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Nap Training Help Please!

kknyckknyc member
in Babies: 6 - 9 Months

We have been trying to nap train our 6..5 month old daughter for the past 2 months and she still cries for 15-20 mins every time we put her down, so I am wondering if we're doing something wrong, or if CIO just doesn't work for her.  Or maybe this is just how she is? Would love advice from anyone who has successfully nap trained.

Here is our routine:

1. Look for sleepy cues anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 hours of awake time.

2. Go into bedroom, turn off lights and hold her and walk around the room for 1-2 mins to calm/settle her.

3. Put her in the crib awake and on her tummy, she immediate starts crying.

4. She cries on and off (mostly on) for around 15-20 mins and then falls asleep (usually for only 30 mins, but that's another story).

Should I be doing something different?  Is it normal to still be crying for 15+ minutes after doing this for a couple months every single time? I will admit that there have been a couple occasions where she gets so hysterical that I have to go in and comfort her and will rock her until she falls asleep - could that be negating everything?

I feel so horrible listening to her cry before every nap and don't know what to do.

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Re: Nap Training Help Please!

  • VPGIRL06VPGIRL06 member

    I think you're timing is just off.  My LO might fuss for like 5ish minutes if she was having too much fun before hand, but usually she's pretty happy to be laid down and go to sleep. Some babies need to fuss before they sleep-but crying for 15-20 minutes for a 30 minute nap just doesn't seem normal.  30 minute naps means she's either over tired or under tired. OR your transition time is too short and she's not quite winding down. We usually do diaper, sleeper, turn off lights, shut curtains, lullaby/story, some rocking-its a 5-10 minute routine, and maybe some patting on her back when I lay her down. 

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  • nanabanana06nanabanana06
    I don't see why you have to train for naps. I wait until he either falls asleep after a bottle or seems super tired. Then put him down, put a bink in, and throw a blanket on him. No crying cuz he's already asleep. His naps never stay the same, but he gets 2 to 3 good naps. At this age they can be awake longer than 2 and a half hours too.
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  • princessbmwprincessbmw member
    I understand the need for sleep training for naps. Some babies are not so easy. We used the Ferber method I increasing length interval checks. We saw improvement after the first week. We were also more successful with naps when we went to the 2-3-4 schedule. Up for 2 hours, 3, then 4 between naps. Maybe your LO needs to be awake longer between naps?
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  • maritimememaritimeme member
    I tried the same thing at 5 months and had the same experience. DD can be put down awake at night (and recently started to prefer that) but during the day we would have 20+ mins of fussing most days. My goal was to be able to have someone else put her down for a nap so no nursing to sleep. BUT I didn't want someone else to have to listen to her fuss that long for a 30-40 min nap. So we changed the routine and it takes no more than 10 mins to fall asleep in our arms before putting her down. So I guess it depends on the reason WHY you want to sleep train for naps.

    About the short naps. Some babies are just short nappers. Even Healthy Sleep Habits Healthy Child talks about this. I have a very active LO and she usually wakes happy after her short naps, can go 2+ hrs between naps and be happy and attentive and sleeps great most nights. I guess it is what it is! Was hard for me to accept at first but I'm getting better! Oh DD is 6 months next week.

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    DD # 2: May 2, 2015
    EDD #3: March 4, 2018



                                              

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  • Shelly038Shelly038 member
    Our DD was a short napper until she was about 7 months old.  I mentioned this to our doctor at her 6 month visit and he said that between 6-9 months is when babies usually start napping for longer stretches.  We nap trained as well.  I wanted her to be able to put herself to sleep because my sister watches her while I am at work. She has two of her own and does not have the time to spend rocking our DD to sleep.  It was absolute torture for weeks.  Then one day it just clicked.  She still sometimes fusses for 5-10 minutes after putting her down but if she fusses longer I know she's not ready for her nap.  Wish I had some actual advice for you :-(  We used the Ferber method but I know there are other methods of sleep training.  Maybe a different one would work better for your LO?
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  • MarinsMomMarinsMom member
    We had the same problem until we realized she was able to stay up longer in the morning and in between naps. She wakes at 7 and goes down for a nap around 10. Once we made that switch she started napping for a solid 1.5 to 2 hrs and is happily ready to go to sleep right when we put her down. Then she's happy to be awake again for a good 3 hours. Shell nap around 3ish and then be up from around 4:30 till bedtime at 7:30/8
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