nap help

Bebepi12

Hi Ladies,

 I am feeling pretty desperate over our current nap situation and am hoping someone will be able to help us out.  Baby is 5 months old and sleeps beautifully at night.  I am a huge fan of Happiest Baby on the Block and he responded really well to the 5 "s"es and has been doing great.  He always goes to bed drowsy but awake and is getting pretty good at soothing himself back to sleep when he does wake in the night.

 Naps, however, are horrible for both of us.  He and I both love for him to sleep in the Ergo and he does really well there.  I plan to have him keep taking at least one nap a day in there, but would really like to put him in his crib for one (preferably his big nap).  I have been trying this for 2 months and it is almost always miserable.  I always wait for his sleepy cues, phase him into quiet play/reading, use white noise, and nurse before a nap.  As soon as I put him in the crib, he snaps out of drowsiness and starts screaming.  I pick him up, rock/calm him, and try again.  Today we did this for an hour and a half with no success and now he's in the Ergo fast asleep.

As I said before, I love having him in the Ergo.  As a first time mom I am just unsure of how to proceed from here.  If he keeps only sleeping in the Ergo will we still be doing this a year from now?  Sorry for the lengthy post; I appreciate any thoughts or help you can offer.  Thanks!

 

tarahnpaul

At 4 months, there was no way I could put my DD down in a crib for a nap.  She needed to be held or nursed.  Around 7 months, I started being able to lay her down in our bed (we bedshare), nurse her for a while, then leave the room.  She wakes up throughout the naps, flips on her side or belly and goes back to sleep.  I think it is a phase.  So maybe keep trying it, but if after a certain amount of time (before you're really frustrated), put him in the Ergo.

Bebepi12

Thank you that's really helpful and encouraging!  I haven't come across many people who have great night sleepers but poor nappers, so I have been feeling pretty unsure about what to do.  Thanks for taking the time to respond.

brideinsummer04

i was working on naps for two and a half months and finally gave up. i was spending a crazy amount of time trying to get him to nap. even though he showed sleepy signs he would not go to sleep or if he did it was for like fifteen minutes. i think he was picking up on my stress. so finally i gave up on getting the right napa and having a more relaxed attitude plus time and now he is starting to nap a little better. so i would recommend giving up trying the crib for a couple of weeks and then try again .

Izybel18

I posted about this a little while ago. Until 4 months DD slept in the swing, and then abruptly stopped and would only nap in the Ergo (or carseat if we're out running around). She's almost 6 months and she's still only sleeping in the Ergo. MIL somehow got her to fall asleep this weekend while DH and I were out to dinner (1st time w/o DD!!) and today I was able to get her to sleep in our bee for her afternoon nap...after letting her cry for 5 minutes  It wasn't really worth it (I slept with her because I needed the nap!). I don't think she would have slept without me next to her.

It seems like if I just go with her flow, she lets me know when she's ready for a new habit. Trying to force something never works out! Have you tried a back carry in the Ergo? We just started that and it's much easier to get things done now. 

MrsB51609

I also had a great night sleeper, but a not so great napper.  DS was probably close to 8 months old before he would sleep for longer than 45 minutes in his crib.  He nursed to sleep and slept on my lap for nearly every nap he took.  I think in his case, it was a matter of him being ready to nap on his own.  All of a sudden, he stopped falling asleep, and if he did he only slept a short cycle.  So we put a floor bed in his room, and I would lay down and nurse him, and leave when he was sleeping.  Around a year he stopped nursing to sleep altogether, and we could lay him down in bed and he would fall asleep on his own.  I'm a SAHM, so it wasn't necessary for us to be on a schedule, and I could give him the nap time that he needed. 

Just another perspective, that maybe your baby isn't quite ready to be on his own yet.  (If you have the time to allow his naps to continue this way.)  But he may grow out of it on his own.  We read the No Cry Nap Solution, and while it had a lot of good advice, it came down to my DS being ready for a change.

boogerbearoriginal

At 4m I would typically hold/wear LO for his naps. I remember the 3-4m time as a rough time for daytime sleep. His naps were short, usually 30-45min, but every few hours. And he would not stay asleep out of my arms. At around 6m things got much better, his naps stretched out to 1-2hr+ and he could be laid down without waking.

I don't think he'll still be napping in the ergo at year lol. Try the test where you lift his arm and if there's stiffness he's not in deep sleep. Only lay him down when you can pick his arm up and it's "dead". That should help. The other tip I've read is to lay their head down last, put them in the crib/whatever butt first. If they go head first it makes them wake up because they think they are falling.

Good luck! It will get better

pepomntpat

We had a similar issue when DD was that age. She stopped sleeping well altogether. I think my presence became overstimulating. It started to take forever to get her to sleep. We actually transitioned to the crib at night first since she slept better at night anyway. Then I worked on naps in the crib once she was already familiar with the set up. It took a long time to get it all done. Now she sleeps very well in her crib or in our bed.

theboki

Booger+Bear:

At 4m I would typically hold/wear LO for his naps. I remember the 3-4m time as a rough time for daytime sleep. His naps were short, usually 30-45min, but every few hours. And he would not stay asleep out of my arms. At around 6m things got much better, his naps stretched out to 1-2hr+ and he could be laid down without waking.

I don't think he'll still be napping in the ergo at year lol. Try the test where you lift his arm and if there's stiffness he's not in deep sleep. Only lay him down when you can pick his arm up and it's "dead". That should help. The other tip I've read is to lay their head down last, put them in the crib/whatever butt first. If they go head first it makes them wake up because they think they are falling.

Good luck! It will get better

theboki

Booger+Bear:

I don't think he'll still be napping in the ergo at year lol. Try the test where you lift his arm and if there's stiffness he's not in deep sleep. Only lay him down when you can pick his arm up and it's "dead". That should help. The other tip I've read is to lay their head down last, put them in the crib/whatever butt first. If they go head first it makes them wake up because they think they are falling.

These are great tips!  Thanks!  :-)