for a nap longer than 20 minutes. my daughter was napping for 2 hours at this age.
Any suggestions?
Have you tried putting him down earlier? The very first time he rubs his eyes? According to some sleep books you may be catching him at the end of his nap window rather than at the beginning. good luck!
He is overtired and needs to be trained to sleep. Tomorrow, 5 minutes before you think he will wake up, go in and put something in the room. Make enough noise to startle him without waking him. It should reset his sleep cycle.
Also, if he isn't on a real schedule, get him on one. My son goes down like clock work, as long as I keep to the clock. Seriously. I don't baby watch here. I baby watched with my first and she was a terrible sleeper. With my son, I got him on a 2, 3,4 schedule at 12 weeks and we've kept to it. (2 hours after waking he goes down for nap 1, 3 hours later, nap 2, 4 hours later bed). I also wake my son at the same time every morning. When I let him sleep an extra 5 minutes, he ends up skipping nap 1! It's all about habit, and cultivating habit.
It happens! Is he crying in his crib? If he is content, let him be - quiet time is good for him and everyone else. Is he fussy b/c he is not sleeping more during the day? If not, he just might be one of those kids who doesn't sleep much. Get him outside or to a 'children's museum' - a membership for the NYC winter would be a small investment in sanity - and you can meet friends there once a week for a play date - everyone will be happy! Boys just seem to need to be climbing, exploring, rolling, jumping, banging - embrace it. Just cut out the tv - all the research for 40 years has been saying it leads to shorter attention spans - and boys don't need more in that way.
Every child is different. The more mobile he becomes the longer he should
nap.
Your son isn't required to nap the same way as your daughter! Babies simply have different nap cycles. It could be that he needs one less nap per day or needs to go down at a different time (not tired yet when you nap him). It would be easier to give advice/feedback if you posted his nap schedule
The most important factor in developing a good napper is consistency. Waking at the same time each day and going to sleep at the same time each night is critical. Be sure to feed her a good breakfast and lunch and allow some time after eating before putting her in for a nap. Pay close attention to signs that your child is growing tired, such as being fussy, rubbing her eyes and staring off into space. If you miss this she may become overtired and not want to be left alone to nap. As I said earlier, a consistent routine is the one rule you must follow whenever possible. Someone told me this early on and I managed to get all three of my children down for a nap at the same time everyday for years. As my oldest became to old and shed his nap, we turned this the time that his brothers were sleeping into quiet time and we read together.
I remember hearing time and again that you must put your baby in their crib every time they nap, and I disagree. However,it is important not to create a routine that will be a problem to follow every day. This would include driving the baby around to help him fall asleep or putting them into something they will eventually outgrow; like a swing or a playpen. But my kids slept on the couch in the family room for years, and slept through my washing dishes and the phone ringing for hours. I would put on some very soothing music- not too loud, when nap time was approaching and eventually, as soon as they heard the music, they would start to wind down. Of course when they were small I would take precautions to make sure that they wouldn't fall off the couch. I have quite a collection of photos of Jeremy on the couch, then Jeremy and David on the coach-foot to foot, then David and Danny on the couch- and of course many pictures of my husband crashed out on the couch with them.
The keys are: Make sure they are not hungry, make sure they are dry, make sure you don't miss their cues, and develop a routine and stick with it. Quiet time is the most precious gift you can give your children. In our society, people tend to minimize the value of being still. As they get older, try to replace nap time with quiet time. Reading, chatting, taking a slow walk together, lying outside, reading together...you get the picture.
My three sons are now 15, 17, and 19 and we still value our quiet time. We will sit down and have a cup of tea in the family room and chat or read- that doesn't just happen- it is developed over time. Two of my sons are musicians- so they are not necessarily calm, drinking tea kid of kids- and yet they do it. Why? Because it's what we do, what we have always done.
Routine is the key here, stick with it and eventually it will fall into place.
And then, of course, there are kids that just won't nap.....
Hope this was helpful,
J. B.
Unfortunately for us moms, some kids just don't need as much sleep as others. At that age, my son would only take two 30 minute naps a day and he would only sleep about 10 hours a night! That's just how he was.
He is different from your daughter and may be more alert and need more active crawling and less sleeping..
Follow his lead. Our daughter at 9 months (already walked) loved the door jumpy, liked her walker, LOVED crawling over pillows.. And walking all around the hose picking up toys and putting them in a basket I carried.. She did not need as much sleep as other kids in her day care..
My son (whose know 2.5 yrs old) went through that too, drove me nuts! Luckily it only lasted about a month and he went back to taking 3 hr naps, hang in there hopefully its just a phase. But if he's not on a sleep schedule i would try that, it can't hurt.
