I Need Napping Help

Reagan1010

DS hates taking naps!  He will take 3, 20-40 minute naps a day.  He is so tired by the end of the night that his eyes are red and he has dark circles under them.  My SIL told me I need to sleep train him, but he sleeps great at night.  7-7:30 to 6am.  I normally rock him to sleep during the day because if I don't, he will crawl around his crib and talks to himself.  He doesn't cry, so I don't really see how I could sleep train him.  

I have tried putting him to bed earlier to see if sleep begets sleep, but DS will just wake up earlier than 6am.  Any suggestions?  TIA! 

MCC1010

Do you have a nap time routine?

I look for cues that Matthew is ready for a nap like rubbing his eyes or fussiness. I  wrap him in a blanket, give him a binky and then snuggle. I try to take him to the room where it is darker. I put the fan on for the noise and to make it a little colder. Sometimes I lay him down on my bed and let him sleep next to me. I prop pillows around him and read a book or flip through a magazine. Most of the times he passes out and I can move him to his crib and go about my day. Sometimes I just hang out while he naps. 

finsternis

if you leave him in there talking to himself, what eventually happens? does he eventually cry? dd will sometimes mess around for 20 minutes or more before drifting off. maybe try leaving him and see if he figures it out. also, does he cry when he wakes up? if dd wakes up crying, she is almost definitely not done with her nap. i go in and retuck her blanket, talk soothingly for a second, pat her head and leave. sometimes it takes a couple visits but then she goes back down for an hour. maybe try that too. good luck!

Reagan1010

MCC1010:

Do you have a nap time routine?

I look for cues that Matthew is ready for a nap like rubbing his eyes or fussiness. I  wrap him in a blanket, give him a binky and then snuggle. I try to take him to the room where it is darker. I put the fan on for the noise and to make it a little colder. Sometimes I lay him down on my bed and let him sleep next to me. I prop pillows around him and read a book or flip through a magazine. Most of the times he passes out and I can move him to his crib and go about my day. Sometimes I just hang out while he naps. 

We have a 'sort of' schedule.  We go back to the nursery, get his lovie, snuggle in the rocker and rock.  He normally falls asleep pretty easily, but he wakes up 20 minutes later.  I have played around with the time between naps, but I normally look for when he starts rubbing his eyes.  I have thought about letting him sleep in my bed, but I was afraid he would start to only want to sleep there all the time.

Reagan1010

finsternis:

if you leave him in there talking to himself, what eventually happens? does he eventually cry? dd will sometimes mess around for 20 minutes or more before drifting off. maybe try leaving him and see if he figures it out. also, does he cry when he wakes up? if dd wakes up crying, she is almost definitely not done with her nap. i go in and retuck her blanket, talk soothingly for a second, pat her head and leave. sometimes it takes a couple visits but then she goes back down for an hour. maybe try that too. good luck!

I will try leaving him in the crib for longer before I get him to rock him.  I normally leave him in there for about 15 minutes.  He usually doesn't cry, but he gets more and more rowdy.  Talks louder and starts reaching for the mobile, etc.  He doesn't cry when he wakes up either.  He flips over on his back and coos.  By the evening though, he will usually start getting fussy because he is so overtired.  It's hard for him to make it to bedtime.  (bath starts at 6:45)

finsternis

hmmm.... another thing i read once was that naps