I have a VERY active 7 month old, he will not lay down to nap unless i put him the car seat or stroller and it forces him to calm down. BUT he is out growing his car seat and the next step is one that stays in the car. I really want to find ways to get him to calm himself down with out needing to go in a car seat or stroller. I have tried music, a bottle, blankets, setting him in a crib and leaving him. He sees everything as an opportunity to crawl to it and stand up and sit down and stand up and sit back down. Any suggestions would be great!!
I remember my oldest daughter being this way, but setting her in a crib with a crib toy that played music was her routine for naptime. She would play with it for a few minutes, fall asleep, and when she woke up, she'd be back to playing with it, kicking it around, etc. Just set him in his crib at naptime, and don't respond to his beck and call. He'll get the point.
We put a toddler swing (you know the one that is supposed to hang from a tree outside?) in our livingroom. We put big eye bolts in a beam in the ceiling and then when our little guy needs a break. He loves it and often he falls alseep in it. This might work well for you as well. It doesn't have to be the livingroom either, anyroom would work. You get them strapped in and moving like the stroller or carseat, but its for a bigger kid. Good luck!
My daughter is wired this way too. Our big problem is that if she doesn't get a nap, she has an extremely restless night (she's 20 months now). So, while she wasn't inclined to nap, she also needed some serious downtime in order to sleep at night. Some days it takes 2 hours to get her down for a nap (a HUGE pain given that I have two older kids) and multiple trips to dreamland, only to awaken the minute I put her down, to be snuggled again...and sometimes she falls asleep on the floor...often it's nurse, sit, ,read, talk on the phone--a very slow, drawn out process of winding down.
He's just practicing his new skills!
Can you strap him in his high chair to calm down?
