Does anyone have any trouble getting their little one to sleep during the daytime?

Anesa - posted on 03/01/2010

I have a two and half year old that who has never wanted to nap. And now I get daily reports from her daycare that "she was disruptive during nap", "she didn't listen at naptime", "she wouldn't lay down or be quiet." I don't even get a hello anymore, just start getting lectured about how she is not cooperative at naptime as soon as I walk in the door. I can't give any advice since my daughter hasn't liked to sleep during the day since she was six months old. And she didn't sleep through the night until she was 9 months old. You can't force a kid to nap, so I guess you just have to wait for him or her to grow out of it.

Carrie - posted on 02/28/2010

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Sarah - posted on 02/27/2010

my baby is one month old and does the same thing it is crazy!!

Heather - posted on 02/27/2010

My son had the same issue. He was my night owl though too. He did power naps, slept in the car until I stopped at a stop sign or traffic light, etc... Do the best you can to run him ragged in the morning, give him a full belly, lay down with him with a child's video on that he's interested in but not too stimulated by on the couch. In the summer, playing outside in the early hours before it got too hot helped tucker him out. Does he get drowsy after a bath? If yes, have some - in the house water play in a place that is NOT a part of your bedtime routine. The Johnny-Jump-Ups (doorway bouncers) where the babies bounce up and down constantly tuckered my son out almost everyday. He would fall asleep bouncing. Everytime I went to take him out to put him in the crib or playpen, he would start bouncing again and his eyes would pop open. If I let him be, he slept for 45 minutes at a time as long as the house was quiet. So I started putting a tiny pillow under his head and saved all my bill paying, letter writing, reading, and other activities for when he fell asleep in the bouncer. I did this so I could watch him while he was sleeping in it. I still wasn't napping during the day myself, but at least I had a little downtime. Good Luck and hang in there! It's just a phase! Oh! One more question to think about. Is he eating enough food that keeps his little belly full? Six months is about that time when the formula vs cereals vs baby foods start to be a little chaotic.

Lisa - posted on 02/27/2010

Oh I feel your pain! My 9-month-old has pretty much always slept great at night. He goes down at bedtime wide awake & falls asleep within minutes on his own. He will often wail & wail & wail loudly at naptime for up to 2 hours. He won't give in and fall asleep, but he's EXHAUSTED. He rubs his eyes, whines hysterically, etc. I have fought naps with him since he was about 2 months old. We finally went through a stage where I'd just nurse him to sleep on my lap or drive him in the car for naps twice a day. Finally he began really associating the car seat with naps, and I no longer have to drive him around. I just put him in the car seat when he's sleepy, facing out a window (I guess it's calming - he likes to look out). He babbles for a few minutes & drifts off to sleep. If he's overtired, though, he definitely won't fall asleep - he'll just scream. You absolutely have to put a baby down when they're drowsy/sleepy, not whining & overtired. I wish you the best of luck!!

Kirsty - posted on 02/22/2010

Try putting her in the pram and pushing it back and forth, this always works for my little one. She's 5 months old now, but in the early days i wrote down the times she was falling alseep for a week and it gave me more of an idea when to put her down. Fresh air should do it too so a quick walk round the block might help.

Amanda - posted on 02/22/2010

I have 8 mth old twins and they are the same. They only have 3 x 1/2 hr power naps if lucky 4!! But as you say grateful that they sleep all night. I'm not sure wot to suggest, the only time they sleep longer is when they have a cold

Charmaine - posted on 02/21/2010

Read Dr. Ferber's book on sleep. It will give you solid info and courage to do what you need to do. Don't mean to scare you but this may actually turn into a night problem soon, the child may be testing the waters even now.

Shelley - posted on 02/20/2010

My little guy has not napped since he was one but he has a really great sleep at night.

Christy - posted on 02/20/2010

Thanks again for your replies. Erin, Riley is doing exactly as your 12 month old is now, at 6 weeks. She is having one 30-45 minute nap in the morning and then 1-3 hours in the arvo. She seems to be developing a pattern now, but I know that could change anytime! I am just sitting back watching her grow and change, it's beautiful really and I could never get frustrated for long!!

Erin - posted on 02/15/2010

My daughter was the ultimate cat-napper for the first few months. She didn't even take a nap in her own bed til she was over 2 months old (would only sleep in my arms, in the pouch or in the bouncer with the vibrate on). She also slept 6-8hrs straight at night from birth, and 12hrs by 2 months. I just figured she was doing what her little body needed, even though it was frustrating at times because I could never get anything done.

Just hang in there. You really can't force an infant to do anything, and she will grow out of it. My daughter started taking decent naps (over an hour) once she started rolling, sitting and generally being more physically active. Now, at 12 months, she still has 2 naps a day. The morning one is usually short (about 45mins) but the afternoon one is anywhere from 1-3hrs.

