Napping - Cornelia, GA

It might be helpful to darken the room when he is taking a nap. I did this with my sons and it worked really well. Fresh air is great too. Sometimes my sons napped in their strollers while I walked. (they could lay flat). A little soothing music worked a treat, Baby Mozart. Sleep is so important for you and the baby. Keep trying, you'll get there it's new for him too.

I had to let my son sleep on me until about 12 weeks of age. He slept longer and better. I also bought the No-Cry Sleep Solution Book. It said 1. lay the baby down when he is awake but sleepy 2. use a pacifier (helps with SIDS and oral satisfaction) 3. put white noise in the room, a radio tuned to staic, for example.

Are you breast or bottle feeding? I tried to breast feed but was unable to, so my son was hungry, I was having trouble with him sleeping at night. If you are breast feeding you might want to seek advice about supplementing with a bottle. It was so hard for me to give up breast feeding, but I had no choice, and I am so happy to know my son is getting enough food.

If neither works, just remember every baby is different, and he is sleeping well at night!!! That is good!

Hello, I also have a new born,12 wks as of Friday. This is my 2nd child and this one just started taking 1 1/2hr naps. When the get started on cereal @ 4 mths is when they really start napping. Good luck! Your not alone!

A friend of mine is having a similar problem. This is going to sound crazy but she found tha tit worked very well. She started putting her diaper changing pad that you put on your table in her babies crib and laid the baby on the pad. I guess b/c it curves up her baby felt more secure and started takign naps during the day and even sleeping longer at night. For my son I played a cd of instrumental nursery rhymes. It worked very well. He used it until he was 1. I hope this helps.

My son is 13 months old now but it was really hard to train him to take naps in his crib at 2 months old. My husband and I felt like 8 weeks was the hardest age and we later read that 6-8 weeks is when babies' central nervous systems are becoming more alert and so expect lots of crying! Anyway...I don't have any easy answers for you except to say that your goal is to train him to fall asleep on his own. This involves letting him cry so that he will learn to fall asleep on his own. This is so hard to do!! I would cry just listening to my baby cry but I would try to let him cry in increments of time...like 10 min, then 20 min, etc. I found that it didn't help if I went in and patted him (although it often helped me feel better so I would do it). Also, you might want to try shortening his wake time, the time between when he wakes up and goes down for his next nap. At 2 months, my son was tired after about 1 hour. If he stayed up longer, he got "over-tired" and then definitely had trouble going down for his nap.

I am glad your son is doing so well at night, though! That is a blessing! Don't be worried about your son, it sounds like he is perfectly normal and he is not sleep deprived if he is getting good night sleep!

I would not let your baby 'cry it out'. Babies cry for a reason and we should respond to that especially at 2 months old! Sometimes when new little ones do this it's because of something else. Is he having stomach problems, like gas, etc. That can be painful and make it hard to nap. If you are nursing, cut out the cow's milk. If he is on formula...cow's milk formula, then that would be the culprit as well.

Another thing to think about is what position he sleeps in. My children (I'm pregnant with my 5th) liked sleeping on their sides and not their backs. I got those wedges to keep them on their side. Then, when I felt they were okay, I let them sleep on their tummies....they really slept good then.

Another thing that happened with my children, is my boys slept fine with naps and nighttime in their bed, while my girl did NOT. She just wouldn't sleep in the crib. But, she slept great in our bed. That was the only way that she would actually get some sleep. She needed that extra bonding/cuddling to get herself to sleep. Sometimes I would actually lay down beside her and then once she was about asleep or asleep (since you are a first time mom, you can get the sleep too), I would leave. It worked every time!

Well, good luck with your precious little one!

Here are a few things that have worked with us. We have our children on an eat, play sleep routine. Which means when they wake you feed them then there is awake time then lay them down for a nap (awake) there is no feeding right before nap or feeding so they fall asleep. At 2 months my daughter ( now 3 months) had about an hour and a half to 2 hours of wake time then would sleep for about an hour to an hour and a half. then do it all over again. At 3 months she is going to a longer time between feeding so we are adjusting to having longer awake times and fewer naps though they are generally longer now. Also we have a fan in her room (which is our room right now) to act as a white noise maker and block out sounds from my 3 yr old. I believe these suggestions works b/c when you feed first it gives them time to go to the bathroom and burp or spit up get all that gas out you know? Plus when you lay them down awake they know ok Im here going to sleep alone, when your with your baby rocking or feeding to sleep when they wake up your not there and its a "rude awakening". They may cry several minutes when you lay them down awake but we all need to learn to get our selves to sleep sooner or later, trust me it only gets harder as they can cry the word mommy! Your the mom you know whats best, I cant tell you how many times after hearing my daughter cry for 10 minutes or so I was ready to go get her but waited and sure enough shed fall asleep. If you dont wanna do all that, when your baby wakes up after only 10 minutes try to burp them then lay him back down, but this routine has worked well for both my daughters and my 3 yr old still takes a 2 hour nap every day, you'll need that time as much as him. Also I suggest having him sleep in his own bed to prevent problems later, does he sleep with you at night? That might be another reson he wakes from naps b/c your not there. All the luck to you, I remember I was pretty nervous with my first, a little crying is ok for him.

