Does anybody have problems with day naps?

Jessica - posted on 08/20/2010

my little girl fights sleep and smeddays she will cry and cry and nothing will work till she falls asleep it happens more when there is stuff going on but sometimes when its just me and her to.

Crystal - posted on 08/19/2010

i have trouble with day naps, my daughter will go down for and hour if im lucky and then be all grizzly until i get her up but luckily at night i have no problem

Aimee - posted on 07/19/2010

my daughter is 3months and wont sleep during the day unless i cuddle up to her and even then she will fight it but at night i put her in her crib and she will go straight to sleep

Leona - posted on 07/19/2010

Im loving circle of moms because everything im going through other mums are aswell. My girl is 2 and a half months old. Sometimes she only has 2 half hour sleeps a day and today she hasnt slept at all and she is still awake and been in a bad mood all day. She gets so worked up by the end of the day shes screaming and i cant do anything with her. Its also hard to get her to eat once she cranky. I have a swing and a bouncer but neither work. We also go driving but she only drifts between sleeping and screaming. There is always something wrong it seems. First she stored her wind it took ages to get on top of that, then a double ear infection kept her screaming for weeks then her 8 week shots turned her feral, the light at the end of the tunnel seems to just get further and further away. Id like to think that she will get better with age and i hope the light isnt to far away.

Gauri - posted on 07/16/2010

Hi Amanda. Yes I do have some kind of a routine for her. Some days if she naps in morning afternoon..then she is more awake in evening. But if she has had less sleep in daytime..then she pretty much will remain sleepy 7pm onwards. She wakes up to drink milk and then falls into a light sleep again. Its hard to have a routine with her yet..because she does not sleep and wake at predictable times..but what you said sounds great. Thats what I will be aiming for. Thanks for your help.

Leslie - posted on 07/15/2010

That is exactly what my wee thing did from about 2 months to 3. After establishing a firm bed time routine at about 2.5 months I decided last week that she had to start having naps... actually her fussing in the evening and not being able to stay awake until bed time forced me to the point. So now I am putting her down for naps every two hours after she last woke up. I rock her gently until she is dozing and then put her in bed. I let her cry until she falls asleep and only go in if the crying lasts longer than 15 min. I also let her fuss for a while when she first wakes up (if it it was less than an hour of sleep). This has made all the difference in the worl. She now naps for at least an hour to an hour and a half twice a day, with a shor nap in the early evening. We are still working out the kinks... but she is so much more rested and happy. Her mind seems to have made huge leaps and bonds too now that she has the energy to figure out things like rolling over, talking and sitting!

Amanda - posted on 07/14/2010

@ Kelly Knowlton: Sierra has slept in her tummy since Day One. The nurses in the hospital really didn't make a big deal out of it, but the Healthy & Home nurses (to check on you and baby once you're home - thank you, free Canada health care!) made a huge deal out of it. Tummy sleeping makes her feel safer, I think, and she's still in our room in her bassinet so I'm not worried about SIDS. And, she can lift her head 90 degrees (she was lifting it 30degrees soon after birth) and roll over, which helps me not to worry about her. All of my siblings were tummy sleepers, and so was my husband and his siblings, and we're fine.
BTW, she LOVES tummy time, I honestly think her choice of sleeping position helped!

Amanda - posted on 07/14/2010

Our daughter Sierra is 3 months old now, and hasn't napped during the day much ever since she was born, so I feel your pain...hard to get anything done!!!
The upside is that she sleeps all the way through the night, I can count on 8 hours but she'll sleep up to 12...9pm to 9am, hooray!
She's currently napping for 30-45 mins, then she'll be up for 1 1/2 hours. I find she falls asleep on my shoulder while I watch TV (then I put her into bed), or she likes to nap in her carseat, as long as it's in the car and the car's moving. I've also noticed that when she won't nap on my shoulder, if I go into the bedroom (which is always dark) and stand there and rock back and forth, that she gets tired of looking around and puts her head on my shoulder, then her eyes close. Sometimes she wants to cuddle in my arms instead, with her soother, but that happens less often.
Also, do you have a bedtime routine for her? When Sierra hits her tired/fussy point at 8:30pm, I ask her is she's sleepy, then I tell her "Ok, let's change your bum, put on your jammies, read a story, cuddle and have a bottle, and sing songs, and then it's time for ni-night." I find that when she knows what to expect, she settles into sleep better. The routine does change, sometimes we throw in a bath, or we forego the story, or we add a little massage time, but as long as I tell her what's coming next, she's more mellow.
Good luck!!

Gauri - posted on 07/14/2010

Thanks all for your wonderful replies. I got a whole bunch of great ideas. I am getting better at dealing with less sleep. Now I just have to deal with guilt of not being able to spend enough time with my 3 year old son !! :)

Gauri - posted on 07/14/2010

How is it going for you Natika ? Its still the same for me. Some days I get lucky and she may take a long continues nap on over an hour.

