October 2015 Moms

Tips for easier day time naps?

my son is almost 4 months and i just now started getting some all-night sleeping out of him (which has been wonderful) but it seems like he traded in day time naps for a full nights sleep.. he gets so tired between each bottle and he would normally nap at least 20 minutes or so in between, but now he fights napping and gets so tired and so cranky. do any of you lovely ladies have any tricks up your sleeve to ease napping? i do use lavendar oil which is calming but once he gets to cranky not even that does the trick

Re: Tips for easier day time naps?

  • KristynLee15KristynLee15 member
    edited February 2016
    I have found i have to catch LO before shes actually to the point of cranky. And she will not let me sit to rock her. I have to stand and rock her. She typically eats...then plays. 2 hours after eating shes ready for a nap. Shell nap for an hour in my arms..then play and shes ready to eat and repeat. 
    If we miss one of these naps shes a beast and wont nap the rest of the day. 
    Try to pick ip on LO early cues of being tired and catch them before the cranky sets in. 

    I know thats kind of obvious advice. But thats all I've fogured out :/
  • Sometimes I have to do weird things to get LO to fall asleep for naps. Once I put him in his stroller and pushed it around the deck (instantly asleep). Some days he'd rather nap in his car seat. 
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  • My LO will pretty much always take a nap if I nurse her to sleep, but we're trying to avoid that, so I only do it if we're desperate or I genuinely think she's hungry. Usually I rock her for a couple minutes while standing up and then put her in her crib and put my hand on her for a couple minutes. Lately her pacifier also helps her fall asleep by herself which is weird because she doesn't usually take a pacifier, but whatever works!
  • edited February 2016
    My baby usually eats, plays eats a little more then sleeps. Same as @KristynLee15 I watch her like a hawk and try my best to follow her cues. If I miss her sleepy cues and she starts to get crabby we just repeat again eat, play then eat a little more and usually that works. If she's overly tired and having a hard time falling asleep it's into the Baby K'tan we go and I will go on a walk with her and that always does the trick :smiley: 

    Do you have a baby carrier? Ours has saved us so many times and my daughter really likes it... 

    glad to know my baby isn't the only one who won't let me sit down while I rock her- that girl knows what she wants! Lol @KristynLee15 :lol: 
  • The thing that worked best for us was to catch LO before he's overtired, otherwise he gets cranky and wants to be nursed to sleep. If I put him down for a nap at the right moment, he can drift off to sleep by himself and nap for 1.5-2h at a time.
  • DS is also a lousy napper (he's also a lousy night time sleeper so you have one up on me there). He used to nap in the swing but we're weaning him off of that by 1) I lay down with him in my bed with the room dark, white noise on and pacifier nearby. I shush him softly and lay with him skin to skin until he drifts off (sometimes the paci is needed). 2) If he fusses or cries because we started the nap too late, I don't offer him the paci until he's been crying for about 2 minutes.  Usually he'll get so worked up that after the 2 minutes I offer the paci, he eagerly takes it as any form of soothing that he falls instantly asleep.  3) He now can nap in his RnP but the hairdryer has to be on and my hand has to be on his belly. I realize none of this helps if yours is a crib sleeper; wish my DS could sleep in his crib (sigh!).
  • i currently am in between apartments and i am housed in the spare room at my dad's which is too small for his crib and he's too big for his rock and sleep so at night its easy because he holds my hand until he's asleep, then i just move towards the end of the bed (i've had some sore necks, but as long as he's safe/sleeping). im just naturally a sleepy person and if i lay next to him to get him to nap, i end up falling asleep. thank you ladies! i will start using some of your tricks and watching him more carefully. hoping it works! lol
  • My daughter is just 4 months too and I've just gotten her on a nap schedule. I paid attention for a few weeks to to see when she was naturally sleepy during the day, then last week started to put her down before she fell asleep. I also swaddled her and put her sound machine on. It's made all the difference and now she is napping twice a day in her crib. Good luck!! 
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