SleepEasy/CIO for Naps?

unaveragejane · December 2012

Has anyone had any success lengthening naps with SleepEasy or other CIO methods? It has helped us a lot at night time, but DS still routinely will take 30 minute naps and wake up screaming and cranky. I follow the book guidelines and do check-ins, keeping him in the crib for an hour from the time he first went down. When he wakes he will always cry and scream until the hour is up unless he manages to find his paci, in which case he may fall asleep for a MAX of 5 minutes. Then he's screaming again. We've been doing this for 3 weeks, and I'm really over it. I don't think letting him scream is teaching him to sleep longer, and I'm VERY disappointed that this part of the program didn't work. But I get that not every baby is going to sleep the recommended minimum of 14 hours per day, so I'm trying to suck it up and deal. Anyway, just curious if anyone has powered through and actually managed to get LO to sleep longer naps.

ELF4321 · December 2012

DD was a 30 minute napper until right around 7 months. We did Sleep Easy and, like you, it worked well for night,and for getting her to go to sleep on her own at naptime, but did not lengthen her naps at all.

After a couple of weeks, I just went back to following her sleep cues rather than the schedule from the book, and getting her up when she is done even if it hasn't been an hour. I did keep waiting about 5 minutes after she woke to see if she would calm down. If she did calm, I would wait another 5 minutes before going to get her. Occasionally she would fall back asleep after calming down and eventually got to the point where she will usually just change positions and go back to sleep if she wakes up at the 30 minute mark.

I think it just takes some babies longer before they are ready to consolidate naps. Trying to force it definitely did not work for us.

meglette417 · December 2012

This is somewhat like us, I have just had him fall asleep in my arms as awful as I know it is. It is almost like he refuses to sleep in his crib for naps but nighttime he is fine. Have no clue why it is a little frustrating but he sleeps through the night so I try not complain too much.

ktpaladino · December 2012

We implemented Sleepeasy 3 months ago for both bedtime and naps. It worked great at first for night time, but now we are running into problems in the middle of the night because of teething. The naps have always been a crapshoot. Sometimes his naps are 15 minutes, sometimes they are an hour and a half. Sometimes he wakes and goes back to sleep, sometimes he does not. I think that as a parent you have to be adaptable with the naps and just go with what works, especially since they are always switching it up on you. I try to read his sleepy cues as best as I can. The Sleepeasy book admits that the naps are very difficult to straighten out, so don't beat yourself up over it if it's not working. After 3 weeks of it I would be over it too. If it were me, I'd move on to another strategy.

SleepEasy/CIO for Naps?

Re: SleepEasy/CIO for Naps?

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