Jacob was initially a cat napper also - he would do around half an hour, about 6 times a day and wouldn't go down for the night until 9 pm either.

Jacob started waking around a dozen times a night at around 6.5 months and we tried various things to try and counteract this and ended up at a gentle sleeping school here in Hobart at 9 months of age. They were very good at helping me understand Jacob's tired signs that much better - I believe that we were missing some of them, and often misinterpreting some of his cries. I learnt a lot about Jacob's needs at the sleep school and they worked with me to find a method of settling that suited Jacob. It was their belief that if you left a baby to cry and didn't attend to them, that it just teaches them helplessness - that Mummy/Daddy isn't there when they need them. I was relieved by this as I didn't want to do CC and wanted to soothe him in an effective manner. Sure, it would take up to an hour to settle him, but it did work. He would relax and eventually drift off to sleep and gained some confidence in himself to put himself to sleep. So our experience was a positive one - and there weren't any set guidelines as to "how much" sleep he should be having - it was a matter of observing Jacob and what he needed, and once we'd found some things to help settle him, his sleep during the day and night altered and he was a much happier baby - he seemed to have more energy and was overcoming developmental milestones thick and fast, as though he was just waiting to get the energy to do them!

There isn't ever any magical cure for sleeping disturbances I'm afraid - we still have plenty of bad nights with Jacob and he is well over 2 years old now. But it really did help us identify the tired signs and in finding settling techniques that were effective for him.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do, but always follow your heart and your instincts. Mummy knows what's best. And remember that there is no miracle cure and that your DS's sleeping patterns will change over time.......