Please help! My son will not go down for naps!

Jessica - posted on 09/18/2010

Our LO doesn't really nap at home very much (at daycare he does super well). However, I don't yet put him in his crib for naps. Usually when he falls asleep, I either put him in his chair or on the floor on a blanket, although today he fell asleep in his walker! (too cute by the way). I have found that he often sleeps best in my arms (on the weekends... I work full time during the week) so I let him. I have been told that it is good I don't put him in his crib because then he learns to sleep with other noises around, such as TV, radio, vacuum, etc. If he only sleeps in his bouncer, let him! There's nothing wrong with that!

Mariann - posted on 09/13/2010

My oldest son and my little girl were both great nappers as long as I nursed them to sleep. I didn't do it intentionally but they would just fall asleep. It broke my heart to let them cry it out but I had to try. The first few times were awful!! When they were getting tired I would nurse them until they were deffanitely done then a kinda tricky move to put their head on my shoulder disturbing them as little as possible and walk with them for about 5 mins to make sure they didn't have to burp. then very qently lay them down to change their diaper and put them back on my shoulder to try and burp them again. It took a lot of time and effort and sometimes didn't go well. Regardless if they were wide awake or asleep I would put them down. They hated being swadled cuz they wanted their arms out so I would wrap them firmly in a swaddle under their arms so they felt snuggled and put them in their crib. at first and still occasionally they cry for a while but the more you do it the less time they cry to fall asleep. I feel terrible when their crying but I know that they are full, dry, don't have to burp and safe so I let them cry it out. If they start crying like their in pain I go in and rub their tummy if it feels hard I will pick them up and try to burp them for a couple minuites then lay them right back down maybe humm to them or turn music on in the back ground. If I tried to talk to them they thought it was time to play again. It takes a while to get used to it but i've managed to get both of them to nap this way. don't plan on getting anything else done the first few days you do it tho cuz it's a battle. After they got used to it tho it makes things easier because they know nap time is going to happen regardless and they give in. plus getting them to take a good nap actually helps them sleep better at night. This may not work for everyone and my husband says i'm over the top with double checking everything but I can't let my baby cry if i'm not positive they have all of their needs met. Good luck

Robin - posted on 09/12/2010

i think everyone has gone through this at least a dozen times, i know i did with all 3 of mine. sometimes you gotta try the "let him cry it out" thing even though it kills ya to hear him cry. my daughter loved the bouncy too, and her swing helped for the first few months. what i found works was, after some crying and refusal to nap, i gave her her pacifier and rocked her close and tight. she still fought a bit, but would kinda talk/whine herself to sleep. you could also try feeding a little more so he's full, or a dose of tylenol. good luck.

Sophie - posted on 09/12/2010

Hi :)
My little boy is 6 months old, he has 2 naps a day for around an hour and a half each time.
When he was about 3 months old i was getting fed up of having to cuddle or rock him to sleep so one morning nap i put him in his cot, gave him a teddy to cuddle and left him. He started crying.
After 40 minutes he was still crying. I went in, put his dummy in and went out the room again. After about 10 minutes he stoped crying so i went into the room and he was fast asleep. He had gave up crying.
When he woke up he was full of the joys of spring! Smiling away!
I kept doing this and after about a week of doing it every nap eventually he didnt cry anymore when i put him down for a nap.
Now he is 6 months old and i put him in his cot around half 10-11(as he wakes up around 7 so is tired by that time) and leave him, after about 10-15 mins he is asleep, with NO crying! Sometimes i go in after 10 mins and he is playing with his toys though so i just leave him that little bit longer. Eventually though he ALWAYS falls asleep on his own every time.
It might sound cruel but honestly it works!
Always remember to give them a teddy to cuddle though as this is a subsitute for mommy :)

Amber - posted on 09/11/2010

we have the same problem with our 5 and a half month old son to the point that he cry's and cry's no matter what you do. He would fight his sleep to the point that he woulds look like he was getting bags under his eyes. What we start to do is put him a schedule that we try to follow witch is hard with a baby and sometimes we fall out of rough tine. when we do he it is hard to get he to take a nap. . he wakes up around 7 and we give him a bottle then around 9 i would give him his breakfast food. we play for a bit and then aroun 10 he gets a another bottle then he sleeps for about an hour.then from 11 to 2 we play. he gets another bottle and takes a nap for an hour then at supper at 5 a bath at 7:30 and goodnight at 8 or 8:30pm...If he falls out of his rough tine he will cry and cry because he is over tired and fighting his sleep. Some times we lay him in our bed betwen me and his dad and he watches Micky mouse and fall a sleep. doring the day sometime i would lay him on the couch with me and i give hime his bottle and he would fall a sleep..

I hope this helps you out.. I dont know if what i said will help your little boy but give it a try and it just might work.. Well i wish you the best of luck with you problem an hope i answer your questions....

Dawna - posted on 09/10/2010

It sounds like the little man built up a crutch for the bouncer. I feel for you. Once they "need" this crutch it is very difficult to break it. I hope it doesn't get too difficult for you!

