- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Working Moms
help with 51/2 mos old naps
My son used to nap before starting daycare. I would look for his cues,
give him a pacifier and he would sleep. He has been in daycare 2 mos,
he sleeps whenever, no schedule and infrequently when he's there. On
the wknds, he literally will not nap, I clearly dont know how to get
him to do so anymore. The pacifier no longer works to help him. I am
looking for some constructive help. Please give me specifics of
scheduled times, the process of napping and how you get your child to
sleep. He isnt barely sleeping at night either and I am the sole
caregiver. Thank you.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: help with 51/2 mos old naps
Right around 5 months was a baaaaaaaaaaaad period for sleep in our house
I remember it used to take 45 mins to get DD down for a nap, and then she'd sleep for all of 30 mins. Getting her down for the night could be a multi-hour process too, and then she would wake up at night again.
I don't really know what to tell ya. Our nanny did CIO with DD to get her down for naps, which I hated at the time, but I must admit that it worked well. We also introduced a lovey around that age, which was a big help. But I think a lot of it was just being patient and waiting for her to outgrow that phase.
She didn't have scheduled naptimes at that age. It was all dependent on what time she woke up, how long each of her naps were, etc. As for getting her to sleep, initially, we would do anything that worked -- nursing, bouncing on an exercise ball, rocking, carrying in the baby carrier, etc. Once the CIO had worked its magic, we simply put her in her crib with her lovey and walked out of the room and she put herself to sleep.
Good luck, and hang in there! It WILL get better.
Mommy to DD1 (June 2007), DS (January 2010), DD2 (July 2012), and The Next One (EDD 3/31/2015)
The key to my son taking good naps is getting him down early--usually 1-2 hours after he gets up in the morning. Daycare tells me that he likes to have a bottle and then go down for a nap not too long after he gets there. They still swaddle him (he won't let us do it at home anymore, so I have no idea why he likes it at dc), give him his pacifier and put him in the crib. Then he'll either put himself to sleep or they rock the crib for a little while until he goes to sleep. He usually naps around 8:30 or 9, and then again in the early afternoon. Sometimes a catnap in the late afternoon as well. He used to have trouble napping there because there's a lot going on and it's kind of noisy compared to home. They moved him to the crib right next to the cd player, and they put on classical music while he sleeps.
At home, I'll usually nurse him and then put him down. We do white noise in his room. And he has a lovey (a small blanket with a bear head) that he likes to rub on his face until he goes to sleep. Same general nap schedule as at daycare.
I'd try talking to your dc provider. Ask them maybe to put him down earlier in the day, or just to try to make sure he takes a nap. You could also ask what they do to try to get him down (maybe it would help you on weekends, or maybe you could offer suggestions). My provider has always been very willing to work with us on naps.