Nap Hell...

SINYmommy

Hey ladies. I have never posted on here before, but I was on The Knot years ago (under a different name). I figured I'd ask here for some help

 We are having serious nap issues in our house....well, to me they're serious issues. My daughter, who is almost 7 months old, takes very short naps. I've tried to keep her up a little longer, put her down a little earlier, and nothing seems to work. Every once in a blue she'll nap for over an hour, but usually I can get no more than 40 minutes. This wouldn't bother me so much if it was enough sleep for her, but she's rubbing her eyes and yawning half an hour after waking up, which to me means she's still tired, no?? 

 I can get into it in more detail, but before I torture you, does anyone out there have any experience with turning a short napper into a long napper??? I've read Healthy Sleep Habits and Ferber's book. Both were interesting reads, and gave me a lot of insight into her night time sleeping, but as far as naps...if anything I'm a little more confused now.  I think I'm definitely doing something wrong, just not sure what.

Anyone know anything about naps??? Or, what's your nap schedule like? 

carrotcake06

I had a v short napper - 45 min, like clockwork.  He would take 3 or 4 of them a day.  Then one day about 3 weeks ago, he started fighting the last nap & was miserable.  So I threw our nap schedule out the window & he started taking 2 naps.  And by some miracle I have yet to understand, they were 1 1/2 - 2 hr naps.  Getting him to sleep is still a challenge most days, but once he's out, the length has increased dramatically.

I too read books in hopes of turning him into a longer napper & they focused on nighttime sleep & were no help.  I asked his pedi & she just said that they start to consolidate their daytime sleep around 6 mo.  For DS it was def closer to 7 mo.

I'm sorry I don't have any specific help for you, but wanted to let you know that longer naps may still happen one day.

bobbyme

We have had a pretty solid nap routine, but DS has been blowing it out of the water the past week or so. I think it's a growth spurt plus teething.

You probably aren't doing anything wrong. It might just be your baby.

DS will sometimes sleep two hours, sometimes half an hour. It just depends on his day.

sweettoothdds

Our LO once she turned 6 mo she was taking two 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hour naps a day.  Now this weekend she has been just awful, fighting naps, only sleeping 30-45 min, and rubbing her eyes the minute she is up.  I think it may be teething...she already has two, so we'll see.  

So I guess we don't really have a schedule yet, hopefully she will settle into a better one soon.  

SINYmommy

Thanks everyone...my mother said the same thing to me today, that maybe she's just a crappy napper and that this will change once she drops that third nap. She then proceeded to tell me what a GREAT napper I was and how she "never had any drama" getting me to nap. I wanted to punch her in the face, lol.

 

She's almost 7 months old. I'm reading that the 3rd nap usually disappears at around 9 months. Should I be doing something to encourage that transition earlier?? Or should I just wait it out. On days that she's fine, I don't care and try not to stress it but today she was a HOT MESS and I was beside myself.

 I'll be checking in again in the morning. I'm going to have a stiff drink after today, haha. Thanks for reading.

liza0828

My DD wouldn't nap longer than about 40 minutes up until 6 months.  She would nap 4-5 times a day.  Then, all of a sudden, she started taking two hour naps.  Just happened overnight really.  Now she usually takes two naps a day-- sometimes one long (3.5 hour) nap.  It wasn't anything I did, she just started it on her own.

carrotcake06

I totally understand the hot mess baby makes mama crazy feeling. I'm home w DS & DH has gotten more than one angry/frustrated text from me about how DS won't sleep.

I'm sorry you had a rough day & enjoy your drink, you deserve it!