Anyone else have a horrible napper?

fancynewbeesly

My daughter hates to nap. I mean granted she falls asleep at 6:30 and sleeps through the night--but she still needs a nap during the day, because I can see she is tired.

She just can't relax enough to fall asleep. And sleep training for naps is out because when she is placed in her crib--even slightly drowsy, she never actually cries, but does everything in her power to keep herself awake. She'll crawl around, pick the patterns off her sheets, play with her hands, take the pacifier out of her mouth and examine it, but just won't settle herself down.

Once she falls asleep for her nap--she will sleep about an hour or two, but it takes about an hour for her to relax and calm down to sleep. She also won't take a nap, if she is even the slightest bit hungry--she could have eaten an hour ago, but she needs to eat then to fall asleep.

 And if I just put her in the crib and leave--she won't cry, but just will play with everything she can find and keep herself awake--so I literally have to rock her, rub her back and cross my fingers that she will stay asleep. 

 Going to bed is no problem at all--when we put her down, she is usually asleep within 5-15 minutes. She just thinks she is missing something during the day.

She only usually takes one nap during the day--maybe a cat nap in the car if we are going somewhere in the afternoon. But as soon as the car stops she wakes up! 

fancynewbeesly

When I met playing--she will find anything to interest her that we can't take out Like the sheets. Or her hands. Or her toes. Or her pacifier. 

 I learned REALLY quick that the mobile can't be on or the aquarium because that will just fascinate her. I have light music/soothing sounds in the room, but not at the crib. 

Sean+Lyss

You mean they are supposed to nap?! Lol, DD is hard to get down for a nap too. A lot of the time, she doesn't nap at all. If she goes down during the day for any solid amount of time I am shocked. She also will only sleep if I am holding her and she is either nursing or drinking a bottle, otherwise good luck! Even at night she is difficult to get down. 

rae_dylanzmom

Can you darken the room? Blackout shades or even just a blanket over the window might help. 

fancynewbeesly

We already have it darkened  

mmarsac

Your post could have described my daughter verbatim.  I mean, it was a little startling.  Sometimes I will think she is sleeping because she is so quiet, but I will check the monitor, and she will be inspecting the crib rails, or holding the pacifier in the air and turning it around.  She, too is out like a light at 6:30, and she sleeps until around 8 AM.  Even if she is super tired, she will not nap.  I have no idea why she won't nap, but it has made for some tough evenings. 

If she does nap at all during the day, she naps in the morning.  It usually works best if I feed her some solids, like baby yogurt or oatmeal cereal, and then put her down.  That way her tummy is full, and she'll fall asleep (sometimes).

 

StarJay

Is there a part of your bedtime routine you could use for naps. Our bedtime routine is bath, massage, stories, nurse, lullabies. For naptime I sit down in our chair and we read a story or two, in a very monotone voice, while rocking and then he gets a couple of his lullabies. Not the full routine but enough to help him relax and figure out it's time for sleep.