Naps...anyone?

Erin - posted on 06/24/2009

My daughter's almost 5 months and has always been a TERRIBLE napper. She sleeps 10-12 hrs at night, which is great, but I've had to work extra hard at getting her to nap during the day. If she doesn't get enough sleep she's then so overtired and cranky it's a nightmare to get her down for the night (not to mention the crying jags all afternoon because she's so tired she doesn't know which way is up).
Getting her on a nap schedule has been my saving grace - I only allow her to be awake for 2 - 2.5 hrs before putting her down again. By doing this she's not restless yet from being too sleepy, but tired enough that she can go to sleep with a little encouragement (mobile on, pat on back etc). If I leave it any longer than that she will fight sleep and will only nap if I'm holding her.
Even with this routine my daughter will usually only sleep 40-50mins at a time (approx one sleep cycle), but she will do this 3-4 times a day.

Jennifer - posted on 06/24/2009

I'm responding to this kind of late. I am a first time mom and have a 5 month old and she only cat naps as well. On the dot she wakes up screaming 20-25 minutes after she falls asleep. We can't get her to go back to sleep even if she is still tired. She sometimes will be happy, other times she will be cranky the rest of the day. She also sleeps 10 hours at night. However, I am going crazy because she gets overtired if she goes a day or so without adequate naps. She will have screaming fits for up to 2 hours and then she will crash. I have tried everything and I can't keep her on a schedule. It also doesn't help that she is at daycare all day. If she gets good sleep she is the happiest baby ever. But when she is fussy all day I can't get anything done.

Stephanie - posted on 06/11/2009

I have a cat napper also. Usually my little one would nap from 9am-11am and then from 1:30-3:30pm and sometimes from 4:30-6pm. Not any longer. He barely gets 30 mins per day. But he has always slept at night time. He is just doesn't want to miss anything. So we have to keep him entertained which is fine with me as long as he is not fussy and is happy and sleeps at night.

Melissa - posted on 06/11/2009

I used to stress over naps...now I just go with it. If your daughter sleeps all night be thankful for that (although, I totally understand you could use the daytime naps to get things done). When my daughter was 2-3 months old I think she was getting overtired which made it hard for her to fall asleep for naps. Once I got her on a pretty strict schedule she started sleeping really well. I think at 3 months she was still at 4 or sometimes 3 naps a day..usually only 45 minutes each. If you're interested, here a link about how much babies need to sleep during the day. It also gives some great information on encouraging your child to sleep. http://newmamascorner.blogspot.com/2009/...

Tracy - posted on 06/10/2009

my 3 month old is that way...she only tends to nap if I am holding her, which my two year old doesn't like very much. I have learned to live with her cap naps because she sleeps very well at night. If it doesn't bother her much, then she's probalbly okay. They only need like 14.5 hours a day of sleep. She's probably getting more than you realize.

Cathy - posted on 06/10/2009

My son does the exact same thing. He is a little over 2 months old and has recently just started napping very little. When I put him down he cries then when he finally settles down in 30-45minutes he is awake again wanting to play. He sleeps pretty good at night..around 6-8 hours before his night time feeding.

Leanne - posted on 06/10/2009

Yes, my 10 week old is exactly the same! She will only nap for maximum 30 minutes at a time during the day and then wakes up and is alert and wants attention! She sleeps really well at night and will often go 8-10 hours straight so I feel very blessed on that front. I think as long as they are sleeping well at night and she doesn't seem overly cranky during the day they are fine.



The only thing I could suggest is make sure your little one is used to background noise so she can get used to sleeping in any environment. I often have the washing machine, dishwasher, TV or radio going whilst my little one is napping, so she gets used to noises and will learn to sleep through.



Hope this helps!

Amy - posted on 06/10/2009

Hey Tori. my youngest is now five months old and she's a cat-napper. i'm not sure when it started but it's been a while. it seemed that as soon as she could see well enough to look around, things caught her attention and she slept less and less. it doesn't seem to bother her either and she sleeps well at night. i just try to keep her entertained as much as i can so she's not fussy.