Anyone else have a hard time getting their baby to nap for long periods?

Lisa - posted on 02/13/2009

My son is a horrible sleeper too!  He takes several cat naps through the day, one longish (1hr +) nap early afternoon, and doesn't go to bed until 9:30ish.  He just doesn't require as much sleep as other babies.  My DH was the same way though.  GL! 

Jena - posted on 02/13/2009

Quoting Nicola:

My son was a cap napper and it was exhausting...I finally spoke to my doctor about it and he told that some babies ae cat nappers but he also said the best way for a baby to nap is to put them in the crib awake and let them learn to put themselves to sleep and if he wakes up in the middle of a nap leave him for at least 10 mins to let him to fall back asleep...I was rocking him to sleep for naps, day 1 took him 20 mins to fall asleep and I felt bad, but I knew I had to do it, day 2 it took 10 mins...now I put him in there awake and it usually takes him about 5 mins and his moning nap will be about 1 - 1 1/2 hous and his afternoon naps is about 2 hours....but he usually only sleep about 11 hours a night...good luck : ) naps are so vitals for moms too...

Sounds like the Progressive Waiting Approach outlined by Dr. Ferber. Check out my community, "Supporter's of Dr. Ferber's Method"!

Nicola - posted on 02/13/2009

My son was a cap napper and it was exhausting...I finally spoke to my doctor about it and he told that some babies ae cat nappers but he also said the best way for a baby to nap is to put them in the crib awake and let them learn to put themselves to sleep and if he wakes up in the middle of a nap leave him for at least 10 mins to let him to fall back asleep...I was rocking him to sleep for naps, day 1 took him 20 mins to fall asleep and I felt bad, but I knew I had to do it, day 2 it took 10 mins...now I put him in there awake and it usually takes him about 5 mins and his moning nap will be about 1 - 1 1/2 hous and his afternoon naps is about 2 hours....but he usually only sleep about 11 hours a night...good luck : ) naps are so vitals for moms too...

Jena - posted on 02/13/2009

If your baby is napping for only 20 min. during the day, but sleeping 11-12 hours straight at night it could be b/c he is getting too much sleep at night. I read doctor Ferber's book "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" and it worked amazingly well for us.

In the book he outlines the average amount of sleep a baby needs. 7 months= 12 1/2 hours total. With 9 1/4 at night and 3 1/4 during the day, made up of 2-3 naps. Our daughter sleeps about 10 1/2 at night and about 2 1/2 during the day for a total of 13. Maybe your son has a shorter sleep requirement. I would suggest trying to either move his bed time back later or wake him up earlier, forcing him to sleep less at night. Then he will sleep longer during the day. Every baby, child, adult, has a set number of hours of sleep their body needs. You need to figure out your baby's sleep requirement and then push some of it to the day,  so its not all at night.

Angela - posted on 02/12/2009

I'm going through the same thing too!  My son will sleep longer if I nurse him and then hold him, but as much as I love him, I don't want to have to hold him for a 2 hour nap!  Just yesterday I made up my mind that he needs to learn to sleep in his crib for his naps, so after our 10:00 high chair feeding, I took him up, changed his diaper, read him a book and put him in his crib.  He cried for an hour before finally falling asleep for 30 mins. ( I went in twice to reassure him)  Today, he only cried for 10 mins, but he only slept for 30 mins again.  I guess I can't complain either, because my son also sleeps through the night, but Moms need a break in the day too!!  My mom told me not to worry because as they grow and are able to play more, they will tire them selves out and will take longer naps.

Katie - posted on 02/12/2009

My daughter does this when she is teething.

Jaymie - posted on 02/12/2009

Ashley! My baby is going  throught this same thing! And it his horribbllle! You can tell she's tired, her eyes are red, she's rubbing them etc. But she will NOT go to sleep!

I've finally had to just put her down in her crib and let her cry...the first time I did this she cried for what seemed like forever...but once I did it I had to leave her...that was....I think 3 days ago...then yesterday I put her down in her crib, she didn't cry, she just laid there. I patted her back and went to give my son a time out, came back in and she was out. She slept for 3 1/2 hours!!!! It was glorious!

It was getting rediculous though, she was only going to sleep when she'd fall asleep after nursing, or when I was holding her. Once I would put her down though she was awake.

Anyway good luck! I hope you find something that helps him nap! Lucky that he sleeps 11-12 hours during night, my son was like that too! I wish my daughter was!