I have a 14 month old that since he was a newborn never took naps till this date and he sleeps around 6 hours at night and many times less then that, I'm barely functioning while he's active and doesn't need as much sleep, what can I do to get him to nap and sleep more, I tried Cd's, singing ,holding and snuggling and it hasn't work and he refuses to sleep in his crib. I've taked him to the several doctors and they said he's fine not to worry.
I hate to say this, but maybe your son just doesn't need the sleep?
My brother NEVER slept. He still doesn't to this day.
As a baby, if he slept 7 hours, my mom was thankful. His norm was 5 1/2-6. He didn't nap either, maybe 15 minutes here or there, but there was just too much work to do to be bothered with shut eye. ;-)
Hang in there. I'm sure you are barely making it. Lack of sleep is as rough as it gets! Good luck!
First of all, let me say upfront that I don't know how healthy or not this is...it's just info for you.
My brother-in-law's oldest son is high functioning autistic (I'm not suggesting your child is...this little boy you may never know had an issue at all!) and he never slept and only took "power naps" if at all. He was not diagnosed until age 4 or so. He has two younger siblings who are NOT autistic but model their older brother so as a result, none of the three kids sleep very well. Their doctor recently suggested melatonin supplements for the oldest but they use it with all of their kids and it helps them go to sleep at night easily and sleep longer (I guess). Melatonin is a naturally occuring hormone (I believe) so it's not like it's Lunesta or anything. Maybe you could look into using something like that just to establish a good sleep schedule at night and then wean him off and see if the schedule sticks!
Another vote to read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. Not only will you learn techniques on how to get your kid napping and sleeping (which he totally needs for proper physical, emotional, and behavioral growth and development), but you will also learn about infant/baby sleep patterns, habits, and how to best help him.
Could you try signing up for a class that gets him active with other kids. Maybe that will tire him out a bit.
Every child is different and not every method works but I found the methods in the book "healthy sleep habits, happy child" to be the most helpful. The supernanny's sleep seperation technique was also helpful.
