Afternoon Naps....

youtubebeauties · October 2013

So lately LO has been taking maybe 2 or 3 20-30 minute cat naps in the afternoon (she was taking 1-2 hr naps previously)...consequently, by 6pm she is fussy as hell. I can tell she is overly tired, as she is arching her back & isn't consoled by the boob (which has never failed me until now). She finally crashes about 9pm, sleeps until about 4:30am, then takes naps like a champ all morning & is happy and sweet, then we start all over again in the afternoon..she would rather 'play' and be entertained than nap in the afternoon...I've tried lulling her to sleep, but she'll only nap for 30 mins at the most.

I'm desperate for your input/advice...how do I get this child to nap again in the afternoon so she isn't so fussy by evening?? OR, is this a normal nap schedule for a 10.5 week old?

EricaLee2013 · October 2013

Mine is the same way with napping in the morning and then cat naps in the afternoon. She gets fussy in the evenings but I think this is normal. I've found that turning the lights down and the tv volume at about 7 helps her to calm down between bottles in the evening and gets her ready for bedtime at 8. Mine is almost 12 weeks and we first started noticing this trend at about 9 weeks.

Snowbird7 · October 2013

Have you tried wearing her and maybe going for a walk? When my LO wants to be entertained and look around at everything when it's nap time, I put him in the Moby and we go out for a walk. It satisfies his need to see a lot of stuff, but then he drifts off to sleep pretty quickly.

PB102012 · October 2013

We do the same as PP at night when she gets fussy.... Low lights, low music, TV off. LO naps great some days, other days not so much. Yesterday afternoon she slept great but was still fussy yesterday evening.

tanabeans · October 2013

LO is 11.5 weeks and she is napping better than last week, I would try everything and only get a 30 min nap. It could be a phase. She did great last two days, don't tell her I said that. i pushed her bedtime feeding up from 8:30 to 7 and she seems to fall asleep easier and isn't as fussy in evenings

LokiLahve · October 2013

9.5 weeks here and you just described the last 4 days of my life. Mine isn't being super fussy, but she is cranky and clearly overtired. I try to stick to our routine getting ready for bed...nurse, play, bath, nurse and then rock to sleep. She is definitely at a point I can tell she is getting sick of the living room so I try to move her around with me for more to see and stimulate that little brain.

bendicott7 · October 2013

We have had this same issue and now that LO is at daycare and can't have 1-1 attention it's worse. Monday they said he slept 10 minutes in the afternoon and Tuesday he slept twenty. Needless to say, he is a grump by the time I pick him up at 5. Thankfully he was only there for three hours, but he starts there full day tomorrow, so I really hope he starts sleeping better there or nobody will get any sleep no that DH and I are both back to work.

WildRumpus · October 2013

When my guy gets cranky like that, he goes in the carrier. A few minutes of walking around the house, or just rocking back and forth, and he's out, usually for at least an hour. I WISH he would nap in his swing or the pnp like he did when he was a newborn, but hey, you do what you've gotta do, and this way he's getting the sleep he needs and I'm getting a minute to myself, even if it's with a baby attached to me.

sfeebs13 · October 2013

DD has been like this the past two weeks. She takes a long nap in the morning from 9-12 or so then shes up til 4-5 with 10 minute nap occasionally. By the evening she's cranky but with a walk, a bath, or some time with me around the house, she settles and falls asleep til 8-9 when I put her to bed.

magdalina.h · October 2013

They are just so nosey! When we went through this with Lucas, we'd go into a dark room with zero things for him to look at. He would fall asleep (lets be honest, so would I) and sleep much longer.

AACaHa13 · October 2013

Wow! I could've written this post myself....word for word. I mean even the age of our babies lol. I have been able to get him to nap in the afternoon a little longer by allowing him to sleep in his bouncer. That is the only advice I really have. Yesterday was one of the fussiest nights he has ever had and I am reeeeeally hoping by 3 months he is over it! I have noticed though, he is so fussy in the evening that it leads to him sleeping like a champ overnight.

LJUTCMommy · October 2013

Just stopping by to say I would pay thousands to get DD to sleep straight from 9 to 430!

Also, as long as baby isn't awake more than 2 hours during the day, it sounds normal. You may just have a cat napper. The swing or swaddle or baby wearing seen to work for us sometimes.

brown214 · October 2013

My lo is a terrible napper all day. I just try to catch him before he is over tired and rock him to sleep. He is 11 weeks today and never falls asleep with out assistance.

boydlinds · October 2013

I'm having a similar issue with my daughter who is three months old. She sleeps well at night 8:30-4:30 or sometimes even 6:30/7am but she NEVER naps! I can tell she is so tired sometimes but no matter what she won't nap. My husband and I think she doesn't want to miss out on anything. I need the naps myself also though... I really want her to nap again

CaliforniaDream87 · October 2013

EricaLee2013 said:

Mine is the same way with napping in the morning and then cat naps in the afternoon. She gets fussy in the evenings but I think this is normal. I've found that turning the lights down and the tv volume at about 7 helps her to calm down between bottles in the evening and gets her ready for bedtime at 8. Mine is almost 12 weeks and we first started noticing this trend at about 9 weeks.

This. My LO is 11 weeks and is napping a whole lot better now.

janneann1127 · October 2013

At least you get long morning naps.. mine does cat naps ALL.DAMN.DAY. We are lucky if we get a 45 minute nap. And even trying to get him down for a nap at all is a serious process. He hates to sleep, I think.
Though at night, he seems to be sleeping better & better, I still don't think he's getting the amount of sleep per day that he needs. Yesterday, he slept 10 hours at night and a total of 2 hours of naps throughout the day. I know that 12 hours is not enough sleep and he's soooo cranky but I don't have a clue in the world how to get him to sleep more or longer.

kanned0121 · October 2013

My LO is 13 weeks and has been doing those adorable mini naps for a few weeks- it's driving me crazy! I'm hoping it's just a phase! Baby wearing is out.. He hates the bjorn and with his boots and bar that's the only one that I know 'works' right now..

Edit.. I wanted to add he's not a great sleeper at night either.. Usually only 3 hour stretches..

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