45 Minute Naps

Have you tried swaddling? That helped with my boys. Also there is a great book by Dr. Harvey Karp, The Happiest Baby on the Block. Give it a look, he has a lot of good tips.

I would try the heart beat bear. This guy in my office has a new little boy and he said that his baby was having trouble sleeping too and they got one of those bears and he is sleeping very good now.

Hi,

I am a first time mommy as well and went through the same thing with my now 8 month old little girl. It is definitely a challenge to figure out a schedule and just when you think you have it figured out it changes! I have a few suggestions: 1) put him on his tummy (I know they say not to but they sleep so much better and if you are that concerned you can buy an AngelCare monitor at Babies r Us that has a breathing sensor), 2) make sure his tummy is full, I know that sounds silly but my daughter always slept better right after I nursed her or when she had a bottle, 3) try using a soft silk blanket when you feed him and lay him down, he will eventually learn to self soothe with that instead of always needing your touch, smell, etc. I hope this helps! Also, about the bottle before a nap - I know that in the baby whisperer she says not to feed a baby before they lay down because they could become dependent on that to fall asleep but, on the other hand most babies sleep better on a full stomach. Good luck and happy resting;)

G. M.

My first baby fell asleep fine by herself. She was happily sleeping in a crib almost immediately. Very independent, I thought, wow this is way easier than I thought it would be.
My second baby was born, and he would only sleep for 15 minutes before he woke up screaming at me for not being there. I tried to fight it. I tried to let him cry it out. I put one of my shirts next to him so he could smell me. Nothing worked. Not only did he have to sleep with me, he had to sleep on my stomach, which wasn't fun because I was recovering from a c-section. By 2 1/2 months he was finally sleeping on the side of my body, by 4 months in a bassinet next to me. All the while taking his best naps when I slept with him.

I have no advice for how to change your baby, but I wanted to tell you this so you understand that some babies just need their mommies more than others. I took afternoon naps with him until he stopped taking naps. At 8 years old he is still my cuddler, he still loves for me to crawl in bed next to him while he falls asleep, and he is my most physically affectionate child. They are all made different, and even tho it was hard in the beginning I'm happy I spent all that time with him cuddling because it went so fast, soon he'll be a teenager and I'll be lucky to get hugs!

I think you if I were you I would lay with him while he sleeps as much as you can.

My humble opinion: then sleep with him! I still sleep through naps with my baby girl who is almost 7 months old, because it helps her get more rest. Bring a book and a booklight and just rest in there with your baby. Enjoy it. As they grow, they will change, so just relax and let it be. And PS congratulations!

mine too! but she is two. have you read the no cry sleep solution? it is my favorite too, and has lots of little things that you can try that add up to longer and better sleep. good luck!

cry it out is tough, but it really (honestly!) doesn't take long. Your baby is still pretty young - regular naps won't start for a few weeks yet. My favorite book is Healthy sleep habits, happy child, by Marc Weissbluth. It worked great for my (now 2 years old) twins and it's working for my 16 week old as well. A bit of a slog to read, but the advice is good and best of all IT WORKS! Again, morning nap develops 12-16 weeks and regular afternoon nap not until 5-8 months so don't fret too much. The nap "miracle" seems to hit sometime around 6 months.

E.

Who will be watching him when you go back to work? He may sleep better for them. I have a 2 year old and she has never been consistent with naptime on the weekends - it ranges from 20 min to 2 hours. But at her daycare, she sleeps 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours 90% of the time. They must be better with routine than me or something is more enticing for naptime there. Maybe that will work for you.

We have about the same issue, but on the days my son goes to daycare (2-3 a week), he actually takes longer naps. I've heard that is fairly common. So maybe that will happen to you! Good luck.

My son, who is 7 months now, generally only takes 30 to 45 minute naps. Then, once or twice a week he'll crash for 2 hours... catching up I believe. But, he goes to bed without any fuss (most nights) between 7 and 8 PM and wakes up around 6 am (generally). We lay him down awake and tuck him in and he doses off. (We used the CIO method earlier on... going into his room every few minutes to help teach him a bed time routine.) For naps, I think all you can do is offer them an opportunity to sleep. I have found that he only seems to be able to stay awake about 2-3 hours, at his age, and I always offer him an opportunity to sleep in those intervals when he seems tired. He sometimes falls asleep in his cradle swing...if I'm busy...but mostly he falls asleep in about 15 minutes of rocking and I lay him in his crib. However, he wouldn't fall asleep while rocking when he was 2.5 months old... so I thinks as he's gotten older, his sleeping habits over all are getting better. But, if you find something that works to encourage longer naps....I'd be interested.

