I have a 6.5 month old daughter. She has been an amazing nighttime sleeper since 8 weeks old. She is exclusively breastfed. She nurses before bed and sleeps approx. 7:30pm-6:30am. She goes down without crying and does not wake up during the night.
I am and have been struggling with naps. She will not nap in her crib during the day. I feel like I have tried everything over the past couple of weeks. I tried putting her down at the same times every day. Then i tried following her cues of when she was getting sleepy and put her down. I tried nursing her to sleep. I use her sound machine just like she has at bedtime, i pull down her blackout curtain. I have tried letting her cry it out---which is not what I want to do but I feel desperate. I tried letting her cry, then checking on her every 15 minutes and then 10, 9, 8 ect....i have found that when i go in to her, she is worse when i leave. so i tried just letting her cry. id try to clean a bathroom, anything to try and distract myself. She can cry for over an hour without falling asleep. I feel terrible letting her cry. When I finally go in to get her, it takes literally 30 minutes to calm down. I cant put her down in her jumper, bouncey seat or anything without her crying and getting upset again. I know so many people that have had great success with CIO which is why I resorted to trying. But, when my baby doesnt fall asleep after 15-20 minutes of fussing and crying---i dont know, i just feel uncomfortable letting her cry like that anymore.
I dont know what else to do. I dont understand how she can go down so well in her crib at night and then during the day act like this.
Any advice or suggestions would be nice! :)
With my boys I used to go in every 5 minutes, but I would not take them out of the crib. I would lay them back done if they were sitting or standing and than just rub their tummy and sing or talk softly until they were calm, and than I would leave. If they started fussing again I would wait 5 and repeat.
Try putting her in a swing or vibrating bouncer for daytime naps. You could also try wearing her - it helps them soothe and fall asleep as you move around - and works like a charm. I know neither one results in crib sleeping but I agree with the previous poster, enjoy her nighttime love of the crib and make some concessions for daytime :) I would hate to have her stop sleeping in the crib at night because it's pushed during the day if I was you :/
My only thought is to stop fighting the situation, she isn't liking the nap time in her crib... I would fear wreaking havoc with her night time sleeping and love for her crib at night if you keep pushing the situation during the day...you are lucky she is such a good sleeper at night, let her keep her love of her crib for bedtime and try somewhere else for the nap!
2 of my 3 kids were great night time sleepers in their cribs but NOT at nap time, they took their naps in my bed and I didn't have any problems with that, I just made it 'kid friendly' and laid them down in my room!
~I was not a CIO method type of Mom either, just FYI!
Is she getting enough physical activity during the time before her nap? She may be tired but I noticed my kids need a lot of actual movement to get to sleep. 6 months is a transitional age where they are starting to become more active, so it could just be a phase. Hang in there!
I personally don't like the CIO method. I just feel like it will eventually cause the child to think of sleep as a negative thing. I want my my child to feel like sleep is a restful/peaceful thing... not stressful. Anyway, my son is 4 months old and I have had to go through these questions as well. It's hard. He sleeps pretty well during the day though. He has always loved his naps. My advice would be to keep consistent, whatever you do. Pick something and stick with it and then eventually the baby will learn that it's what's normal. Babys love schedules and consistency. For example, with my baby, I sing him the same song every time before I put him down (he smiles because he knows). I change his diaper right before bed and say, "it's time for night night". I turn off the lights and make the room as dark as possible. I give him a pacifier or his thumb and pat his back. I don't know if you've tried or not, but try putting the baby on its stomach. I know people say not to, but my baby has done it since 2 months and he's great. He loves it. I think it's comforting for him to sleep like that. I also make sure that he goes to sleep no later than an hour and half after he last woke up.
I'm sorry you're dealing with this though. I guess it's just kind of that every baby is different, huh? My baby doesn't sleep as well at night though... so go figure. If you're not comfortable with the baby sleeping on the stomach during the night, try just doing it during the daytime for naps so you can frequently check on them. Seriously, it was a lifesaver for us.
Hope you figure things out soon!!
Be happy she sleeps at night. Let her sleep where she wants during the
day. She will eventually get it. I can put up with anything as long as they
sleep at night! Good luck.
I was lucky and had a great night time sleeper so never even considered CIO. But it also never occurred to us to have DS nap in his crib - we just went about our lives and DS slept when he was tired, wherever we were. I do not recall him having an actual 'schedule' but I do recall him sleeping a lot - in the stroller, the carseat, on the floor, while being held. What happens if you just give up on planning her naps and let her sleep on her own schedule?
Try making everything, dark.
For naps too.
And make everything, quiet.
My daughter as a baby, would wake from naps or sleep, even if a toilet flushed, down the hall.
By the time she is showing she is tired, her cues, the is already over-tired.
But I know, its hard.
A baby, will typically get tired and need a nap, after about 2 hours of awake time. Or at least, by 3 hours later.
Make things calm and quiet, before nap.
No over-stimulating things.
Or nurse her more, before naps.
I did pick up, put down. I couldn't let her CIO, either and a baby that young (in my opinion) doesn't know much more than "nobody's coming".
When DD was calm, I lay her down. When she cried I rocked her. Rinse and repeat. Some nights she needed gas meds or medication for teething or just some TLC. It's a tough time for them - they can be teething and growing and learning so much. I also agree that when you lay her down, try to darken the room. Do you use white noise? Try to cue her into sleep.
If you are having problems daytime only, maybe have her in a bouncer seat or something nearby if you have to clean. You can also try a carrier (try an Ergo) so that you can walk around, but she's still with you. DD often nursed before naps, so if she really got wired, I'd feed her and see if that's what she wanted.
First of all, I'm sooo jealous. My son is the same age and he's only slept through the night 3 times his entire life. Most of the time he's up numerous times during the night. I am surviving on about 4.5 hours of broken sleep a night (I'm lucky if I get 2 hours in a row). That said, it sounds like she just doesn't want to nap in her bed, and obviously CIO is not working (I'm not a fan of that anyway, I feel they are much to young to deal with that level of stress). I agree with the other posters. Let her nap elsewhere like in a swing or carseat, you can't force a child to sleep. At her age she is on her own schedule, it's not till they get older that you can really dictate a schedule for them. Good luck, you are obviously doing something right in that she sleeps all night long, I need some tips for my own! He is breastfed and won't take a bottle so it's all on me every night, he also won't take a pacififer and I think that's half my problem, sometimes he's eating and other times he's just sucking to get back to sleep. Arrgh!
I had one that didn't nap well and one that did. Partly I think it was personality, and partly I think it was my stress level!
I do think routine helps, but as they grow their routine changes. Maybe she's shifting the time of day that she needs to go down. Also, when they're teething or learning something or physically growing, things will get off track for a week or so.
Make sure you're not waiting too long. I did that with my oldest. I thought, 'She's still playing. She's not tired." In reality, she was overtired and had to be taught to let go. I also did NOT wear her. I wore my second whenever necessary and he slept much better. It seemed like the constant closeness made him more relaxed about sleep.
Most of all, do what you're comfortable with!
HI-There is a company sleepy planet that really helped me.
here is some information they give to moms with kids having sleep issues.
http://www.happyhealthymom.com/newsletters/How-to-Get-You...
Good Luck!
Maybe she doesn't want a nap.
best, k
Have you tried laying down with her? My oldest wouldn't ever nap unless I laid down with her. She's five and she's still that way during the day.
