No Naps!

Hi S.,
Im 34 and im a new mom also..i have a 6 month old daughter she takes three naps a day. What i started doing is just putting her in her crib at her nap times and she would cry and throw a fit but,she got the hint eventually. Try putting on some soft music to relax her that worked like a charm for me. You could also try the soothie when she is napping,i think that once she gets used to napping you shouldn't have a problem anymore.

M.!

She has no clue and needs to be guided by you. You might try one of those white noise machines. Turn it on while nursing to go down for the nap. The white noise might help her stay asleep. Babies' sleep patterns change so often during the first year, fluctuating with growth spurts and new awareness of what's going on around her. This will pass...in the mean time enjoy the snuggle time!

I understand your plight. We're so anxious to have the kids in a routine so we can get back to some type of routine ourselves.

But look at it this way: many parents of infants are ACHING for the baby to sleep through the night. You're at least getting a night's sleep. It's the stuff during the day that still has to be worked on and there may not be an easy solution other than patience. They're forever changing as they grow. So some things will get neglected because of it. And sometimes it may take letting the baby cry while you put in a load of wash. Sometimes you have to be a little greedy just to go to the bathroom, even when you know the baby's bawling. You do what you have to. If the baby's content in her crib playing with eye catching crib toys, you got it made in the shade!
You could try making a daily schedule. Lots of attention time till it's too much stimulation and she falls asleep (or sheer boredom). Then you go about some of your stuff.

My daughter took 15 minute naps about every 2 hours for quite awhile. We called her a power napper, she would wake up at 6-7am take naps at 9am, 11am, 2pm (hour nap), 5pm, 7pm and then fall asleep for the night about 9pm and would sleep most of the night. They sleep when they are tired. I recomend not forcing her to sleep at certain times since it will just stress you and her out. As much as I hate to tell you this and you probably have already figured it out, YOU ARE ON HER SCHEDULE NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND LOL Maybe she only needs 15 minutes. You will know when its time to start getting rid of certain naps during the day. I tried taking my daughter's 7pm nap away from her, I thought she would sleep threw the night but strange as it may be she slept worse bcuz she was so tired and that meant I slept worse lol. Good luck, you will figure it out just dont stress about it.

Hi S.! Have you tried a sound machine? They are sold everywhere now - they usually have choices like ocean waves, white noise, babbling stream, etc. We bought one for our older children when they were young and it worked like magic! Now we use it for our 1 year old, and she has always been a pretty good sleeper. I think it blocks out other noises, plus lulls them to sleep. (I am stuck on having a fan running in our bedroom at night...) Good luck!

Hi S.,
My boys were not good nappers either. It took them both until a year before they took one 2-3 hour nap. My boys also would sleep really well at night like your daughter. It was frusterating during the day because it made it hard to get anything done but I was always grateful that nights were good. Sorry not much help. Good luck.
Chris

At 6 months old my daughter wasn't taking real naps either. I was breastfeeding as well and she would fall asleep eating like yours but wouldn't stay asleep. At her 6 mo. check up her doctor said she should take 2 naps. One about 2 hours after she gets up and then one in the afternoon. She said it would take practice. What we did was just make sure the room was dark, we put on a cd of lullabies and laid her down. It didn't take long at all for her to learn that it was quiet time and time to sleep. She's 9 months old now. She's been sleeping 10-12 hours straight at night for probably 5 months now but she also takes two 1-3 hour naps a day. Good luck with you. I really think it is just a learning process.

I feel for you! It wasn't until my daughter was 7 months old that she began to take naps with regularity - one in the morning and one in the afternoon. They started out about 45 minutes each and now that she is crawling and cruising, they are usually 1 to 1.5 hours long each.

My advice is to read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby." It's the best book on children's sleep cycles, natural rhthyms, etc. It's written by a pediatrician who has done massive research on children's sleep patterns. Lots of great advice and troubleshooting in there.

Hang in there!

Hi there S..

My daughter had trouble with naps too.... and to top it off she woke SEVERAL times during the night. She just wasn't a good sleeper at all.

Keep in mind that if she is falling asleep during nursing, she's getting some shut eye. ;-) So SHE thinks she doesn't need a nap. eek! Do what you can to try and keep her awake during nursing. Remove your breast, keep a cool cloth near to wipe her face, change her diaper... anything to keep her alert while you're nursing.