Katie - posted on 07/14/2010

I let my little guy sleep when he wants and be awake when he wants during the day. Occasionally he is tired but is fighting sleep, such as today. Today he only wanted to sleep if he got to cuddle with me (makes my heart smile). Usually a swing or vibrating bouncy seat works and sometimes I do have to put him down on his belly. I only do that if I'm going to be sitting right next to him checking on him frequently. We have a very consistent and firm nighttime routine that works well for us, though. He is almost 12 weeks old (Thursday) but was 4 weeks early. I think it's OK to let him do what he wants as far as sleeping during the day (aside from getting overtired). I was told by my pediatrician that you can't start a true schedule with your baby until they are 4 months.

Derian - posted on 07/14/2010

It must be an april baby thing! my daughter does the same thing she'll take one pretty long nap in the morning but after that I'm lucky to get one or two hours. I usually just lay her down with me about mid afternoon and take a nap with her and after that she's awesome until about 10 or so when it's bath and bed time.

Ashley - posted on 07/14/2010

I was having trouble - then I let hr sleep on my body pillow (I basically pulled it into the shape of a boppy) she'll take 1-3 hour naps!

Naomi - posted on 07/14/2010

We also have difficulty with daytime naps. With our first son, it took several months to get the nap thing down. The best things to try are making the room dark, putting them down in the same place every day for naps, and following the same routine that you use before bed. Also, pay attention to her tired signals. I've found that when I put my little guy down when he's yawned a couple of times, we have a better chance of him sleeping than if we wait a bit.

Audrey - posted on 07/14/2010

my daughter has just gone 3 months and she was refusing to sleep during the day unless she was being held someone on here told me to get a bouncer that vibrates and plays music to help her sleep and it has been the best thing and the only thing to get her to sleep during the day as she wouldn't sleep in a swing or in the car and also if your little one plays up of a night try bed time bath it helps baby relax it has been a life saver my daughter has gone from sleeping 20-30mins at a time to sleeping from10:30pm to 8am and having 40min naps in the bouncer i hope you find something that works for your daughter also a routine with baby helps just takes time. goodluck.

Amanda - posted on 07/13/2010

well I hope this helps...my 3 month old naps 3-4 times per day about an hour each, with an occasional long nap once a week or so, BUT my 2 year old did the same thing as your LO when she was 3 months. She would only nap here and there for 30 min. but she did outgrow it and eventually settled into a longer morning nap and an afternoon nap by the time she was about 5 or 6 months. it seems like once you get used to one routine, they change on you! Good luck!

Debbie-Jo - posted on 07/13/2010

Have you tried using a dummy? Do you use a wrap?

My son is 3 months and I feed, play, change, wrap give him his dummy and put him down an he's out within 5 mins and he sleeps for 2-3 hours as he feeds 4 hourly on the dot usually.

At nights I also give him half a feed then bath play other half feed and he goes to sleep while im burping him (luck I think) - hope this helps in some way for you.

Genna - posted on 07/12/2010

My son was like this as well. He would be so tired but fight sleep for naps everyday. I finally wrapped him a blanket,layed him on his side and gave him the pacifier dipped in gripe water and since then he goes down for naps so easily. I know it wasn't the gripe water but naps are a dream now and he even does two hours per nap.

Patricia - posted on 07/12/2010

same here my daughter is 2 and half months and some days she just wont sleep even if she is really tired or she would sleep like 5 minutes and wake up though she would sleep alot at night or else she would sleep 2-3 hours straight.its different everyday...

Megan - posted on 07/12/2010

I'm also strugglng with my 11 week old baby girl. She won't sleep for more than 45 minutes during the day then she's awake and won't go back. I've tried letting her cry but she works herself up to a point of hysterics, i've tried the swing and the vibrating bouncer, patting her, about the only thing that works is a cuddle and hard patting her bum til she goes to sleep in my arms then i put her back down. Problem is she's relying on this now and i'm trying to get her out of it. aaahhh, i'm glad i'm not alone but it makes it hard to get her in a routine.

Elisha - posted on 07/12/2010

Must be an April baby thing i'm lucky to get my son to sleep 15mins during the day but he goes right to bed at night.

Roxanne - posted on 07/12/2010

Keep her in a routine, thats way she knows whats happening and stick to your guns about it. My son does fight sleep but I let him grizzle/cry for 5-10min and then he finally gets the idea and falls asleep. His routine is feed change feed play cuddles sleep. If he doesnt sleep he gets his routine in reverse but with play time cut down to 5min. He hates it because I stick to my guns about what I want him to do so he gives up eventually.

