Napping Schedules

So, my son (9 mos.) took two half hour naps yesterday...that's it. Now, I've never been one for enforcing naps, but this morning I am wishing he had slept a bit more yesterday. He woke up early and full of joy, but only an hour and half after waking up, his exhaustion began to show. After about 20 minutes of fussing and fighting the urge to sleep, however, down he went for an hour of slumber, waking happier than ever. I can't help but remember the glory days when he would talke two 4 hour naps per day, plus a few catnaps. He did that up until about 8 weeks of age.

Why I Don't Enforce a Schedule

My issue with schedules is this, I don't want to force him to nap if he's happy and content to be awake. Yesterday, this was the case. He didn't nap much, but he was happy and playful all day. So, today, I'll make sure that he gets enough naps to be happy and pleasant. In this situation, he won't ever have a fixed napping schedule. I should have a rough idea of whether he needs an hour nap or less based on his previous day's/night's sleep, but there is no set in stone schedule. He sleeps well at night, so I don't want to force him to sit in his crib and cry if he'd be content to play.

Perks of Schedules

My own mother is always a bit surprised at how loose I am with his schedule. She worked and had my brother and I in day care 5 days a week, so we adopted a strict schedule. Then on weekends, she could enjoy babies that had a well formed routine, and were almost always well rested as long as given their set naps. As a SAHM, I have more liberality in allowing my son to help show me when he needs a nap. Sure, sometimes I think a schedule would be great. I could put him down for guaranteed naps twice a day for a fairly standard length of time.

Benefits of Baby Led Naps

There are also good things about my method (or lack of one). My son doesn't get cranky when we're out and about and 'naptime' rolls around. If he's not tired, he doesn't fuss. A lot of babies seem to know, when the big hand hits 10 AM (or whatever your morning naptime is) it's time for the crib. If you're at the grocery store and there is no crib in sight, you might have a riot on your hands. My son is flexible, and even when he gets tired, he'll deal with it pretty well until he gets to his carseat, or he'll fall asleep in your arms if he's being held.