Anyone have a bad napper as a baby?

MrsRebecca

DS does not nap. I can sometimes get 1-2 hours out of him if I rock him to sleep and then hold him. As soon as I put him down, he wakes up and cries.  I try and do it once a day just to get him to sleep but I can't do this forever!

Any suggestions/advice? I am thinking of picking up the No Cry Sleep Solution. At this point I'm not willing to do anything that involves letting him cry.

If you had a bad napper, did they eventually start regular naps as they got older?

pam1005

I hear ya!  DS would not nap for more than 30 minutes unless he was sleeping on me.  Then, once he hit about 6 months he just started napping better (when he could roll over to his tummy).  The naps still varied in time (30 minutes- 2/3 hours), but he did take some longer naps.  Once he could put his pacifier in by himself his nap consistently changed to at least an hour and a half.  When I was trying the get him to sleep longer I had to put him down awake (but drowsy) and let him fuss a bit while putting his paci back in until he fell asleep.  

Emily_Ann

My LO has always been a great sleeper/napper, so I'm no help. I'm sure the next LO will be AWFUL though. However, a friend of mine recently bought a Nap Nanny.  https://www.babyearth.com/nap-nanny-nap-nanny.html

They are expensive, but she swears by it!

tsevere

#1 and #2 were total cat-nappers.  They slept 30 minutes like clockwork up until probably 5-6 months.  If they slept on me, or I wore them in my wrap, they would sleep for 1-2 hours.

#2 is still not a great sleeper.  He actually had a 2.5 hour nap today, and I was totally terrified the whole time that he wasn't breathing.  He's 20 months.  Lol.  He generally will sleep 1 hour or 1.5 hours, and has 2 naps. 

Neither one of them slept great or had decent naps until closer to a year.  #1 was a binky baby, which I think may have helped him sleep longer and soothe himself back to sleep.  He just turned 3 and will still usually sleep for 2-3 hours.  #2 hates binkies and has pretty much rejected them from about 3mo, and so the second he's up, he's up.  There is no going back down.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this 3rd one will actually sleep, but I'm really not going to count on it until at least 4 months.  Any earlier than that, and they wake up the second I lay them down.

jenifairies

Yes. She still gives me some trouble! Naps for her didn't get regular until she went to 1 a day. With DD at 4mI often took one nap a day with her just so I could get in one good one at least. Probably til about 8-9.

I used to sit for my cousin (FT) and her DS would be held and bottled to sleep for every nap/bedtime, and would wake up if I put him down and not nap. Obviously I couldn't hold him and deal with my kid as well. He was about a year at the time, but maybe you could try some of these things? I started moving him off of me. I'd hold him to sleep, then slide him off next to me on the couch and then sit there with my hand on him. I eventually got him to go in the pnp and put himself to sleep. He wasn't nursing though, so that does add a wrinkle.

I'm sorry I can't be of more help! I have always had trouble with this girl and her sleeping habits.

Kitten80

yes!  LO was an AWFUL sleeper - light sleeper, only would sleep if I held him while he slept, and wouldn't sleep more than 3 hours at night and cat nap during the day.  It was horrid.  I did just sit in the evening & hold him so he would nap because we were both so exhausted.

My DH & I were just talking about this tonight - it HAS gotten BETTER!  (I am crossing my fingers and holding my breath as I type that, I do not want it to regress ;o) ha!).  For us, I really think it improved as he gained weight - he FINALLY gained a pound this last month, and we have seen a huge improvement in his napping.  Much more regular, longer, & greater frequency.  Awesome.

Hang in there.  I have learned to watch better for the first sign of sleepiness (he rubs his eyes now, but at 4 months, he didn't) and as it has always been, it is a short window of opportunity after that (minutes).  If all else fails, try to put him down around 2.5 to 3 hours and see if you can get him to sleep - make sure he is dry, fed, warm, etc.  Do quiet activities in a non-stimulating room & for us we have to do similar to bed - put on the sound machine, keep curtains closed...I even changed him into a sleep sack or PJs for awhile to make sure he got it was time to sleep.

Hope that at least gives you hope & maybe an idea or two to try. GL!

lilone_06

*Raises hand* I do!

DD2 is a terrible daytime sleeper, although pretty good at night.  I did read the No Cry Sleep Solution and it has some great techniques.  Her naps have improved, but since then I've also had to work out a multitude of other issues (related to DD1) so I've let it slip again recently.  Her naps are still pretty spotty - some days better than others.  I figure as long as she's sleeping well at night, that's the most important, for me anyway. It's frustrating to me, because DD1 was a really good sleeper all around, including naps.  I could literally just put her down at naptime and she'd roll over and go to sleep.

Hope you find some solutions soon, GL!

Read2Me

Eva was a horrible napper (now she's a non-napper!).  She was the same way- slept on me for about 45 minutes, or just took 15-20 minute cat naps.  When she was 8 months she dropped to just one nap and I thought I was going to die but it ended up being a good thing.  She started taking a 2-3 hour nap every afternoon.  Pure bliss!  Unfortunately she turned two and decided she no longer needs to nap.  Some day our kids will learn to appreciate the value of a good nap!

lms_bride

Seems like this age keeps coming up on this board!  And my answer is yes, our son completely stopped napping at your son's age.  We were like, wtf?  So we had to teach him how to nap.  We started at around 5 months and while a bit of a process, it worked.  I followed the methods and guidance in Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth and highly recommend this book. 

Don't torture yourself any longer - go get a sleep book and start working on it!  Our son is now an excellent napper and nighttime sleeper, but it took some work to get here.  Do the work now and he may end up being an awesome napper!

Temp174496125006552

Ben was a horrible napper when he was little.  He went through a phase when he was about 2 months old that he would only sleep if he was on me.  The Bjorn was a God send for that.

I would say that he probably didn't start taking good, solid naps - in his crib - until 4-5 months.  Up until then, he would nap a lot in the swing.

He's down to one nap a day now, but he's pretty consistently a 2.5-3 hour napper.

smittendorff

Mine sleeps awesome during the night (I give a lot of the credit to his Halo sleepsack swaddle!), but during the day it's more hit or miss.  I don't worry about it as much because he sleeps so good at night.  He takes his best nap in the afternoon usually, and that's when I almost always wrap him up in his halo swaddle.  Try doing something, like a sleepsack, every time that sets off that signal that now is time to sleep. 

sparky88

My DD was the same way.  I held her for all her naps (3 naps that lasted 20-45 minutes at your LO's age) and continued to hold her for all naps until she was 7 months old.  I EBF & don't use a paci which probably contributed to it-- but anyways she eventually communicated that she'd rather nurse then lay down on her own to nap.  Her naps would then last 30-45 minutes.  At 11 months old her naps (2 per day) lasted 45-60 minutes.  Now at 14 months she naps 2-3 hours (12-3pm). 

I would call my LO a 'bad napper' but she needed some lots of attention to feel safe & secure.  She grew out of it---your LO will too I'm sure!  Hang in there, it's tough!