Help with nap time

Laura - posted on 08/24/2009

Read Baby Wise. Best book ever!! I think I got it on amazon.com for $3, or something. The most recent is the toddler years. Trust me- it's worth it! :) Also, if the daycare has your baby 5 of the 7 days, shouldn't they be the ones "training" the sleep schedule?? Seems a little rough for them to tell you that. :)

Natalie - posted on 08/23/2009

What has worked for me is too put them to bed when their sleepy but not asleep. They need to know that it is what happens when their put there. Don't let them play in there or they might just get back up and play. Sometimes I have to go back in his room and keeplaying him down and tell him to go to sleep. Noe he lays down as soon as i walk in, he's just testing me. It won't happen right away you just have to keep doing it, and make sure they do the same and it will happen.

Jenae - posted on 08/20/2009

I would have to agree with the other post. I started when my daughter was 7 months old, I would just put her in her crib and let her cry it out. We have a video moniter so it made it much easier. After the first week of doing this she was done crying it out and would just go to sleep. However, I am a daycare provider and have had my daughter on the same nap and bedtime routine since she was six months old. Now at 13 months old everyday at 11:30 she will tell me "Bubba." I will get her some milk, sit down with her until she is done and when we walk into her room she is practically leaping out of my arms into her crib. She lays down and is out for a good 2-3 hours. I would just have to say consistancy is the most important factor. Talk to your daycare and see what their nap time routine is and then when your child is home with you make sure to continue what they are teaching her. I, also, have a six year old that hardly ever slept in her crib when she was a baby. I can not explain how much easier it is to place them in the crib and say "Goodnight." I would lay with her for countless hours trying to get her to sleep. Keep us all posted on how it goes. Good Luck!

Heather - posted on 08/15/2009

Oi Christianne. Don't stress about it. Anna is the exact same way, only worse. Once I would get her to sleep in the afternoon she would only want to cuddle, never be put in her crib. Just about two months ago at day care she started sleeping for an hour or two at a time there. She has been going to day care since she was 4 mo. old - I used to worry so much because I didn't have adequate time to train her to do anything - she went off to day care cold turkey. For the longest time she would only take 20 min naps at day care. I stopped worrying about what I couldn't control. After all she was happy at day care and she slept well at night. I figured she will sleep if she really needs it. She must need it now because she will sleep longer stretches. It will all work out.

Christine - posted on 08/13/2009

I know how hard it can be - I put her down regardless... she does screem for quite a while but I know she's ok and just tired.... sometime it takes 10 minutes sometimes even 1 hour. Sometime she won't take a nap at all and just plays in her crib. But I make sure she has that quiet time for her and my sake. Just keep you little one on a REGULAR schedule and ROUTINE. I think that's what's most important. A slight change in the routine might not make a difference to you but it's a huge one for those little ones.

Christine - posted on 08/13/2009

I know how hard it can be - I put her down regardless... she does screem for quite a while but I know she's ok and just tired.... sometime it takes 10 minutes sometimes even 1 hour. Sometime she won't take a nap at all and just plays in her crib. But I make sure she has that quiet time for her and my sake. Just keep you little one on a REGULAR schedule and ROUTINE. I think that's what's most important. A slight change in the routine might not make a difference to you but it's a huge one for those little ones.

Rose Lyn - posted on 08/13/2009

Hi Christianne,



I had a hard time getting my little one to go down at naps too. I would put him in a stroller and walk around or go on endless car rides so he would fall asleep. I would also nurse him to sleep and we would nap together in the same bed. I finally started putting down in his crib consistently to nap about a month ago. We did the cry it out method at night for him because when he started teething, he got used to us putting him back to sleep. Let's say, we did a "refresher course" on sleeping through the night and he did fine. So I figured since he did so well with that, I would do the same thing during nap times. I would do the same bedtime routine with the exception of a bath (lunch, a little bit of play, bottle, nap). The first time I put him down for a nap in his crib, he cried for 30 minutes and fell asleep. In the following days after that, the crying time got less and less. He still cries when I leave the room but only for a minute. Then he just finds a comfortable spot in his crib and takes a nap. There are some days when he doesn't want to take a nap and he will just play in his crib quietly. The secret is consistency in the first week. If he naps twice a day, do the same thing each time. Let me know how it goes. Good Luck!



Rose Lyn