[BabyBird]

I need help! Haylea has decided she doesn't like to nap. She sleeps well at night, wakes up at 2a and 6a to eat and goes back to sleep til 9a. First naptime is at 11 and she gets tired but won't stay asleep. She has been napping in her swing...the only time she will lay in her bed to sleep is at night. But recently she won't even sleep in her swing. I get maybe 20 min before she wakes up and sometimes I can rock her or feed her a bit more and she will fall back asleep but still wakes up after a few minutes after I put her down. I don't want to resort to holding her for naps...I won't get anything done! My sister did that with my nephew and until he dropped his afternoon nap when he was 3 she had to hold him every day for his naps...I really don't want that to happen! We have let her CIO at night just a few times...just takes about 5-10 min of fussing and she will go to sleep but I can't do it at naptime because by the time she gets to sleep it is time for her to eat again and wake up!

Anyway...does anyone have any tips on how to get her to stay asleep at naptime...preferably in her bed and not the swing. Otherwise babysitters will always have to come here because her swing is here.

[samspain]

I used to put Ana in her pram in the lounge and at about 3 months she wouldnt nap, everything disturbed her and it was awful. I then put her in her room and followed her night sleeptime routine (shoes off, close the curtains, dummy, soft cow toy and her music) and after about a week she started to go for an hour morning and afternoon. I still have to go in sometimes and find the dummy/cow/blanket, but she is still quite a good napper. Also it gets easier when they are on solids as mealtimes are more controllable than on demand bf!!

Goodluck and just be consistant.

[Lauren S]

I am going through the exact same thing over here, April! If I don't hold Brady for his naps, they last about 15 minutes. The only other time I can get him to sleep is if I drive him in the car. I don't just go out to drive him, but I definitely plan my outings in the afternoon to get him to sleep. He's also been really fussy lately because he's so exhausted during the day.

I've tried pretending it's night time by swaddling him and putting him in his crib, but the little bugger seems to know I'm trying to trick him!

Hopefully more BTDT's will chime in with help.

[courtneytcu98]

Heh. Sleep. It's an on-going battle, that is for sure. My best advice is to try and head them off before they are fussy. If they get over-tired, then the body produces cortisol that actually makes it harder for them to stay asleep. I think I remember reading that around the 3 month mark, is when they start sleeping less well with movement so it becomes important to put them in their cribs. I think any change like that is rough for a few days until the new routine is established.

I so feel for you. We struggled. Struggled with sleep. Still do occasionally with daytime naps. It does get better, that I promise you. Hang in there, April!

[NortheastWifey]

I agree with Courtney on putting them down or at least setting the mood for a nap if you have to hold them to get them to fall asleep (I do with Amelia) the moment you see signs of tiredness. This really worked for us with naps. Now I just need to master getting her to sleep at night!

[~Andrea~]

I do not have a good sleeper over here either, so take my advice with a grain of salt!!!! What works for us (most of the time) is to put her down for a nap every hour and a half to 2 hours. I know she will be getting tired around then, so I try and get her sleepy before she knows she is sleepy, if that makes sense?

But, I still can't get her to sleep in her crib. She always sleeps in her swing. Next week my schedule is pretty clear, so I plan to spend the week trying to get her to sleep in her crib. I am sure it will be a BATTLE but after a week I am hoping she will be sleeping in her crib!