napping

Katy - posted on 07/09/2010

Yes, my 10 1/2 month old does the same thing. Its scientifically proven that a baby that sleeps better during the day sleeps better at night. I always encourage my daughter to take 2 naps rather than 1 large one.

Julie - posted on 07/07/2010

Hi again Brianna,

just wanted to ask: is it every second day? that he misses his nap? I was talking to my mum and she told me that when the babies start to drop the second nap, they start with at least a day in between or more... so like every second day or every third day. Lo didn't sleep again today this afternoon i put her in twice but no way did she want to sleep. I can read that you are really upset about all this. I guess that your LO feels you are upset and so is he. If I could suggest something... At first when I tried to make Amelie sleep by herself she was the same - screaming, gagging. so i decided to stop completely the "controlled crying" thing, til she forgot and that I would try again. And one day, she cried and cried but didn't get all that upset - she cried for an hour (I went in and out every 10 then 15 minutes) and suddenly she fell asleep. the next time it took 30 min, then 10min... and we were stuck for a long time at the 10min. now she is better, though sometimes she still cries... I started with her morning nap though, then afternoon (that was when she wanted to sleep!!) then at night. I hope all this makes some sense and can help you a little. I hope all will be better very very soon.

Brianna - posted on 07/07/2010

Thanks you all for responding,
Kristina, We do have a schedule, it may not be as rigid as the one you described but he wakes up between 7-7:30 then usually goes down for a nap between 10:30 and 11. Sleeps for 2 hours. Between 4-5 he would go down for his next nap which was about 1-1.5 hours. Then asleep at night around 8.

I plan my day around his naps since I know how important it is for him to get two, if he doesn't then it is a miserable night for all of us. He just won't take his naps. I'm at my wits end from lack of sleep and his constant screaming when we try to go to bad at any time during the day.

I'm not a proponent of CIO but have started to try it. Since he is able to stand he can just pull himself up and scream, after 10 minutes he is so worked up he is coughing and gagging while still standing up. It takes 15+ minutes of me walking with him to get him to stop crying/gagging/coughing before he relaxes. At this point he is so tired that sometime he falls asleep and other times he just pushes against me and starts crying again. I have been in tears myself with him the last few morning cause I can't figure out what is wrong and I feel like a terrible mother and just helpless to do anything for him.

He is such a happy baby, even when he is tired. His only sign is rubbing his eyes, other then that you would never know that he was tired. He just keeps playing with his toys, crawling around, smiling and babbling. I don't want to let him just stay awake until he falls asleep cause I know that's not good for him but I'm just at a loss right now and my husband tries to help but he works 12-13 hrs 6 days a week.

Sorry to vent, but this is the first time since having him that I just don't know what to do, which is making me feel pretty bad about myself.

Julie - posted on 07/06/2010

My LO is having 2 naps one around 9 till 10:30 and then one around 1:30 till 3pm (she is up early in the morning!!!). Sometimes she skips the one in the afternoon, but it is never a good idea! Bedtime is then trouble. The more babies sleep during the day the better they sleep at night... When it is nap time we go to her room, sit and talk/sing/drink some water and then into bed. She usually cries for a minute or 2 then plays till she falls a sleep. It took me quite sometime for her to understand and accept the routine - but I don't give in (unless she is just sitting and playing for 1 hour - that's usually when she doesn't get her afternoon nap...)

Kimberly - posted on 07/06/2010

We have the exact same situation as you. We have a 10 1/2 month old daughter and most of the days she takes 2 (1-hour) naps, but some days she just takes 1 2-hour nap and it's a miserable evening. She usually rubs her eyes and may start to get fussy and then she walks into our quiet room where we rock to sleep.

Rebecca - posted on 07/06/2010

bub will either do one or 2 sleeps a day. He never has trouble going to sleep of a night if he only has one. But the thing is how long does he sleep each nap? Bub does anywhere between half an hr to an hr each nap

Amanda - posted on 07/06/2010

It depends when she wakes up in the morning. If she gets up before 6am she'll nap for about an hour in the morning. Other than that she sleeps 2-3 hours in the afternoon. Bed around 8pm. There will be times that she fights naps but we let her cry it out.

Libby - posted on 07/06/2010

I have an 11 month old baby girl and she is taking 2 naps a day. She wakes up early though, between 5:30 and 6, and goes down for her first nap by 8:30 and will sleep for about 2 hours, and her afternoon nap is between an hour and a half and 2 hours.

Kristina - posted on 07/06/2010

Jackson is almost 11 months and now only takes one nap. Although, I hear him wake up early in the am but I leave him playing in his crib. He usually falls back asleep within 30 mins to an hr then wakes up around 10am. After that he's playing hard until 3pm (which is his afternoon nap time). He sleeps until 5pm and stay up until 9-9:30pm. I put him right in his bed and he falls right to sleep, most of the time. Sometimes he does whimper for about 5-10 mins but nothing big.

I was really big about keeping a schedule with him while he was younger. Wake up at 7am, nap at 10-12, nap at 3-5, bedtime at 8. Now he's kind of in the routine himself. Its really nice, I can plan my day according to when I know he will nap.

Maybe setting a schedule and forcing you and your child to stick with it may help it. Although plan to try it for about 2 weeks before deciding it doesn't work. I hope it helps!

Brianna - posted on 07/06/2010

That's what mine does, he rubs his eyes and we know that he is tired, but if we try to put him down for a nap he just fights it. Then we take him out and either hold him or let him play and he is off just fine but then bed time is worse. He can cry forever and just makes himself cough and gag from crying so hard. I finally rock him to sleep and he wakes up in the middle of the night and won't fall back to sleep for 1-3 hours. I know this is from tiredness cause day that I can get 2 naps in this doesn't happen.

Cherry Mae - posted on 07/06/2010

yes...we're in the same boat... And to think my baby is a girl! she has so much energy on the day...she never seemed to get tired...if she feels sleepy, she'll rub her eyes until her sleepiness will be gone. Then at night she'll be crying out loud... what i usually do is i comfort her... But there will be times that she will keep on crying...i just let her cry till she falls asleep..