Have you tried the Baby Whisperer's forums? http://www.babywhisperer.com/smf/ and go to the nap board. HTH.

Hey C.! I had the same problem with 2 of my children...I am a single mother of 3. The trick that worked for me was an age old remedy. I got them each their own special stuffed animal. I made a point to keep it with them at all times, not just when they were sleeping. It's a security thing. It worked great for both of my kids! Good luck.

I am a Mom of 2 boys and have also worked in daycare. I wondered if you are sending your baby to a daycare or babysitter with other children? I have noticed with my own boys and other children that they take better naps when they are in a situation where everyone is taking a nap. My boys wouldn't hardly take a nap at home but did at daycare. I think it was because at daycare they didn't feel like they were going to miss out on something. Maybe we Mommy's are trying to get too much done while they are sleeping and they hear us even though we try to be quiet. If you have a baby sitter ask them to be really quiet or pretend to be sleeping in the next room while they begin to nap.

Try this and see if it works for you. This is a trick that is used for orphaned kittens, puppies, etc., and it works for babies, too. Find yourself a wind up Baby Ben clock and place it near your baby's crib where he can hear it clearly (it resembles the sound of your heart), swaddle him as if he were still in the womb, and if you have a hot water bottle that is filled with really warm water to prop him slightly on his side, I think you will find that he is one happy napper. As young as he is,though, taking a nap with him certainly can't hurt you any. Since you'll be going back to work soon, however,this is probably your best bet. I'm 51 and my son was born on New Year's Eve eleven years ago, so congratulations!!!

45 min. naps are normal for some babies. My son took 5 45 min. naps a day until he was around 6-7 months old and started taking 2 longer naps a day. My all-time favorite sleep book is Healthy Sleep Habits...Happy Child. It's so much better than the others and even has chapters for older kids. It's not a good idea to get him used to sleeping with you if you are going back to work because it will become a HARD habit to break.

C.,

My oldest wasn't much of a napper. He napped about 30 mins a time unless I held him. So after lunch I would pee (very important!!) grab a good book, and plop on the couch with him. He'd sleep about an hour and a half, and I'd get some reading in.

He didn't start to nap well on his own until he started crawling and tiring himself out. At that point, I used the stroller to coax him into a nap schedule of twice a day, and after he got used to the schedule, I put him in the crib to sleep instead of the stroller.

I would say that if he is going to go to daycare I think they will get into into a schedule that fits pretty quickly.

Hope this helps,

J.

There is a bear that has a heart beat.It also sounds like the womb.It is brown and velcrose to the crib.Never sit it in the crib.My son loved it.I think it was called Mama bear.I think Target carried it or Wal-Mart. My son is now 8.I think it was new when he was born.I also had a lullaby therapy tape that he loved.Lay with his blanket so that it has your scent on it.Do you swaddle him? They now have great blanket that you slip their feet in one end and velcros.I remember many days my little guy took naps in a swing.I don't think I put him in it till around 4 months.Now they nice ones where their feet don't hang down.I was always afraid his feet would go numb.What about the vibrating bouncy seats.I loved those.I got alot of stuff at childrens resale shops.
Blessings,
M. S.

Hi C.. My now 15 month old girl did the same thing with me. The only way she would sleep well was if I laid down with her or held her. When I started going back to work and left her with my sister, she started sleeping about 5 hours straight! It seemed that she would sleep at other people's houses and just sleep away the day until I came to get her. It wasn't that way at first, but she did get better. It might help to have something that smells like you with him so you can trick him into thinking you are there. Sometimes I would lie with my girl and then sneak out and that worked a lot. Hope this helps. Good luck.

C. v
i feel your pain. i had a 30-45min napper baby too, plus he would wake up at 5am. not much i can tell you to get him to sleep longer. some babies are great sleepers and others not-i guess they think they are going to miss something. just try to stick to some kind of schedule, if possible, and at the first signs of seeing him looking sleepy lay him down for a nap. good luck and hang in there.
M. b (mom of 2 boys 5yrs and 23mo)