LO cries before every nap and sleep time

jasmineluke · December 2015

Not sure if this has been posted already. My LO is 12 and half weeks old and over the last 2 weeks I've started to notice that not only is hard to put down for naps - she cries really hard at least 5-10 mins before closing her eyes and giving in.
This happens with every nap, I've tried timing her awake times to see if she has been awake too long or too short. I've tried in the swing, holding and rocking her, holding and walking her around. White noise, swaddle or unswaddled and it seems she hates going down for the nap. They usually last 30mins to 1 hour. She goes to bed at around 9 and gets up around 6am (with one feeding over night). We usually do eat sleep play routine. No matter what I do, she cries and screams and kicks for 5-10 mins prior to naps and occasional bedtime.
I'm afraid she is developing a negative association with her naps/nursery/rocker. It's such a negative experience for her to go down for a nap?
Any suggestions??

chein1 · December 2015

DD1 was and is the same way at 2 years. She just cries. I think some LO just cry without there being anything wrong. DD1 is a very happy, healthy toddler otherwise so her crying before nap and bed is just part of her personality.

Aldermanbaby · December 2015

My LO is the same way! Interested to see what everyone says or any suggestions

ElleMF728 · December 2015

Have you tried a top off with some food before? How long does she normally go between eating? Personally, I'm not a huge fan of EASY only because it makes more sense to me to put baby down with a full tummy. DS2 usually goes down really easy but will occasionally do this if he is having a hungry night. Sure enough another few sucks or an ounce or two and he falls asleep like normal. You might even get a little longer nap since he won't wake up to eat as quickly. Whenever I want LO to take a longer nap I always top him off right before I lay him down.

This may not be the case with your LO but it can't hurt to try and see.

ETA: What kind of swing do you have? If DS is fighting a nap I just jiggle the handle of the swing for a minute or two and it immediately calms him and puts him to sleep. This even worked for my first son who was a very difficult sleeper (it took a little longer with him).

Also, naps were the bane of the existence with my first child. They were exhausting and I would get so frustrated, I felt like my day revolved around getting him to sleep and then trying to put him back to sleep. He hated them and was a crap napper from day one. As he got older that changed though now he is two and a half and he runs upstairs for naps and bed and has since about 10 months. Sleep gets easier as they start dropping naps, playing more and becoming more mobile.

jasmineluke · December 2015

I don't follow the routine to a T, I often feed her before sleeping too and it does help sometimes and sometimes no.
Honestly this whole napping situation is driving me nuts. Even after finally getting her down she wakes up at 35 mins probably between sleep cycles and then no matter what I do (rock her, walk with her, swing her) - it's impossible to get her to sleep and often times it ends up being her next feed time and then it starts all over again.
I've tried to get her to sleep or nap in the swing to help transition her between sleep cycles (so I don't have to continuously hold her) but she has never napped in the swing since day 1 - she sees it has play time and won't even close her eyes if she's sleepy.
My DH and I are at wits end and just figure we have to stick it out and hopefully she will eventually grow out of this. She doesn't sleep well at night either so I often worry she's not getting enough sleep. So frustrating!

tracij12 · December 2015

@jasmineluke does LO use a paci? It seems my little will only fall asleep in the swing with her paci. No paci and its playtime.

Hopefully it's a phase that will pass quickly!

ElleMF728 · December 2015

@jasmineluke I'm sorry

I've been there. DS was really high maintenance, I'd spend 45 min to an hour trying to get him to sleep, only to have him wake after 30 minutes cranky and refusing to go back down. My whole day was just trying to get him to take a good nap, trying to rush home to make his wake window and waiting for him to wake up. He also woke every 2 hours at night until he was about 5 months old. It was emotionally and mentally draining, even my mom who was really positive for me during that time, will freely admit now that he was a difficult baby and a real crummy sleeper.

So no real advice, just sympathy. It will get easier. DS1 is one of the easiest toddlers and best sleepers around now. All the things that made him a tough(er) baby make him a really independent and entertaining kid. She will grow out of it and your days and nights will stop revolving around sleep, hers and yours, and lack there of. In a few weeks wake times will increase, naps will drop and baby will mature. Just keep doing what your doing and ask for help so you can get a break sometimes. One thing that helped me was that DH would do ALL the night feeds on Friday nights so I could get at least one night a week of sleep.

I often think how thankful I am (now) that DS1 was such a tough kid. I learned a ton trying to research different magical solutions, and all the things that didn't work when he was 3 months old still helped build really healthy sleep habits that became even more important as he got older. He was the only kid in our group that had almost no issues at all when he finally moved to a big boy bed. We constantly get surprised looks and comments when we put him down for the night when people are over because its so, so easy. Last, a little funny reading that will make you happy that you don't have an easy sleeper...I've posted it a few times but it never gets old. At least not to me.

Never Trust a Trick Baby

jasmineluke · December 2015

Thank you all so much for your encouragement.
She doesn't use pacifier anymore because every time it fell out she would cry at night so we just weaned it 2 weeks ago.
The link was so great to read - THANK YOU. It did make me feel better.
I know I just have to keep on keeping on. Eventually she will pass through this phase lol. Just gotta have my coffee and truck on. Going back to work will make things a bit tougher next week but I know it'll pass with time.

EricaOO · December 2015

Is your LO sleeping a lot during the day? Sleeping 9pm - 6am doesn't seem like enough night sleep for an infant. She could be overly tired making it harder for her to settle down.

jasmineluke · December 2015

That what I was thinking that her night sleep doesn't seem like a lot when I add up its usually between 7-9 hours with interruption of feeding and burping and being put back down!
I'm debating about letting her sleep in a little in the morning and see how it goes.
I did that today and she seems to still cry before naps. But I'm thinking she's not getting enough nighttime sleep?

KLHauck12 · December 2015

Always think of babies sleep as being within a 25 hour period. Even if they are sleep through the night, they need daytime sleep. Sounds like your baby might not be getting enough during the night at well as the day....and she is overtired. I know my LO cries and is super hard to put down after a day where her naps were disrupted the day before. I have been using playtime to my advantage lately. I don't feed before sleep. She eats when she wakes up and then we have playtime (unless she seems to want to go back to sleep). Playing seems to provide the mental and physical stimulation to wear her out and she goes to sleep much easier now.

Want a personalized experience?

LO cries before every nap and sleep time

Re: LO cries before every nap and sleep time

Choose Another Board

Search Boards