Hi drclintjones!!
According to my research almost sources agreed with the following nap times chart:
"Babies differ in their napping needs - but here's a general guide
that applies to most babies:
Age _________Number of Naps _________Hours of Naptime
4 months __________3 ____________________4-6
6 months __________2 ____________________3-4
9 months __________2 ____________________2 1/2 - 4
12 months ________1-2 ___________________2-3
2 years ___________1 ____________________1-2
3 years ___________1 ____________________1-1 1/2
When should your baby nap?
Timing of naps is important. A nap too late in the day will negatively
affect nighttime sleep. Certain times of the day are better for
napping because they suit your baby's biological clock; these optimum
periods balance sleep and wake time to affect nighttime sleep in the
most positive way.
All babies are different, but generally, the best nap times are as follows:
· If baby takes three naps: midmorning/early afternoon/early evening
· If baby takes two naps: midmorning/early afternoon
· If baby takes one nap: early afternoon "
From "No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep
Through the Night" by Elizabeth Pantley at "Support Services For
Mothers" site, 'Thoughts & Essays' section:
http://www.supportgroupformothers.com/thoughts11.htm
Take a look to the above article, specially the part 3 "Regular Naps
Improve Nighttime Sleep". This section appeared as a separated article
at "Pediatrics for Parents", Feb, 2004:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0816/is_2_21/ai_n6182552
I also found a site called "Sorensmom's Sleep Information Page: An
Approach Based on Dr. Marc Weissbluth's Insights". Dr. Marc Weissbluth
is a distinguished pediatrician with special interests in sleep
disorders who wrote 'Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child' where he
explains his step-by-step regime for instituting beneficial habits
within the framework of children natural sleep cycles. At this site I
found the page "4 Months and On: Scheduling (more from Marc
Weissbluth)":
"Now that your baby is older, the times when your baby will become
sleepy are more predictable. Another way of saying this is that the
biological sleep-wake rhythms are more mature. This allows you to
change your strategy to keep your child well rested. Previously, at
about 2 months of age, the focus was on brief intervals of wakefulness
to avoid the over tired state; now you can begin to use clock time as
an aid to help your child sleep well. Stated simply, you can use your
child's natural sleep rhythms to help your child fall asleep. Let's
start in the morning and go around the clock.
Starting the Day:
Most children will awake to start the day about 7 am, but there is a
wide range (between 6-8).
First Nap:
The first nap occurs about 9am and it may last about an hour or two.
Sometimes, you will stretch your child to get to this time, or you may
wake up your child at 7am in order for your child to be able to take
this nap. Please remember that previously you focused on maintaining
short intervals of wakefulness, but now your try to anticipate your
child's predictable best nap time. If you child takes this nap too
early or too late, then it is difficult for your child to take the
second nap on time. This morning nap disappears between 15 and 21
months.
Second Nap:
The second nap occurs about 1pm and it may last about an hour or two.
The most common problem at this nap time is too long of an interval of
wakefulness following the first nap. This causes your child to become
over tired. The time window for this second nap is between 12 noon and
2pm but you may notice that your child's own time window during which
it is easiest to fall asleep is much narrower. This afternoon nap
commonly continues for about 4 years.
Third Nap:
The third nap may or may not occur. If it does occur, it may vary
between 3 and 5 pm. Also the duration of this nap may vary, but it is
usually a very brief nap. Usually, this nap disappears by about 8
months.
Bed-Time:
Because of the variability of the third nap, the bed-time may also
vary. Most children are ASLEEP between 7-9pm. The most common problem
at bedtime is keeping your child up too late. If the child is put to
sleep after his time of tiredness, he has more difficulty falling
asleep and staying asleep. If you keep your child up past the time
when he is drowsy, for example, because you return home late from
work, then you are depriving your child of sleep. Please try to avoid
making your child over tired as you would not deliberately make your
child go without food when he is hungry.
