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Attachment Parenting
i think i need advice. this may be the first real advice i'm asking for
ds takes forEVer to go to sleep at night. he seems to have a bit of energy that he needs to get out, especially since he can now crawl and pull up as of this week.
he has been napping pretty well, longer and longer lately (2 naps/day). on the rare occasion he only gets one nap, he goes to sleep at night much easier (b/c he's tired, obviously). should i let that first nap start later and just do the one? i feel really weird 'choosing' to cut out a nap, but i think he would be ok going down for that first nap a bit later. i think i anticipate it and encourage it, when really i need to wait for more of his cues. i think i'm always afraid if he doesn't go down, he'll never get that 2nd nap in.
i don't know. wdyt?
also, i get frustrated when i try to put him to sleep and he just wants to crawl all over me, lean over the glider, pull up on me, etc. are there any tips for getting him to be still and just nurse? or do you think he's not getting enough playtime or something? he's not overstimulated before bed, i don't think.
any advice is appreciated. thanks.
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Re: i think i need advice. this may be the first real advice i'm asking for
I haven't read your post yet, but I just wanted to say on a completely unrelated note. YGPM
Ok, Im going to read your post now
I don 't have much advice, just want to say your'e not alone! Ever since E started crawling really well & began pulling up his bedtime has looked a lot different. He nurses lying in bed with me & then if he's filled his belly & he's not feeling like sleeping at that second he does the same thing... crawls all over the bed, all over me, pulls up & holds on to me so he can stand & bounce on the bed, he's even started blowing raspberries on my stomach (he figured this one out by accident, but now thinks it's hillarious).
I just try to be patient, let him get a little energy out & lay him back down with me after a few minutes, "shhhh" him, talk quitely to him, sing to him & just keep on nursing him.
There have been a few times where it just wasn't happening & I take him downstairs & DH & I play with him for 15 or 20 more minutes to get that last bit of energy out & then he's more ready for sleep.
These are just some things I do, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't! I hope you find something that works for you guys!
i just saw that and i responded.
It's worth a shot to try one nap. Most LOs need 2 naps until a year, but there are definitely some who drop to one earlier. I know I *thought* M was going to drop a nap early but it was really just a nap strike. Every once in a while he'd go through a week or two where he'd only take one nap (especially when he was learning a lot) and then the next week he'd be back to two.
Good luck! You can always try one nap and if it doesn't work go back to two, unless it starts messing with nighttime sleep.
My advice is do NOT cut out a nap. Babies this age need 2 naps that are @ 1-1.5 hours long. Remember that naps are more than just rest, it is also brain processing where the numerous things they are learning are getting filed away and stored in their brain. Rest is probably more important for cognitive reasons than physical ones at this age.
When it is time to cut, you will know because he will be wakeful and unable to sleep (just like if you randomly tried to nap at 10am... when you are not a sleep deprived mama) and usually it is the first nap they drop.
How long is he napping? If it is more than 1.5 hours each, that could be an issue.
Do you have a bed time routine that cues him for sleep well in advance of actually getting him to sleep? That should help. Have you played around with bedtime? When DS isn't receptive to bedtime, sometimes even waiting an extra 5-10 min can make a big difference for his receptiveness to sleep.
ETA- love your sig pic
thanks. that's the thing. almost every day, i can count on a 2-2 1/2 hr nap. the other is anywhere from 45 mins-1 1/2 hrs. he used to take 3 35-40 min naps when he was little, so this is a huge improvement.
Once my LO started crawling I had the same issues. Honestly, I started swaddling her legs again and it worked. She would nurse, but couldn't become very active again and fell asleep. She would eventually kick through the swaddle though, so I bought a woombie and have been using it with pretty good success. sometimes she gets really mad i'm putting it on her, but then she calms down and sleeps. I got the convertible one so her arms are still free.
Also, we were following the NCNS and trying to give her three naps a day and her nighttime sleep was crappy. So now we go for 2 or 3 naps - if there are 3 at least one is a catnap. she's a crappy napper, but becoming a better nighttime sleeper. So in our case, the more sleep she got during the day did not give her better nighttime sleep.
Good Luck!
DS has been doing the same thing for awhile now. He'll nurse and sometimes it looks like he's about to drift off..then he'll pull off and start babbling. Then he crawls around the bed, pulls up onthe headboard and bounces, laughs, etc. Basically he acts as though he's WIDE AWAKE. But I just lay there quietly and eventually (usually 5-10 minutes later) he crawls back over to me, making little fuss noises, and tries to nurse. Usually he'll fall asleep at the second nursing attempt but sometimes we repeat that whole process again and it takes the 3rd nursing attempt to get him to sleep. It's frustrating but anything else I've tried results in crying and fighting so I'm just going to roll with it and hope it's a phase.
So basically I'm no help, but you're not alone!