Stephanie - posted on 02/15/2010

of 5 kids only 1 has been a napper. The rest never did nap, they did just like Riley and at times were very cranky and other times were very hyper. Now, being older (4,7,9, and10) they are all to bed by 9-10pm and up at 5 even on the weekends! Some people just don't require as much sleep.

Cynthia - posted on 02/14/2010

how hold is your child? napping will differ as they grow and the need that they have. my first child napped for a while till he was 1 yrs old then when to power napping. my other children couldn't sleep if they thought that their was something going on that they felt that they needed to be a part of.

Christy - posted on 02/14/2010

Thanks everyone! I feel so much better that I am not alone, I thought I was doing something wrong! It's great to have so many opinions and to know that someone else is going through the same thing!!

Krista - posted on 02/14/2010

Mine's the same way -- he just turned 6 months old, and naps are a constant battle. He'll be tired, yawning, rubbing his eyes, the whole thing, but when I put him in his crib, he cries and complains, and just wants none of it (which is weird, because he sleeps 12 hours straight in his crib at night with not so much as a peep). As soon as I put him in his bouncy chair and start bouncing it a bit with my foot, he nods right off, but even then, only sleeps for about 45 minutes. It's something I'm hoping to work on in the next few weeks, because I don't want him to have to rely on motion in order to nap.

Teresa - posted on 02/14/2010

My son never napped for longer than 45 minutes at a time til he was close to (or over) a year. 20 minutes was normal. I remember the first time he napped for 1.5 hours... I must've checked his breathing 20 times cuz I thought something was wrong! ;)

Stephanie - posted on 02/14/2010

Yes, i have been struggling with the same thing. I do think however, that it is slowly getting better. How old is Riley? Jackson just turned 8 months.

Laura - posted on 02/14/2010

all of my kids seem to have gone through a phase of doing that....they seem to do that when they are going through a growth spert...it will last maybe a week and then they will go back to sleeping all the time....try using a big box fan.....my kids love listening to it while falling asleep...i have done it since i can remember and now i have my husband hook on it as well. lol i hope this helps

Christy - posted on 02/14/2010

Thank you so much for your replies. Sorry, I forgot to add that Riley is nearly 6 weeks old. I have tried the dark room, light room, music, no music, wrapping, no wrapping! The list goes on. I shouldn't really complain though as she only wakes twice a night for a feed and sleeps in 2-3 hour blocks. I guess she is just one of those babies that doesn't want much sleep during the day!! It does make it hard to get stuff done though, thank goodness for my husband when he is home off shift!! I am amazed at how long she goes for without sleep! She has her mothers stubborn streak I think ;)

Janet - posted on 02/14/2010

I tell them they don't have to go to sleep, they just need to lay down and rest. With younger ones, I help them relax by laying down with them and play with their hair or draw on their face with my finger. With the babies, I rock them till they fall asleep.

April - posted on 02/14/2010

my daughter is 3 months old and for about a month we went through the same thing, she would sleep fine at night, maybe wake up once, but then during the day she didn't want to sleep at all. she figured out what power napping was and i guess thought that it was good enough for her. she still only has one decent nap through the day, 2-3 hours, and she has to be in the swing for that one, but then the other one or two that she might take are maybe a half hour long. but then again if she gets tired enough she will fall asleep just playin on the floor. babies will sleep when they are tired, we have had to let her do a lot of cryin herself to sleep cuz she just wants to fight it all the time, i think she thinks she might miss something if she sleeps. but every baby is different, some need more/less sleep than others. you just have to figure out what is right for you and your baby

Linda - posted on 02/14/2010

Hi I put room darkening shades and drapes in the children's room to make it dark for nap time and summer bedtime. WORKS like a charm!
Now my daughter is doing same thing in her children's room and walah! The kids take nice long uninterrupted naps.

Xiaoxiao - posted on 02/14/2010

my girl is 2 month old. it is happen on her exactly too. she is fighting with sleep all day. she always cry when you try to put her into sleep.But she does sleep well at night too.

Renae - posted on 02/14/2010

How old is Rilely? I dont want to go telling you about the catnapping in babies if we are talking about a toddler. :)

Sara - posted on 02/14/2010

A few months ago my now 22 month old son went through a faze of fighting his sleep during the day. I would have to sit on the couch with him, he would cuddle his blanket and I would cover the 2 of us on another blanket. I switched off the telly and closed the door from any other distracting noises. he eventually drifted off the sleep, and I would move him to his cot. I eventually started asking him was he tired and he has now got back into the routine of going to bed during the day for his nap, although sometimes it may only last a 1/2 hour. I dont mind too much cause he will sleep better at night.

Donna - posted on 02/14/2010

My 11 month old was having a morning and afternoon sleep for an hour or more but this last week she has started going without the afternoon nap.But then she's really tired around 5pm so generally has 20 mins quiet time on my lap and recharges her battery! Then she's ok til bedtime at 7pm.I normally put her in her cot when she's showing her signs of tiredness eg.hair twiddling! and she goes straight down.How old is Riley?