Getting my baby to nap

Jessica - posted on 03/05/2010

Oh I forgot to add- until 4 or 5 months, he WOULD NOT nap anywhere other than his swing.

Jessica - posted on 03/05/2010

My son was the same way up until he was 5, almost 6 months old. He was a terrible sleeper- woke up a zillion times a night, and would only nap in the day for 30 minutes at a time. He was soooo overtired and cranky constantly. NOTHING I did helped. 3 months is still pretty early, and honestly though some babies sleep well that young, a lot of the time I think it just takes a while for them to get to the point developmentally where their sleep is more regulated. At around 4-5 months I finally decided to at the very least be consistent about when I put him down for a nap- I based his nap times on when he seemed to naturally be sleepiest in the day. But it still took another month or two for him to nap regularly. I know it seems like it will never get better but it will! I can't believe my son would only sleep for half an hour; now he takes two 1.5 or 2 hour naps a day (he's 8 months)

Gail - posted on 03/05/2010

omg... i have to do that too putting soming over his face....but it does work

Courtney - posted on 03/05/2010

I just let my son cry it out for a few days, and i learned that he goes to sleep right away if i put a receiving blanket on his face.

Gail - posted on 03/05/2010

my son was the same and it wasnt till 4-5 months i managed to start getting him down for naps in his cot.



Before that i had to rely on his bouncy chair, and litially bounce him to sleep.

Leigh - posted on 03/04/2010

I have the exact same problem with my almost 4 month old. I just started putting him down around 2 hours after he last woke up - all day. Did it for the first time today and every time (four times) he actually fell asleep. Only for 1/2 hour each time, but it is better than normal. I'll let you know how it goes.

Kari - posted on 03/04/2010

He looks pretty tired in your cute profile pic...lol! I had the exact same problem, my son would sleep very well at night and would only nap if he was sleeping on me and I nursed him to sleep, he would wake up as soon as I tried to move him too and he has never taken a soother. At four months I decided it had to stop, so I would lay down beside him and nurse him to sleep and then sneak away. That did work for awhile and I started to get him down on more of a nap schedule. By 6 months though, he had become more aware and would wake up as soon as I left. My friend suggested I try the cry it out method so I did. I would put him down in his crib and would check on him 5min, then 10 min, then 15 min etc. According to the book I read, you're supposed to do this for up to an hour, and if they don't fall asleep then you take them out of the crib and wait till they are tired and start again. My little guy never cried for more than 20 minutes usually and after about a week of this, he was napping regularly and has been ever since. I was completely against using the cry it out method, but it really worked for my son and I. I know it definitely isn't for everyone, and I'm not trying to push it on you, but I just wanted to share what worked for me. By the time I started it with my son he was 6 1/2 months old, I know it is much harder to try at 3 months, and some people might say it is too young. Good luck!