Naptime help!

[Qwerty]

My ds, Benjamin, is 5 months old and has such a hard time sleeping during the day. I can usually get him down for at least one nap a day of about 45 minutes but usually only if I'm nursing and/or holding him the whole time. If I try to set him down he pops awake and won't go back to sleep. I think part of the problem is that I haven't been really great about having a routine naptime, but if he won't go to sleep than how can he get get use to a regular nap?!? Any ideas or thoughts? What worked for you? I need your help!

[teachermom]

Does he sleep well through the night so that he's just not sleepy?

Can you just lay him down on his own? (Will he play and fall asleep?)

My only other suggestion is to give it up and wear him in a sling to nap. It doesn't give you much of a break, but gets him some sleep if he's crabby.

Can you use him as an excuse to nap yourself? (Will he nap cuddling with you?)

[Katharos]

I'm not married nor a mother, so I have zero experience in this matter.

However, my mother used to stick me in a buggy and roll that around the apartment until I fell asleep. She would leave me in there to nap. I guess I liked the movement of the buggy.

Perhaps give that a try? Hope something works for you and your son!

[MaryEllen]

They're supposed to sleep in the daytime?? I'm just thankful mine slept at night!

[vicki]

They're supposed to sleep in the daytime?? I'm just thankful mine slept at night!

I was coming on to say something similar. Most of mine didn't do naps. In fact, Vinnie (at 3 months) did take a daily nap. I remember taking him to the doctor because I was worried!! Seriously!

[HeyThereDelilah]

Hi Qwerty. Welcome to The Swap!

I remember with one of children, I had to put her in her car seat and put the car seat in the crib. I guess she felt more secure that way because it was the only way she'd sleep. Someone brought up a good point...will he sleep if you sleep with him? Obviously, if you have other children to look after, that wouldn't work but if not, try it and see.

I'm having problems getting my 2yo to nap (and go to bed). She gets up over and over. We got her a big-girl bed because she learned how to get out of her crib and naptime/bedtime has been a struggle ever since. I keep reminding myself that it won't be like this for long. But it sure feels like she'll be 2yo f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

[kd2]

I would recommend a baby swing...and doing 2 20-minute naps instead of a large one

[ShayChristie]

I could have written your post just a couple of months ago! Jonathan was the champion power napper! 20 minutes and he was good to go! Well, he was still tired and would get irritable again quickly, but would just nap another 20 minutes. If I held him the whole time, 30-45 minutes was the limit. I have 5 other children. As much as I wish I had nothing else to do, holding him ALL day wasn't working. Those naps were not resting him well, so he'd want to be held always.

I asked about The No Cry Sleep Solution and got several good reviews and one of my friends raved about it. I ordered it and within a few days, we were making progress. It's been almost a month and Jonathan is now taking 2 naps a day and they are now 1-1.5 hrs in length! Woohoo!!!

I still nurse him to sleep, but routine has been a GREAT thing for us! Our routine includes a lullaby cd and I love Butterfly Kisses! I was just thinking about it today because I was nursing him without the cd and he was tired and snuggly, but that was it. I turned the music on and the eyes immediately started getting heavy and he was asleep in minutes.

Oh, AND he's sleeping in his crib!! That is HUGE! He's been in my bed since birth. Every time I tried his bed, he'd wake up crying. He's been sleeping in his crib for naps for 2 weeks and at night for the past week. I worked on just the naps first, then the night sleeping, then moving him into his bed. I LOVE having him in my bed, but dh has been on the couch for 9 months and we needed to fix that. With our others, we had a king bed, but with our current queen, there isn't room for all three of us safely.

Sorry if this is disjointed and incoherent! It's getting late and I'm actually on my way to bed but I read this earlier and this is my first chance to log in and respond. I highly recommend that book! It's a lot of common sense with some practical helpful tips and advice. I felt silly ordering it. I mean, this is my sixth child! I do have some experience with babies! But I never had one who had such sleep issues before! I thought my girls were tough because they wanted to be nursed to sleep all the time. But then they slept. I don't mind nursing to sleep. it's nice for me to have those quiet moments just me and the baby. It was the not sleeping enough that I needed help with.

HTH!

[Allison]

Wow, great post Shay! I've heard really great things about that book and have been meaning to buy it. We've been cosleeping since Chloe was 5 months old and she sleeps great, but has to nurse to sleep in our bed and DH is ready for her to be back in her crib.

Deb, you should see if your library carries the book.

[Jean]

Deb, you should see if your library carries the book.

I just checked and, not only do they have it but...as of right now, it's not checked out!
Can you get out to the library today?