12 month old not napping

kwill3104

Hi ladies,
I am desperately in need of some help with figuring out naps for my 12 month old son.  Long story short I was exhausted after he was born (he's my second) and ended up taking an afternoon nap with him when his older brother would sleep.  I have been trying to break this habit but nothing is really working.  I spoke to my pediatrician about it at his year check up and he told me to put him in his crib, say goodnight, and walk out and let him cry.  I've been trying to do that because I know he needs to learn to fall asleep on his own, but that's the problem...he never falls asleep!  He just cries and cries and when I eventually go in to get him he just goes about his day.  On Friday that meant he didn't nap all day!!  I am still nursing and he nurses at night and then goes right to bed without issues but does not do the same for naps for some reason.  I stay at home with my boys and I REALLY need some time each day that both of them are sleeping....you SAHM get me I'm sure! Any advice is welcome!!!  

TwizBeans

I hate to say this because I'm sure you hear it a lot but it's a phase. Napping sucks really hard at every age but both of my kids fought naps around the year mark. Hang in there.

whataboutscience

I'm curious how long is he crying for? Would he be any calmer if you stayed in the room until he fell asleep at least until he gets used to the crib? Also, does he like stuffed animals at all? Maybe you could get him a special one or blanket that he only gets at nap if he lays down. When he stands up, try taking it away. Those are some ideas to get you going. Unfortunately you have yourself in a tough spot and the only way to break the bad habit is to be consistent, but it might be exhausting for a while and he is trying to get you to give in. Good luck!

karlimonster

PP might be right about it being a phase. My son is 15 months and is more clingy than normal. When it is just the 2 of us I feel like he fights napping because he wants to be around me. I've also found sometimes he needs help calming down. So there are times when I have to hold him for a little while, walk him around and show him the cat or something to distract him or rub his back and provide a little bit of reassurance. It is seriously such an epic guessing game. We have 1 day a week when it is just the 2 of us during the day and last week he did not nap ALL DAY. I was gonna lose my dang mind and then in the evening he was a hot mess. Hang in there, those non-napping days are awful. 

dmack911

What about giving a bottle instead of nursing? Does he take a bottle at all?

My daughter goes down at nap time with a bottle, she will drink it and then if she doesn't fall asleep she will play in there but if I know she's really tired and not crying I leave her and she eventually falls asleep the longest it took was an hour. Other times she just doesn't sleep and after a while I go in and get her.

Also what if you rock him until he falls asleep and then lay him in the crib? I had to do this as well for the longest time.