Stay at Home Moms

Please tell me my child is not the only one

who will not take a nap.  I know he's tired because he's totally "in the zone," not to mention yawning.  I've tried everything: swaddling, rocking, white noise, lullaby music, laying down with him, putting him to bed sleepy and leaving the room, gently rubbing his eyes... I always put him down at the first sign of tiredness so I know I'm not missing his sleep cues.  He used to be such a good napper, but this past week it's all just gone right out the window!

Please tell me I'm not alone.  Did anyone else's baby not take good naps?  It's just a phase right?  How long did it last?  And if it's not just a phase, I need to know that to so that I can prepare myself for no time to myself anymore!

Re: Please tell me my child is not the only one

  • I recommend the book Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, any baby that age should be napping a lot!
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  • I'm going to say "phase".  Mine went back and forth on his naps.  Sometimes he napped a lot for a long time.  Sometimes they were short.  Sometimes he was easy to get down and sometimes not.  It's all a cycle and by next week he'll be napping well again (I hope for you!) :-)
    Adrian 7.6.07 - ADHD, Disruptive Behavior Disorder, Learning Disability-NOS
    Cam 6.6.10 - Autism, Global Developmental Delay, Mixed Receptive/Expressive Communication Disorder
  • It's sort of a phase. Both of mine did it around this time. With ds 1, I could still get him to sleep if I swaddled, rocked and blasted white noise. At 6 mo, he would scream in spite of our efforts so we let him CIO for naps and nighttime. I always made sure he was well fed and kept naptimes and bedtime consistent. He became a wonderful sleeper from then on. Ds2 has started this now and I've been putting him down swaddled in his crib with a paci and white noise. I used to never let him fuss whatsoever but I started waiting a little bit to see if he would settle. If he fusses at all, I go talk to him and pat his chest and replace paci. He has been putting himself to sleep now. For the last 3 days he's just been going right to sleep. It's great. I'm sure it depends on baby's personality some but ds2 seemed to get it pretty fast without really crying too much. I will say that as a first time mother, I would get ds1 if he even made a peep and could not stand to hear him the slightest bit upset. Now I know that fussing is not hysterical crying and it's ok if they fuss a little when learning to go to sleep.
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  • imageAndrewsgal:
    I recommend the book Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, any baby that age should be napping a lot!

    This.  Don't take it personally, you can't make a kid nap, you can only create an enviroment favorable to doing it.  My DD was a terrible napper from day one, would be awake for up to 8 hrs solid at 3 months old and chucked the naps completely by age 2.  My son, on the other hand, is a dream napper.  C'est la vie.

    SAHM to DD1 (7), DS (5) and DD2 (1)
  • imageAndrewsgal:
    I recommend the book Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, any baby that age should be napping a lot!

    I just bought this on Amazon with my parents coupon! We are havinga REALLY hard time getting Drew down right now! 2 1/2 hours at night time (he's teething and has a cold so I"m telling myself it's that!)

    It was free 2 day shipping and free because it was under $10 so I used the coup!

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  • imageAndrewsgal:
    I recommend the book Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, any baby that age should be napping a lot!

    THIS.  Get this book.  BTW, you're totally not alone.  Both my boys fight their naps.  Well the older one is a great sleeper now but it took some sleep training.  Working on that now with son #2.  Good luck!  It is sooo frustrating.

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  • Thanks, ladies.  I know it has to be a phase, but it's so frustrating when I feel like I'm spending my whole day getting LO to take a nap.  At least I know I'm not alone!
  • Also, when my boy won't nap I take a break for an hour or more and play with him. He's a little crabbier than usual during that hour but if I just keep trying the nap we both get frustrated and it never works. If I wait an hour and try again it's usually more efficient.
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  • Have you tried wearing him rather than trying to get him down for a "real" nap?  Until she was 8 months old that was the ONLY way Gemma would nap.  It took me a little while to come to terms with it, but she would take 2 1/2 hour naps in the Moby.  Now at 18 months she is a champion napper in her crib.
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