That's one thing. The other thing is when you notice she is getting cranky.... try to put her down. Calmly say 'it's nap time'. And then go through some sort of routine to get her down for a nap. I used to have to sign to my daughter. I will say, it was a looooong time before she was regularly taking naps. Seems like I just got her on a 3 nap a day schedule and then she was ready to cut one out. Now she takes 1 nap a day. (she's 15 months old)

6 months is a tough age. Their world is really opening up. They can see farther then just 12 inches in front of their face, their hearing is better... everything is coming into focus and it's like HEY! There is a super cool world out there to see! I can't miss one minute!

Really, the best thing is just keep at it. Keep trying to get her on a schedule. It will happen. Consistency is key. Eventually she will fall into the routine and will take her naps. I too felt like every day was fight...but we stuck with it and it DID work out. Hang in there. Be consistent. Keep the daily routine as close to the same each day as possible and she will fall into it. Then once you have the routine set and she 'gets tired' at nap times...then you can change things up and what not.

Oh! What also worked for me was to make sure I gave her a lot of interaction and play time together. It wore her out!

You're blessed to have a baby who sleeps this much at night, and good for you for breastfeeding! You're giving her the very best gift you can! The immunity-boosting effects of nursing alone are worth any inconvenience!

Everything sounds normal to me! She's becoming more aware of the world during the day. Babies change constantly and are quite unpredictable so I wouldn't expect any kind of schedule - now or ever! Just go with the flow and respond to her cues. You're doing great!

S., yes this can be very tiring, however, i had 3 children, and the first one i worked hard to take naps, the second almost as hard, by the time i had my third one, i realized i should not push or work so hard for something that they may not need, we are all different, my oldest slept through the night as does your child, getting up at 6/630 is not bad, her grumpiness may not be due to lack of sleep, if you are totally breastfeeding, she may need more food, maybe in the morning she wants a bit of cereal, instead of sleep, she may not be full enough to put her to sleep, its ok, learn your baby and its real needs, we as parents live for that nap, and we need it do, it gives us down time from our baby, so we usually work hard for it, but just realize not every child needs a nap, just like you are different from others so can your child, look for the signs of being tired, instead of assuming try other things, and dont worry about a nap, your child will let you know what they need, since she just ate at 630 she may not of gotten enough, as they get older milk is no longer a need, its ok to subsitute a feeding for some other food, you can still breastfeed, all other times throughout the day, be happy , and enjoy life, and its ok if they dont have naps, especially if doing well in other areas, try it without it, and see how she is, maybe she will nap later in the day, but sounds like you need a break too, so take some time, hire a baby sitter and go out without kids, for even a half hour, you will feel better, take care of yourself, and enjoy your children, soon they too will be grown , D. s

Ohh, I feel your pain! My daughter is a month older than yours and we just crossed this "naps are for chumps" hurdle. It's a developmental thing - her little brain is firing on all cylinders and it's hard for her to calm down to nap. It drove me nuts! What helped my daughter was to try to get her to nap before I noticed she was overtired. For instance, if she's usually acting sleepy at about 12:30 or so (rubbing her eyes, yawning, cranky) I would take note of that and the next day I'd bring her into the room to nurse/snuggle at about 12:15. That way she had time to wind down and relax before realizing how tired she was.

If you have a boppy you could try lying that down in her crib. Since she's used to the snuggle of being nursed, the loose feeling of the crib might make her stir. Also, try lying down a heating pad to mimic the warmth of your body. I know that when I'm tired, crawling into the cold sheets on the cold bed doesn't help me get to sleep; I prefer a warm bed and blankets. ;)

Good luck! Hang in there, it DOES get better. I promise.

Hi S., I agree with Deb that maybe she is hungry instead of just tired. If you haven't started on baby food yet, my doctor said that 6 months was when to start baby food (I actually started earlier than that by about a month). I still nursed at all other times. This is also a good time to start a sippy cup (when they start eating food). If they can sit up by themselves, then put a sippy of juice ( I think that they should only get 2-4 ounces a day at this age) at the table for them to play with... I used 2 ounces and diluted it with 2 oz water, but she won't drink it all, so maybe 1oz and 1 oz water. If you start this now, it will be a blessing when you start to wean her, whenever that may be.

Mine took 2 naps a day at this age, one at about 9 or 10 and the other at 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Good luck.

Hi there, at 6.5 months old perhaps you should try keeping her up after her morning feeding and then put her down again around 9:30-10 for her morning nap. I work outside the home, so the schedule was forced on my kids, but they all got up at 6:30 to eat and then got dressed, play, nap, eat lunch, etc....it helps to get them on a schedule so they will fall into regular naps. At least it worked for me.

Hi S.,
Have you tried giving her rice cereal mixed with a little breast milk?(that is if your nursing)or even baby food mixed in it.
That may make her little tummy full and she will sleep better. That always worked with my kids.