"My husband and i just started the NAPS plan a little over a week ago and it has helped tremendously however, I have a few questions. I can get the baby to fall asleep for her daytime naps but she does not stay asleep longer than 30 or 40 minutes. She doesn't wake up crying and I've tried putting her back to sleep but it doesn't work. How do I extend her naps. Also she is 5 months old and does not go to bed until 10:30 or so. How do I get her to go to bed early or will she adjust herself if we stick to the plan? Please help. Thank you.
   I have a few more concerns. I'm really frustrated. I have been using the naps plan for over two weeks now and the baby seems like she's sleeping less. She doesnt take long naps and is waking up several times at night. She seems so exhausted but I don't know what else to do. I would appreciate your advice and help. Thanks again."
- Monica

Sounds like we have a couple of concerns here, and I think I need a little more information before I know what to advise. You are right, most five-month-olds are able to nap for longer than 30 or 40 minutes at a time. When naps are that short it signals to me that the baby might (still) be sleep deprived, on some level.

When families describe a pattern like this to me, sometimes I ask them to fill out a sleep diary for their baby. It's because I need see whether or not they are truly being faithful to the 90 minute clock. It is easy to miss nap opportunities and not know it.

I do have specific advice in the book about how to get babies to "consolidate" their naps, and at five or six months of age is the perfect age to start it, it's when I did so with my daughter. I do also have specific advice for using the 90 minute clock to adjust your baby's sleep time earlier in the evening. Hope you don't mind that I refer you to the book, but I don't have space here to get into all those details.

Let me know how it goes, if you would.