Nap Time

They say there's no manual for parenting.  Actually there are quite a few, and the internet is full of recommendations for EXACTLY what I should be doing as I found when digging around last night concerning naps.

Lila has always been a sporadic napper.  When she was first born, she wanted to sleep for four hours right in the middle of the day.  Then there was a period when she wouldn't sleep in her crib at all but conked out the second she hit her stroller or her car seat.  And I'm not one of those moms who goes in to rescue her the second she starts crying during nap time.  I'll let her go for awhile, but she just doesn't want to be there.

So I went looking for some advice.  The internet says that babies Lila's age should be getting at least 15-16 hours of sleep every day.  Lila does a great job at night, always getting at least 11 or 12, but I felt convicted that I needed to work harder on a napping schedule.  Today I decided to try a 9, 12, and 3 schedule, putting her down the second I saw signs of sleepiness or crankiness.  This morning worked well.  She woke up at 6:45 and started getting cranky around 8:15.  I fed her and put her down and she slept for about 45 minutes.    She started getting cranky at 11:15.  I didn't feed her this time because it was too early, so I let her suck on a pacifier for a bit and then put her into bed crying.  (She doesn't normally use a pacifier because she prefers sticking her whole hand in her mouth, so the only paci we have is a Texas A&M one my cousin gave her for Christmas. How embarrassing.)

I told myself I would give her 15 minutes of crying before going back in, and she stopped crying right at 15. So far, it seems like this whole "give her a nap right when she starts to get fussy thing" seems to work.  I'm hoping it doesn't affect her sleeping tonight because frankly I like getting eight hours of sleep.