Eraine - posted on 07/10/2010

Glad I am not alone. My daughter never sleeps during the day and no body we know has had this issue so they act as if she's a "bad baby". Its so encouraging to know there are others. : )

Kelly - posted on 07/08/2010

My son does NOT like to sleep no matter what time of the day it is. He gets oober overtired, and then it gets even more chaotic. I have a sling, and try to wear that to help him sleep, and it does, but only for about 30 minutes. His newest thing is only sleeping for 10 mins at a time. My husband and I have tried to let him cry, but then he works himself up to the point where he vomits (even after only crying for 5 mins). When we notice him rubbing his eyes, we know he needs to sleep, and we try to put him down to bed, and it's like he is suddenly awake and wants nothing to do with sleep. As much as we aren't supposed to do it, we did find if he is on his stomach, he is more likely to fall asleep. I think it's just a phase too, and we will all get through it with the help of Mr. Coffee. lol. Good luck ladies!

Vicky - posted on 07/07/2010

and yes, I recommend making sure you bath around the same time in the morning or arvo, clean nappie, feed, small play, then bouncer, oh! also, I have a pram that I walk around the house sometimes....just a few more suggestions :)

Vicky - posted on 07/07/2010

My best friend at the moment is a bouncer with calming vibrations, make sure you get one that "lays down" more, alot of the ones like the Bright Starts ones situp way too much for such a little baby, but if you have say a fisher & price one it ALWAYS does the trick and my sophie is very stubborn with day time sleeps.
I will also start up the vacuum if she wont sleep sometimes that does the trick but my recommendation is a rumbling bouncer, I also have her to the stage of daily soft poops (and she is bottlefed!) I put it down to the time in the rumbly chair loosening her bowels as she seems to poo after waking on the bouncer most of the time....also, I recommend a dummy - she wont lull herself as well if she doesn't have a dummy!!! :)
good luck!!! :) - just remember, you AREN'T alone!!!!! :) :)

Sarah - posted on 07/06/2010

Good to know that i'm not the only one with this situation. Getting past the first 40 min cycle seem to be a challange. I have been told and it works for some babies to after 20-30 mins give there check a gentle stroke so the stir not wake and they should go back down for another 40 mins, Give it a go hope it help.

Natiika - posted on 07/03/2010

Oh my god - I was just thinking the same thing with my son! He's been sleeping good at night, but during the day he's been fighting sleep and only stays asleep if I put him in his swing; however, yesterday that didn't even work. I would love for him to nap longer during the day and nap in either his cradle or crib. I don't know how to get him to stay asleep during the day. I'm even reading a book called 'Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child' (which is pretty good BTW), and the Dr. that wrote it says that young babies should not be 'allowed' to become overly tired. That between 1-2 hours of wakefulness we should learn to watch for their tired signs and begin a ritual of putting them to sleep before they become fussy. I've been trying it and have been having some success getting my son to sleep, but can not get him to stay asleep once I put him down...

Gauri - posted on 07/03/2010

Thanks Nicole. will try that too.

Gauri - posted on 07/03/2010

thanks lianne. will try that as well. I am hoping its just a phase that she will outgrow soon. :)

Gauri - posted on 07/03/2010

I do have a swing which she likes to sit in. Still does not help in keeping her asleep.

Gauri - posted on 07/03/2010

thanks a lot your replies. Yeah..maybe it is a phase like you said. Hopefully it will be over soon. :)

Lianne - posted on 07/03/2010

i have the same problem with my 2 month old son but i have found out that staying calm and and giving him a nappy change and play time durin his feed helps and also giving him a bath b4 giving him the rest of his bottle normally settles him. she could have a lot of wind that she or you cant bring up i recommend infacol since i have started giving this to my son he has brought up all of the wind he struggle to do with my help and is sleeping alot better if you have any more problems with your little girl send me a message :)

Lianne - posted on 07/03/2010

i have the same problem with my 2 month old son but i have found out that staying calm and and giving him a nappy change and play time durin his feed helps and also giving him a bath b4 giving him the rest of his bottle normally settles him. she could have a lot of wind that she or you cant bring up i recommend infacol since i have started giving this to my son he has brought up all of the wind he struggle to do with my help and is sleeping alot better if you have any more problems with your little girl send me a message :)

Nicole - posted on 07/03/2010

i used to until 2 days ago when i worked out a routine and let her cry as she was so tired she was over tired making her sleep less i know its hard but i let her cry it out and now she doesnt even cry when i put her to sleep its awesome its hard to start with but god its so worth your sanity and her sleeping! might be worth giving it a go!

Alysha - posted on 07/01/2010

I never really had an issue with my daughter not taking naps during the day and falling asleep at night.
Do you have a swing? If not, get one. It will be your best friend. When ever my daughter is fighting to sleep, I put her in that, turn on the music and let it go and after about 20 minutes she'll finally give in and is out for about a good 2 hrs.
I even put her in there before bed to help her a little bit because she fights it a little bit before bed. But being in there for a while put her out and not to mention an ounce more of formula in her bottle at either 7 or 8 and she's pretty much good for the entire night.

Susan - posted on 07/01/2010

My son is starting to fight sleep more and more. He still goes down for several naps a day, but he'll cry a lot before he will finally fall asleep. But he does sleep through the night. But I do notice with going spurts he sleeps and eats more. Then he will go through a non growing spurt and eats less and sleeps less.