Moving Around Too Much-won't Nap

I have been a daycare provider for 5 years and have raised my 5 children in daycare. I found nap time can be adjusted to fit your little one's needs. At a certain point, children do better with having an afternoon nap instead of the morning one. I think your little one might sleep better after lunch. A morning full of activity and then quiet time after lunch is a good routine...If you are putting him into daycare for the school year, this is what may work for the daycare provider. I know a lot of daycares will put everyone down for quiet time after lunch or separate the youngest from the older kids who do not necessarily sleep. I would ask everyone to lay down and let their bodies rest before going to play again so that the house was quiet for the toddlers and infants to get to sleep while I cleaned up the kitchen, sometimes the older kids would fall asleep also.

I had this happen with my first son. I personally don't think it's a matter of what time of day he's napping, but rather him being able to get himself to sleep. I was home with my son until he was 7 1/2 months and always rocked him... never had the heart to let him "cry it out" or get himself to sleep, and I noticed that it became especially challenging when he was able to sit up. They don't know how to lay themselves down, and it added a whole other challenge. You may just have to let him cry it out (go in from time to time which longer periods eventually)- but this is something I plan to do differently with my twins when they get to that stage.

Good luck!

I know how you feel...this is so frustrating!
I'm guessing if he knows how to crawl, he can figure out (pretty quickly) how to lay himself down.

When I ran into this problem with my older child, (when she was about 10 months) my pediatrician said to put the baby in her crib for her nap, and leave her in there for the time she normally naps, even if she doesn't sleep. She said "She'll get the idea that it's time to rest, very quickly". She also said do it now, before she can call "Mamma!" - which breaks your heart even more. We didn't do it, we felt it was mean, and continued to soothe her to sleep. But now I have a 3 year old who still won't nap without my helping her!

With my one year old, I have a different tactic. We do the nap routine (2 books, some nursing), I put her in her crib for nap, and she may cry for 5 minutes, but then she lays down and snuggles in for a nap. On some days, I have left her in there for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to "rest" before getting her up.

Hope this helps.

Hi S.,

I agree that maybe he is just ready for an afternoon nap, but I will also tell you that my little ones have taken a morning and afternoon nap until they are about 1 1/2 years old, so I doubt that is it. He should be able to lay himself down...if he can sit up, he can probably lay down. I hate to say this to you, but part of the problem is that Dad rocks him to sleep at bedtime and he is getting old enough to realize this and wants it all the time, although it is very possible to have it both ways if you follow through on just putting him to bed (after you make sure all of his needs are taken care of) and walk away and let him go to sleep. It may take about 3 - 4 days, but he will soon be falling asleep all by himself.

C.