Sleeping FAQ: 6-9 Months – Lunchtime Nap

My 6.5mth son is unable to settle himself back at his lunchtime nap anymore

Lunch time naps have always been a problem with my son. He loves his morning nap and will sleep for 1 1/2 hours then if allowed but we try to keep to the one hour to avoid compounding the problem at lunchtime.
He was sleeping at lunch but not without much protest first and several visits from me. I had learned to live with this routine however the past few days he really has started screaming and getting very agitated keeping it up until 2pm when I give up and give him his 2.30pm milk.
It is then far easier to get him to nap after the milk and I decide a late nap is better than no nap. I don’t think hunger is the cause as he eats a good lunch at 12 noon.
I am wondering if I should cut back on his 1 hour nap at 10am to try and sort out the lunchtime nap battles?

He feeds at 7am 4/5oz formula, 3tablespoons porridge, sometimes banana. 12pm 3 cubes: 1 meat and 2 vegetable, a petit filous or fruit puree pot and watered fruit juice. 2.30pm 5ozs formula, 5.30pm 3 cubes: 1 meat, 2 vegetable with a petit filous or fruit puree, watered fruit juice. 6.30pm 9ozs formula. He weighs around 19lbs.

My son naps at 8.45-10am, 12.45-2pm and is settled by 7pm. He wakes around 6.30am.

Getting the right daytime sleep needs in the second part of the first year can be tricky. A baby who begins to cut back on his lunchtime nap but still wants a long nap in the morning will end up going to bed exhausted, and so more likely to wake early the following morning. At this age a baby is developing rapidly. He may be beginning to move around more and in the next few months he will become much more mobile and active which can lead to overtiredness, especially if the naps are not structured properly.

Begin to cut back on the morning nap until it is 40-45mins long. Do this by putting him down 5 minutes later for a few days and then pushing the time on forward by another 5 minutes, until he is settling around 9.15am. This shorter nap may mean he will need his lunch bought forward to 11.30am or else he may be too tired to eat properly. Aim to have him settled at 12.15pm at the latest.

As he has begun to wake at lunchtime and be unable to settle again until fed, hunger could well be the cause. The amount of solids he is taking seems quite small for a baby who has been weaned since 17 weeks. Begin to increase the amount of protein you give him. If you are using Gina’s Weaning Guide then use some of the simpler protein recipes and begin to replace the vegetable cubes you are offering with all protein-based ones. This is explained on page 53 of the Guide. Also, begin to offer him larger portions. A baby of his weight would normally be taking around 5-6 cubes of a protein meal and then having a fruit puree or petit filous if they still seemed to be hungry. If your son does not want to eat any more than the amount of savoury he is eating now it would be advisable to offer him a small top-up feed of formula before going down for his nap. Should he still wake he will be more likely to settle himself back to sleep if hunger is not preventing him.

When you have increased the amount of protein your son receives at lunchtime you can begin to offer him a vegetarian tea rather than more meat. Again, the Complete Weaning Guide will give you plenty of ideas of things to prepare for him.