Screaming and Crying before naps

Re: Screaming and Crying before naps

• laurapaine2003@yahoo.com member

  January 2016

  Since last week this is us too! She's 15 weeks and 4 days. I'm chalking it up to the 4 month sleep regression... They typically fight naps and bedtime... She now screams so bad when we try to put her down for a nap. It's miserable. We have found a few things that help greatly:
  - being super diligent about getting her ready for a nap BEFORE she gets to that point of being overtired
  - Putting her down for naps in the same place she sleeps at night (this is the biggest one for us - really helps - we use to put her in a swing for naps or let her nap on us. Now she goes to the crib for all sleep time, naps included).
  - I nurse her and rock her in the rocking chair at the start of all naps, once she's almost totally out I gently put her into the crib where I have a heating pad that warmed it for her (I knoooow it's bad to rock and nurse to sleep but it's the only way we can get her down right now)
  
  I am super anal about making sure I catch her right before her nap should be - the moment I see a yawn or she rubs her eyes I immediately take her upstairs to her quiet dark nursery with white noise playing and stick her in her Merlin Magic Suit, then nurse and rock her for about 10 min and gently lay her down in her crib.
  
  Basically we make naps identical to bed time. Same sleep suit, same white noise, same darkness, same place (crib), same everything. My hope is that it'll condition her somewhat to always know it's sleep time when we do that. Id say doing these things cut her screaming down by about 95%. Simple changes make the biggest difference. Try some out, see if it helps a little!

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• jasmineluke member

  January 2016

  Going through this now, baby is 13 weeks, 3 months on Sunday. Exact problem. I wondered if it was the 4 month sleep regression happening early but I feel she's too early for it!
  Not sure what else it could be and has been going on since 11.5 weeks!

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• caityrose member

  January 2016

  My lo one does this. I just assume she'd rather be awake and looking around but she's so tired so she just gets upset

  
  

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• PickledPlums member

  January 2016

  My boy started this about 3 days before Christmas. I agree with pp that catching them in the very first stages of sleepy is key- LO yawns or rubs his eyes and he goes in the swing. It's made all the difference.

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• chelseajeanene member

  January 2016

  No advice but for the past week or so my LO has been fighting sleep like this too. He's sick right now and he screamed for 45 minuets before I could get him down and it was torture

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• TeacherMom210 member

  January 2016

  My toddler still does this. lol
  
  But seriously, DD#2 fusses a lot when she needs a nap. Sometimes she goes down for it well, other times the swing is my best friend. I also went through this with my oldest.

   

  
  

   
  

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• jwebbbber45678 member

  January 2016

  My baby goes from smiles to screams in a matter of seconds when he's tired. It's such a quick transition. We just have to start bouncing him and he usually passes out instantly. Except lately when we bounce him to bed for his nighttime sleep he's been waking and crying at least 2-3 times before he's out for 4-6 hours.

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