naptime "training"
We need help. DS puts himself to sleep at night without a problem, but i can't get him to do it at naptime. I did ultimatly sleep train (CIO) do help him learn to put himself down at night. When i have tried to do this at naptime we have gone into marathon crying sessions and skipped naps. It just isn't working. It wasn't really an issue before, as I would give him a bottle (i know, he shouldn't need one anymore) and he would be out and I would put him in the crib. Recently though his won't let me put him down. He'll start clutching at me the second I try to put him down, and he wakes up. I find it so frustrating, because it's my little bit of time to go shower and get things done during the day. I'm not a cold mom, we get lots of other snuggle time.
Anyone have any tips? What worked for you?
Re: naptime "training"
My older son was never a great napper, but slept well at night. Did you use the Ferber book to sleep train him? How many naps is he taking now? The book can provide info on how many hours of sleep they need depending upon their age. Maybe you need to cut out a nap or put him to bed later or something if he is getting too much sleep at night and not enough during the day?
Anyway I would just leave my son in his crib for "quiet time". Eventually he would stop crying and play, and then I had a break to do things myself. Sometimes he'd sleep and sometimes he wouldn't. He'd go for days at a time without napping, and then nap for 4 hours, or not wake up til early morning.
It's not the funnest thing about motherhood...GL!
i never read Ferber, but believe that the way we sleep trained was probably close to the Ferber method. I sort of consolidated ideas from a lot of people from a lot of places. That was difficult, but not so challenging.
We've already transitioned to 1 nap, which has averaged around 2 hours for a few months.
he sleeps 9 to 10 hours at night. He goes down at 8 and wakes up anywhere from 5am to 6:30.
When we've tried to CIO for naptime (or any attempt at quiet time) we have gone for as long as an hour and a half of gut wrenching screaming with no hint of calming before I quit because I feel like I'm torturing him. My attempts usually conclude in a skipped nap, which makes everyones day bad.
We gave up naps at about 18 months. It just got to be too much, it would take an hour plus of effort to get a 45 minute nap in. During the summer months, if she was really grumpy, we'd put her in the stroller, and go for a walk, and she'd be out for an hour or 2- we just put the stroller inside once we came back from the walk, and she'd keep sleeping. That did make bedtimes a nightmare though...she would never go to sleep if she'd taken a nap. Now that she's 2 and TV is sanctioned, we put her in front of sesame street for an hour and get stuff done. Probably not really the answer you were looking for though...
First tourist of the Season:
Our third addition is on their way!
Naptime can be such a challenge! My daughter just turned 1, so she's at a different stage than your LO, but here are a few things that have helped us...
We created a naptime routine (similiar to bedtime, but shorter). We tell her it's naptime, go in her room, change the diap, close the curtains, read a few books, and in the crib she goes. She would protest at first, but now she rarely cries.
We have some comfort objects for her. She has a favorite blanket and a few stuffed animals in her crib. If she doesn't sleep, she often plays with her stuffed animals.
We tire her out before naptime. When we do something really active for at least an hour (crawling, climbing, playing chase the baby, chase the ball, etc.) she'll take her second nap.
All babies are different, it's just a matter of finding what works for you and your LO.