your dr. is right, in that the total number of hours is more important than when she's sleeping. if you want her to nap though, you can't really let her sleep so long at night. keep her up till 7 or 7:30 and see if that helps. if you want her to stick to two naps (probably a better idea than three 30 minute ones) keep her active and occupied during the time you want her awake. at this age it's okay to manipulate her sleep schedule a bit instead of just letting her keep her own time (i know, we're so grateful at first that they ARE sleeping!) she's getting to be a bigger girl now! good luck :)

I am a day care provider and have been for the last 19 years. I have had many parents bring their baby to me and say, he/she is just not a napper. I've never met a child yet that is not a napper. The issue is usually not the child,but, the parent. You need to be consistent about sleep. You can not go in right when they make a noise or move and assume, nap is over. They might cry but will put themselves back to sleep. They get into a habit of crying once you began the process of going into the room and trying to comfort them or worse, picking them up. Babies need to learn to comfort themselves. It's best to let baby cry (and it is very hard for you to do) and after three days of consistently letting baby cry back to sleep, they will learn to put themselves back to sleep when they wake up. You'll find you have a much happier baby when their sleep is balanced and they get good naps in during the day. I've told parents this for years and sure enough they see a totally different child. Good Luck!

I know this is frustrating for you but some kids just don't need that much sleep no matter what the books all say. The hours of recommended sleep are just an average and some kids will have more and some will have less. If your doctor isn't concerned you shouldn't be. I can tell you that as a baby I never slept - it wasn't just for naps, it was at night too. It drove my mother crazy. No matter what she did, my mother couldn't get me to sleep. I know at 2 years old I was watching Johnny Carson and my mother was sleeping and I would wake her up when it was over at 1 AM. When my brother was born, all he did was sleep. He could fall asleep anywhere instantly. 45 years later I still don't sleep. I wouldn't stress over it. If your daughter is sleeping 11 - 12 hours at night that's great. And she will nap longer when she's tired.

Good luck! Hope this helps!

my son was the same- not much to do for it or be concerned about. mostly it is just annoying as i was unable to get anything done. when he got older naps got longer. he now takes 1 1/2 hour afternoon nap but first year or so it was not the case....i do believe all kids have different biology-my second child who is 9 months takes long naps- i did nothing different .