I read every sleep book on the market when my daughter was an infant--she was a horrible sleeper!! (She is almost 2 now and a GREAT sleeper since about 6 months old) The only one that worked was Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child. He does advocate the cry it out method, but not until the child is 4 months old (I couldn't do it until 6 months). In the meantime, his philosophy (which I've found to be true) is to put them to sleep BEFORE they are tired. When they start rubbing eyes, yawning etc, they are already overtired and it's harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. At your baby's age, he should follow this type of schedule: Wake up for the day, put down for nap about 1 hour later, wake up from nap 1, put down for nap #2 2 hours later, wake up from nap#2, put down for nap #3 2 hours later, wake up from nap #3, put to bed 2-3 hours later. The book is hard to read, but worth it--it saved our lives and our sanity and turned our grumpy sleep-deprived baby into a well-rested delight almost overnight!

Have you tried sleeping with him? My first was such a bear with sleep. The only way he napped well was if I held him. So I did. He was my first so I could. I just watched a show on TV or would cuddle him next to me and take a nap as well.

As another idea, I always played music for my kids while they slept during the day. It would drown out any sharp noises in the house and as I always played the same music each time it kind of signaled that it was naptime after a while.

Are you sure he's in a deep sleep when you're putting him down?? Like, is he not moving at all & you can hardly hear his breathing for at least 5 minutes? Also, my 2 month old sleeps a whole lot better when she is swaddled.

You may also want to consider the fact that it is too bright in the room and/or noises are waking him up. My almost 2 year old is a super light sleeper & didn't nap well at all, but we did not figure this out until he was about 6 mos old. Now if I am pretty quiet with no loud talking on the phone or bangs or something he'll sleep a whole lot better. I know a lot of moms will cringe when I say all that, but I really was not tip-toeing around until he was 6 mos & it helps him sleep so much better.

L., My son was just like that. Some kids just don't sleep in big chunks at the beginning. My son is now 5 months and I went through this. He is very noise sensitive, and really has trouble sleeping if he is OVERtired. If he is asleep when you put him down he will wake up as soon as he realizes you are not holding him anymore. You can have him fall asleep with you.. but make sure that he slightly wakes up when you put him down so he knows how to put himself to sleep. This has worked very well with my son, so has putting him down when his little eyes first turn red. He will not start rubbing his eyes for a couple months for you, but when he does you can use that as the signal to place him in his crib.

L., I agree with Meredith, it takes a lot of patience and not allowing your life to rule your baby but letting your baby rule your life. (only for a few more months) Make sure that he has the opportunity to sleep. I am not a stay at home kind of a mom so for me I would let my kids sleep at home the first nap, then (they were very good about sleeping in the car or in the stroller) go out but give them the chance to fall asleep and stay asleep for about 45 min to an hour for the second and sometimes 3rd naps and then home again to sleep in their bed for the last nap. Your baby will really thrive from a good routine. The book that Meredith mentioned is very good and can help give you ideas. Both of my kids liked the roll of the stroller and the car so I used them to help me get them to sleep. Sound and light can be a factor but usually babies can sleep anywhere. Letting a 2 month old cry it out is very extreme as is letting them sleep while you hold them all day, I believe in parenting in moderation. Good luck, sleep is extremely important for a child.

My son fought naps for quite a while and I know how frustrating that can be. I would strongly suggest purchasing an Ergo carrier or a sling. My son slept beautifully in them and I was able to still do what I needed to do. Sometimes it is nice just to cuddle and relax with them, but sometimes you need to be up doing things, and they are able to just sleep right on you. It was a lifesaver for me. Even my husband wears him now when we are out and about and he needs a nap.

Hope that helps!

Have you tried to let him cry it out? I finally had to do that and now he is great and doesn't cry anymore. My son was like that at 2 months and now at 3 months he will take 2 to 3 hour naps.
I would also lay him down as soon as you see him yawn or rub his eyes, even if he fusses a bit.

I had the same thing happen to my now 22mo old when she was 2-3mo. I would let her cry it out for a good 30min and she never gave up. For me the solution was to keep putting her down at the same time and same place every day and she did get use to it. Just like a bed time, you gotta set a nap time. Good luck to you and your tired lil boy

I can't believe I'm saying this, as I'm always recommending the Ferber method for sleeping through the night... but I don't think I'd let him cry it out for napping at such a young age. My son also did not nap well as an infant. Keep experimenting. White noise might help) keep the bathroom fan on while he slept!). Maybe a baby swing. He also liked to fall asleep in the baby bjorn (front carrier). Experiment with places, positions (mine also liked sleeping on their side, and I used rolled up receiving blankets to keep them there). This too will pass and one day you'll have him on a nice schedule.

My daughter was a catnapper at this age. My pediatrician just recommended letting her sleep wherever she was, swing, bouncy seat, as long as she was safe. Eventually she got on a more regular schedule and slept with two naps but that took almost 7 months to get there. Your guys is still to little for a strict schedule. So let him sleep when he can and be thankful that he sleeps at night. Since he sleeps so well at night, he may also be using the daytime to catch up on feeding.

Hey L.,
What position are you letting him sleep in?
Our newborn would only sleep on her tummy, and I know the whole SIDS thing is out there again, but with proper watch and nothing in the crib with him he'll be fine. I'd try putting him on his tummy during the day, if it helps him sleep. That way your awake to keep an eye on his position.
Good Luck

My daughter would not nap for very long either, but she slept well at night. I figured out that she had silent reflux (no major vomitting), and that it was hurting her after laying down for a while. She was so tired at night that she slept through the pain, but wiggled around a lot. If you notice any of this, ask the doctor for baby Zantac. After my daughter started on it at 2 months, she started to take great naps and went from a total of 9 hrs sleep per day to 13 hours. What a life-saver!
Good luck - and I hope you're able to get some sleep in there, too.