First Night Waking:
This may occur 4 to 6 hours after your child's last feeding. Some
children do not get up at this time. Feeding your child differently,
or giving cereal will not help your child sleep better. There is a
shifting from deep sleep to light sleep throughout the night. Partial
awakenings or light sleep stages called arousals occur every 1 to 2
hours when your child is asleep and sometimes, your child will call
out or cry during these arousals. Loud crying during these arousals
signify an over tired child. If your baby is not sleeping with you in
your bed, going to your child at the time of these partial awakenings
will eventually lead to a night waking or a night feeding habit. This
is because your social stimulation, occurring when you pick up your
baby, hold your baby, and feed your baby, will eventually cause your
baby to force himself to a more alert state during these arousals.
Consequently, he will learn to expect to be fed or enjoy the pleasure
of playtime with his parents at every arousal. However, if you are
sleeping with your baby and breast feeding, you might promptly nurse
at all of these arousals while your baby is still in a somewhat deep
sleep state, and then no night waking habit might develop. The most
common problem regarding these naturally occurring arousals is to
project psychological problems into out children such as saying that
they must be lonely or afraid. However, 4 to 6 hours after the last
feeding, many children are hungry, and you should promptly respond by
feeding.
Second Night Waking:
This may occur around 4 or 5am. Some children do not get up at this
time. Most children who do awaken at this time are wet, soiled, or
hungry and a prompt response is appropriate. Maintain silence and
darkness, because you child should return to sleep. A common mistake
is to play with your child, and prevent the return to sleep. The
return to sleep is important so that your child will be able to
comfortably stay up to the time of his first nap. Although this
pattern of getting up once in the middle of the night and/or in the
early morning is common, some children will simply get up once around
2 or 3 am, or not get up at all. Some night waking is very common
during the first 8 months. "
http://pages.ivillage.com/sorensmom/4months.html
Other pages that you can see at this site:
"Creating A Foundation of Healthy Sleep for Your Baby":
http://pages.ivillage.com/sorensmom/foundation.html
"Questions/Answers: Naps/Scheduling":
http://pages.ivillage.com/sorensmom/naps.html
"Sorensmom's Sleep Information Page: An Approach Based on Dr. Marc
Weissbluth's Insights":
http://pages.ivillage.com/sorensmom/sleeproblems.html
Related to the above source see:
"Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth Review":
http://books.bankhacker.com/Healthy+Sleep+Habits%2C+Happy+Child/
"Dr Marc Weissbluth" page at Children?s Memorial Hospital site:
http://www.childrensmemorial.org/findadoc/doctor.asp?ID=1046
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Other sources to consult:
From the "National Sleep Foundation":
http://www.sleepfoundation.org
"Stages of Sleep?A Sleep Chart For Kids":
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/children/children_tips.pdf
.......................................................
Note: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to see pdf documents like the
above one. If you haven't it installed in your computer download it
for free at:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
.......................................................
"HOW LONG WILL YOUR BABY SLEEP?":
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleepbaby/howlong.cfm
"HOW TO HELP YOUR BABY SLEEP WELL":
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleepbaby/help.cfm#infant
"Sleep, Your Baby and You":
All the above info and more in a colorful and practical brochure.
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/publications/J&Jbrochure.pdf
At Parents.com:
"Nap Time" by Recbecca R. Kahlenberg:
This is a two pages article.
http://www.parents.com/articles/age/5844.jsp?page=1
and
http://www.parents.com/articles/age/5844.jsp?page=2
At BabyCentre.co.uk:
"Establishing good sleep habits: 3 to 6 months":
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/refcap/7656.html
"Understanding your baby's sleep ":
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/refcap/558727.html
Finally see:
"Daytime sleep routines" at AskBaby.com:
http://www.askbaby.com/topic/daytime-sleep-routines.htm
"Baby's sleep: Answers to your 8 most-asked questions" at ParentsPlace.com:
http://www.parentsplace.com/babies/sleep/articles/0,,166490_433563,00.html?ice=ivpp,rellnk,rlbox,lnk5
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Search strategy:
babies "nap time" research
babies "nap time"
infant "nap time"
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I hope that this helps you.
Remember that this answer is not considered ended until you feel
satisfied with it. If you find it incomplete or need a clarification,
please use the request of clarification feature . I will be glad to
give you further assistance on this if you need it before you rate
this answer.
Best regards.
livioflores-ga |
