Infant Wont Nap

I have been there! My daughter was terrible with napping and people just didn't understand how hard it was. I ended up driving around in the car every afternoon because she could fall asleep in the car seat for 30 minutes. My daughter ( now 7 years old) ended up entirely stopping naps at around 8-10 months old. My doctor told me that there are some children who just stop napping very young. It was hard but on the plus side - my daughter is extremely bright and in reading books and talking to parents of other gifted children it is common for them to stop napping very early or for them to just require little sleep. Hang in there!

Hugs to you. We had a terrible napper and it's really tough. I can't imagine how tough with a active toddler around too! It took a long time with my 7 month old but FINALLY she naps pretty well.

A couple of things worked for us: I read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I loved this book because it was written by a pediatrician and just had what I found to be sound, sensible advice. We did have to let her cry, and as gut wrenching as it was, it was much worse to have her exhausted and unhappy because she wasn't getting enough rest. But I know every mom/parent is different. You know your baby best and if that won't work, don't let anyone tell you that that's the only way. I will say it took us about a month to really get it down to where she takes 2 decent naps almost every day.

As for tricks, we established a really regimented routine before her naps that doesn't ever vary. I think that's really what helped the most. It always begins with a 5-10 minute wind down (either a DVD, a book, maybe a bottle or nursing if you're BF'ing) and then I put her down the same way every time (same song, same "it's time for a nap" etc). I'm sure that's tough with a 3 year old but maybe you could all read a book together and then maybe even have the 3 yo "help" put the baby down?

Also, we use a sleep sack for naps so that she knows now when that goes on, it's nap time. (We don't use one at night though.) I think the routine and doing things at nap time, just helps them learn that that's what's going on. Most babies are such creatures of habit and thrive with repetition and routine. But again, they're all different. :) Good luck!!!!

Hi J.!
Your baby sounds just like how my daughter was. She would sleep awesome at night but naps? Foget it! lol She was so tired but she seemed to fight to stay awake like she would miss out on something if she slept. I tried all the things you have. My daycare lady could actually get her to take naps when she was with her and I'm talking 2-3 hour naps! I asked her what she was doing. She swaddled her. Thats it. Wrapped her up all nice and tight, feed her and put her down for a nap. I tried it and it really was the trick. The problem when she slept, if her arms or legs jerked it was waking her up. With swaddling she wasn't waking herself up anymore and was able to sleep longer. I did it until she was about 7 months old. At that time she was rolling a lot in her crib so she would get her arms free, but it didnt seem to bug her as much then.

Now, at 13 months, she is a great napper without being swaddled. I would suggest giving that a try. It was comforting to my daughter because it was like being in the womb.
Good luck! :)
R.

Two of my children were like that. I assumed it was because they wanted to be up because my two older ones didn't nap. Not sure if that was the case but if I were you, I'd just keep letting her take her 35 minute naps. Maybe she'll eventually take longer naps. Good luck to you and congratulations!

Oh, how sweet your lil one- I have had a 5 month old before- have you tried classical music/car ride/park swing? Any and all of these things should be tried until you quit. I had my baby nursing and my one year old so I know what you mean by the time with the older one-
I would suggest you let the baby cry it out, longer than 15 min, it may seem like 15 min or longer at a time when your lil one is crying- but I would continue to try this ( she is used to you holding her right away after a certain time) If you have always done this for the past five months, there is really no point in trying to change her routine now... I would take my baby and put him in his crib, lights out, or dim the blinds, put a blanket on him, and leave the room- he would cry and cry what seemed like forever, but it was actually only 3 minutes!! Yes, and I felt like I was dieing.. so give the classical music a try and the car ride, if that does not work- how about a nice warm bath??? I hope I have helped- we have all been there, your mom has been there, you are not alone.. just takes patience and time... Good luck :)

The only thing that I can tell you for sure will help is to make sure you are not missing sleep cues and putting her down too late. She should go down at the first sign of a yawn, eye rub, etc. Don't wait until she is really sleepy. Also she will nap better if she is getting at least 12 hours of night time sleep.

Oh my, please don't make her cry out...it may be that she just doesn't need all that sleep yet, as she grows up she'll be able to do more (physically) and she'll need more sleep. Everybody is different, you know? Some people make more of their sleep than others...lucky her when she grows up! So hang in there, there's really no forcing sleep if it's not needed same as keeping her awake when she's tired..she'll just fall asleep at some point. Wait until she crawles...I bet she'll tire herself a lot and sleep better.

I'm also in the camp of not letting a child that young cry it out, but my thoughts are that she's not happy with the environment that you're trying to get her to sleep in.

At that age, both of my kids preferred to take a nap in their swing, bouncy seat, car seat vs. their crib. They still needed the comfort of close quarters. Have you tried those approaches?

Have you asked the pediatrician to make sure there aren't any medical reasons that might be causing the restlessness? Perhaps ear infections, reflux, etc.

Will she sleep in a bouncy/rocking chair? What about if you went out in the car will she fall asleep? I would try that at this point just so she get's some sleep , once she is asleep just leave her in her car seat or whatever , you have plenty of time yet to get her into a routine of going down in her crib awake , at this point she just needs to sleep.

Do you put her down at the same time every day?
Do you nurse/feed her before putting her down?
How do you put her down? Do you just stop whatever you are doing then plunk her down in the crib? Or, do you segue into nap time? Meaning, have a process/routine of it, ie: feed her, change diaper, keep things quiet, make the room dark, not have busy-ness around her etc. Then, put her down? Whatever "routine" you have... do it consistently, ALL the time, everyday. The SAME thing everyday.

Also make sure she is not too-over stimulated prior to nap... otherwise, even if tired, she won't be able to sleep, well.
And don't miss her tired cues, as the other poster said.

A baby this age, usually take 3 naps a day. Or 2.
Or try some white noise in the room.

What time do you put her down for nap?