I am wanting to know if anyone out there can give any advise my 5 month old does not do well for naps. My 9 yrs old was the same way... Anyway she goes to sleep any where from 7:30 - 8:30 depending on how sleepy she is and on naps for that day and when she is ready to sleep for the night she is ready no trying to keep her up I HAVE TRIED.. But she does sleep all night she wakes up anywhere from 6:45-8:00am just depends. My problem is she is so fussy at the end of the day from not sleeping every now and then she will nap ok but normally maybe 30min at a time so there are a few cat naps through the day I work at home so some days are hard to get my work in.. I would just like to get her to take at least one good nap so she can be happy and not as grumpy at night.. Like I said before my other child was the exact same she never took naps by the time she was a year old her naps were gone.. So maybe this one is the same at least she sleeps all night and I am happy for that.. If you have any ideals that might help me out I would love to hear from you.... I have tried letting her cry but that does not work either not sure if some of the problem is me letting her cry? Thanks so much
My daughter was like that!!! She's 5 and we still have bedtime issues... I highly reccomend the Fussy Baby Book by Dr Sears. He has great ideas OTHER than letting a child CIO. You should be able to find it at your library, too.
Good luck!
I feel for you, but I don't think you should try to make her nap if she won't. Some kids are just like that. If it really worries you, you can probably give her a touch of benadryl and that should make her feel drowsy enough to sleep. She is probably having her need for sleep met with the 12 hours she gets at night. My third one was like that. He didn't nap well, but he still sleeps about 10-12 hrs a night and he is 8yrs. When she gets fussy, just put her to bed for the night. I get the impression the reason for the nap is so you can work, not necessarily that she needs it. if she is only grumpy in the evenings put her to bed a little earlier. Trying to make her nap when she doesn't want to or need it will make both of you crazy.
Good luck,
L.
My first child was a wonderful sleeper. I thought this baby thing is easy. Then my second was born. At first she would not nap or sleep at all unless someone was holding her. I work from home so that could not happpen and I needed both kids to sleep at the same time.I was terrified when she was not taking naps, or she would only sleep for 45 min. She now sleeps for naps just fine. Here is what I did: The same time everyday I did one of the following: go for a short walk in the stroller to get her to sleep, put her in her swing with classical music, swaddle her in the miracle blanket or turn on classical music and hold her. Find something that relaxes your baby. I started early one day and changed her diaper then feed her immediatly afterwards exactly ever 2 hours. She started to associate a diaper change with a feeding. It did not take her long and she expected to eat every 2 hours. Then two days later I followed the rotine and added putting her in her swing after the bottle to get her to sleep. Then a few days later I added play time into her routine, never after she ate but always before. I wanted her to associate bottle and light music with nap time and playtime after a nap. This worked for me. Now at night she will wake up to eat at 11 and 2 and 5 and I have not figured how to get her long 5 hour nap during this time...still working on that one, but she is only 5 weeks old so I know it will correct itself. Just don't give up you can get them on your routine, just keep trying and give her a chance to adjust to the routine before you try something else.
Does she wake up crying or is she happy (from the naps)? My daughter will cry if she is not rested and I can often rock her right back to sleep, but if she wakes up playing and happy then she is rested enough. At 12 months my child is usually still on a 2 nap schedule. But all kids are diffrenet- mine doesn't sleep through the night.
