tired around 5pm every day...

[Ldogg]

...and I never know what to do? Last power nap? Let her fall asleep for the night? BTW, this is when we get home from daycare, which I cannot change. Bedtime is usually anywhere from 6:30 to 7:30 - she absolutely can NOT make it much later than 7:30, because she turns into an absolute bear.

Suggestions? Anyone else have this confusing 5pm fatigue??

Sorry, forgot to mention that DD is almost 7 months old...

[Nicole730]

I would let her go to sleep for the night and see what happens. Although, I'm home during the day, so if she woke up really early, we'd all just take earlier naps the next day.

Once in awhile my toddler will go to sleep at 5pm and sleep until 7am. It's when he misses naps for a bit and is really tired.

[chel]

dd is 9m and almost always takes a power nap around 5pm. dh gets home around 7-8pm. so we let her have later nights. bedtime is around 9-10pm.

we're not typical, in that the family tries to go to sleep at the same time. everyone wakes at a different time. even though we co-sleep it works great.

[Knitting Mama]

Cecilia almost always takes a .5-1 hour nap from about 5-6 or 5:30-6:30 or thereabouts (in fact, I am NAK right now getting her down for it ). She still goes to bed without a problem around 8 or 8:30. I'd try putting her down for the night but don't stress it if she wakes up a little while later and has a later bedtime. It just seems to work best for some kids.

[kanga1622]

DS is 7 months. DH picks him up from daycare at 4 and he plays well. When I get home at 5, DS starts fussing to nurse and generally takes a 30ish minute nap. He usually then decides around 8 that he's ready to nurse to sleep.

He used to not nap at 5 but go to bed at 7:30.

[kayabrink]

My 11 mo dd still needs a nap around 4:30 or 5, and she goes to bed around 8 after that. The only possible unfortunate situation would be if your babe did go to sleep for the night, not getting to spend a lot of time together.

[MeepyCat]

I'm not in favor of keeping a sleepy baby awake. It's just painful for everyone. If she's sleepy, and if she isn't going to make your life hell in the morning, let her sleep.

DS (now 3) napped habitually on getting home from daycare when he was a baby. We'd put him in his swing and hang out and make dinner while he slept, and despite the napping (he usually woke up again around 6 or 6:30), he was usually down for the night by 9.

[snoopy5386]

5 - 5:30 is the start of 3rd nap time around here as well. I try to have her up by 6:30 so bedtime can be at 8:30-9ish.

[MiracleMama]

my son also sometimes takes a short nap around this time, sometimes even later. i actually love it because then i can get dinner ready and help the older 2 with their homework without the babe to worry about. he still goes to bed no problem around 8:30-9pm.

[newmamalizzy]

Mine is 6.5 months and also tends to go to bed at 6:30 - 7 p.m., but she will generally wake up from her last nap of the day at around 4 - 4:30. Any earlier than that and we have to push bedtime a little earlier because she's so exhausted. I'm guessing her daycare timing interferes a bit with what would ordinarily be her final nap time. Do you know when she tends to wake up from her last nap at day care?

[P.J.]

DS is 4.5 months and his last nap is usually around 5:30 or 6pm for 1/2 hour, and he goes to bed for the night anywhere from 8-9pm. I know what you mean though, and if possible I try to make sure the absolute latest he goes down for that last nap is 6:30, or he won't go to bed until well past 9:00.

[madskye]

Could you ask daycare provider if they can get her to nap at 3:30 or 4. My DD went thru a period where she would always fall asleep in the car on the way home from DCP--but then it just stopped one day.

[Ldogg]

Yeah, I might try asking daycare to put her down around 3 or 4 for that last nap... it's so hard to time because I can't seem to get a straight answer about any nap regularity at daycare (which is fine if she isn't regular... she certainly isn't with me!). It's a family daycare so it's not super organized.

I think I just feel a bit of pressure because the last nap really can't happen much later than 5 or 5:30 - she sleeps for 45 min , so awake at 6ish, and then bed around 7:30, is what we've tried doing the past few nights. Sounds like most of your LOs have a bed time of 8-9, which wouldn't work here - she has to be out the door for daycare before 8, and she *definitely* needs a 12 hour stretch (with a few night wakings, of course!) for sleep. She already seems sleep-deprived, I wouldn't want to shortchange her any more than she already is.

This whole timing thing is tricky, to be sure. Especially when she's such an irregular napper! I just want her to be rested... she's a much happier baby when she is (of course)!

[newmamalizzy]

Does she tend to fall asleep on the way home from daycare? Or is she not much of a car sleeper?

[sarahr]

My 8 month old, who has become a terrible napper in the last few months, goes to sleep for the night between 5:30 and 6. It sucks for DH because he often misses him. He wakes up (for the final time anyway) between 6 and 7; on the rare event that he takes a longer afternoon nap and goes to bed later (as late as 6:30, never later), he still wakes up at the same time.

[SuzieQ3417]

Our little guy (6.5 months) also gets tired in the early evening and usually ends up taking a third 30 minute nap around 6 or 7. We usually put him down to bed between 8 and 9pm, depending on how tired he is. We have to get him to daycare before 8, so some mornings we do end up waking him up before he's ready (which I feel terrible about) but he seems to make up for it by taking a longer nap at daycare. If we tried to keep him awake in the evenings without that third nap he would be a fussy/screaming nightmare, so it's just easier to let him sleep a bit and then get to enjoy my smiling giggling boy for another hour or so. The extra nap doesn't really seem to impact his nighttime sleep which surprised me...in fact, if he's cranky and overtired when going to bed he seems to sleep worse which just makes us all miserable. So third nap it is!