Shauna - posted on 09/09/2010

I work at a daycare center in an infant room and also have a 6 mo old myself. At daycare its vital we have a schedule since there are so many infants. So i used the same method on my child. What i have done since the time he was born was put him down for a morning nap at 9 am till 10:30 am and a afternoon nap at 1 untill 3 pm. I think it would still work if you started now. Routine is so vital!!!!! ... it will be difficult at first but everyday just keep putting your son down at the same time and play a lulably or give him a lovey what ever you chose your routine to be and make it the same everyday. just continue to check on him when crying to let know you are still present if he takes a bink just keep giving it back to him he will tire eventually and go to bed... the more you stick to the routine it will evntually work. I know its hard but the more baby gets used to falling asleep in boucy seat or swing etc the harder it will be when hes gets older to take naps and go to bed at night in his own bed. hope this helps!

Amber - posted on 09/09/2010

My daughter falls asleep on her own in her crib at night, but lately has not wanted to take a nap. She rolls over and plays. Sometimes I can pat her for a minute and apply gentle pressure to her shoulder to help her settle herself, but if that doesn't work I give her her paci, a blanket, and put her in her swing. She used to hate it but will sleep in it now.

Melissa - posted on 09/07/2010

Ya, I only have to do this for naps and sometimes middle of the night wakings! In the begining I had to repeat the process of letting him cry for a few minutes then going in and talking to him and rubbing his head, several times.

Every now and then I still have to let him cry, somedays you can tell he is so tierd but just has a rough time relaxing and falling asleep! When this happens he fusses for like 15 mins then he goes to the ugly cry for about 1 min then I put the passi in his mouth and he rolls over and falls fast asleep...then he will wake after 30 mins ( a doctor told me babies at this age might do that because they are developing adult sleep patterns and just have to learn how to "roll over" and go back to sleep!) then I have to ignore him (at this time he just fusses a little) then he eventually falls back asleep for atleast an hour and a half!

Rachael - posted on 09/06/2010

OK thanks, and could I do this for nap times too?

Alison - posted on 09/06/2010

I have read many different ways of doing the cry out method. But the common trend is that after you put the baby down and if they start crying you let them cry for a specified time, like 5 minutes. Then you go in and comfort him. Some things I have read have said not to pick them up, but I really think that part is dependent on you.
After he is calmed down you put him down again. If he starts crying again you wait the 5 minutes again. And you repeat this till he falls asleep. Then the next day you increase the time by 5 minutes.
I have read that some parents don't leave the room and comfort their baby, but don't pick them up. Others leave the room. So I guess it is what works for you and your son.

Rachael - posted on 09/06/2010

How does the cry it out method actually work?

Waht do I do?

Alison - posted on 09/05/2010

Thank you for your advice ladies!

Your right about if I don't do it now, it might get worse later!

I will try to "battle" through and do the cry out method. =) It is nice to know that it may be as little as three days and he will be used to it!

Melissa - posted on 09/05/2010

The cry it out thing is soo hard at first...It breaks my heart but it works!! Everyone I have talked to said it worked for them in like 2 days...It worked for us almost that quickly. Our son would only nap in our arms or in his car seat. We did the cry it out thing after my doctor told us the sooner you do it the better and after hearing that lack of sleep might be why he gets so fussy towards the end of the week. It was deff. very hard, we made sure our son always new we were there for him and if the crying got out of control we held him but like I said after only three days of doing this it worked!! The first day took about 50 mins( i had to let my husband do it and we comforted him through out that 50 mins) if he wouldnt settle then we would get him but we stuck to it and gradually it took less and less time for him to settle! I have to say it kind of changed my life!! Our son gets great naps now and is way less fussy, he is always smiling now!

Jayne - posted on 09/04/2010

My son doesn't take naps often either and I use to rock him in his bouncer for naps but if he was crying then I wouldn't just let him cry it out or keep on rocking him. Its easy to say I'll let them cry it out but your not really getting down to the problem. Maybe he wants another feed, a cuddle. My son is going to be 6 months in 5 days and he has not had the bouncer for over a week and the only times he has been able to nap is if I go out with him in his pushchair or he falls asleep on my breast. I have occasionally let him cry a little as I have found myself in a vicious circle where I try feeding him, hugging him, basically trying different things to find out what's wrong. He gets so tired I think he doesn't know what he wants to do but I have my son pretty worked out now but we all have our good and bad days I think. Personally I wouldn't be able to just let my baby cry i out and leave the room for them to cry for awhile i'd find it distressing for myself and my baby and like i said its not really getting to the issue of why they are crying. I

Alison - posted on 09/03/2010

Thanks for your support ladies!

Emily - I do have a swing. At one time he really did not like and would freak out when I put him in it. The swing is one of those that you can change the direction the baby faces. I can try that again and hopefully at least maybe he will start letting me rock him to sleep.

Rachael - Hopefully both our sons will transition smoothly as they get older to being able to nap in their cribs!

Rachael - posted on 09/03/2010

I am going to have the same problem, Elliot falls asleep in his swing at the minute, but they say once they can sit up they cant use it anymore, and hes already able to pull himself foward in it, at the min I put him in the swing and put classical fm on and he falls asleep, Ive managed twice to get him to nap in the cot, and once I managed to get him asleep cuddling me then transferred him to the sofa (I didnt leave him alone ever on it)

I dont know what I am going to do

Emily - posted on 09/03/2010

I too have some difficulty putting my little girl to sleep for naps. She does not like to sleep. I can sometimes get her to nap in her crib, but for the most part I use her swing. I play a lullaby CD & put her in her swing. When she is awake she sits their quietly & eventually falls asleep. If you do not have a swing, I recommend getting one. I hope this is helpful.