5Mo Old Not Napping....

Sounds like my son at that age. To get him to take a nap I used to lie down with him in the middle of our bed and nurse him to sleep. Then I would very quietly and slowly roll off the bed. It was one of the few things that worked! By the way, at 4 1/2 he's a champion sleeper now. She'll learn.

If she is your only baby, and you stay home with her, I say just hold her and clean the bathroom at 8:30 p.m.

She'll only be a baby once, and she is sleeping all night in her crib. Snuggle up with her on the couch with a good book, once she's sleeping, read for an hour or nap yourself.

For me - it wasn't worth it to deal with the crying. I felt like a terrible mom. I really enjoyed just holding my tiny baby though.

She'll nap independently when she's older.

My kids are now 5, 4, and 2 and my middle one was like yours. He napped great by about 13 months. That might feel like a long time, but in hindsight you will feel like if flew by. I'm so glad I held him for naps for the first year (now that he's four and a bundle of action all day).

Just my experience/thoughts.

J.

You are right, she is exhausted and it's not helping the situation. I let go of my other obligations just like you did, had a dirty house and a happy baby.

My first baby slept through the night between 16 & 18 Months.

My second baby is not sleeping through the night yet, although she is getting more and more relaxed and understanding of how to go back to sleep, and she is 22 months now. I clean at night after she's asleep for her first 3-4 hour stint.

This is what I did because I believe letting them have solace and comfort is crucial for best development and attachment.

yeah sometimes babies that are great night time sleepers still have a hard time with the napping. I don't know why. You would think they wouldn't know a difference but they do. My only question would be when are trying to have her nap? Sometimes if you wait a little too long and they start to act really sleepy then they are over tired and it's harder for them to fall asleep. So she should be taking 2 naps a day at this point. If she wakes around 7 am she should be ready for a morning nap around 9 or 9:30 and I would let her nap about an hour to an hour and 1/2. Then she should be awake until her afternoon nap which should be around 1 or 1:30 for this nap let her go as long as she needs to sleep. Usually around 2 to 3 hours. Then she'll be ready for bed around 7:30pm. Also she is still young....does she like the swing? With my second daughter she loved to nap in the swing so I just let her. If I put her in her crib for naps she woke right up like yours. But if I put her in her swing she would sleep. I let her nap in the swing until she was about 6 or 7 months. After that point she was fine to nap in her crib. So your baby might just need some motion for a while still and then will start to sleep better in her crib.

You have tried alot of different things but you have not tried ONE thing for an extended time and now she is confused. I have helped hundreds of children over 21 yrs to get to sleep and stay asleep through my mommy and me classes.
A 5 month old is very manipulative already.
A 5 month old needs two naps during the day. One around 10:30 and one around 3pm. Her bedtime should be around 7-7:30pm.
Let her decide how she wants to sleep. She most likely will prefer side or stomach.
Put her in awake and close the door.
Do not come back in.
She may cry for 45 minutes or longer. That is usually the time it takes for a huge dose of serotonin to hit the brain and they fall asleep at that point. The next few days will be iffy and then she will be fine.
Get her attached to a lovey/pacifier or both.
You can still get her on a paci at 5 months which I would suggest. Put several of them in the crib.
Take all bumpers out. She needs to be able to see the door and also not suffocate getting stuck under them.
I promise she will settle down and sleep but stick to ONE thing. She will still love you, trust me. Some people look at this as cruel but it is not. What is cruel is when your daughter goes to school and doesn't get her way and doesn't understand it because she always manipulated Mommy in the sleep areana which is a HUGE part of self regulation. She sleeps good at night, so you know it's all a show.
Good luck and let me know how the progress goes.

I feel for you. My 4 month old son is need of some sleep training, but with an almost 3 year old as well, I just want him to sleep (and put him down asleep). My daughter was super tough with sleeping. I don't have any magic advice to get your daughter to stay down, but I would encourage you to go with your gut. If you are okay with letting her nap on you, then go with it for now and try something again in a few weeks. My daughter didn't sleep through the night till 10 months (and that was only 5 hours then), so you are lucky that he sleeps well at night already.

I have heard of putting a heating pad in the crib and then removing it right before you put the baby down. That way there isn't a noticeable temperature difference. Also, you could try getting a blankie to take your scent and then put it between you when she falls asleep and then down with her in the crib. The lying in bed to nurse idea another mom gave could work also.

I'm not a fan of CIO. It didn't really work with my daughter. (She eventually just moved at her own pace and turned out to be fine.) But if you do try CIO, then you probably just need to stick with one method for a week or 2 before changing.

Good luck--and try to make use of her awesome night sleep!

My oldest was like this and still is--goes hard all day and passes out at night. BUT! Babies do need naps.

In my case, I think I was waiting too long. They have to learn how to go to sleep--it's skill and it takes concentration. If they're overtired, it will be harder. I kept thinking, "Oh, she's not tired--she wants to play." because she would respond to rattles and such. Well, I think I need to put her down BEFORE she got tired.

I think the other mom's advice about rolling off the big bed is a great idea--until she can move, lol! I would also try a sling.

I know they're getting some bad press lately, but that's because people use the wrong kinds the wrong way. I would recommend a wrap to let her nap on you--www.thebabywearer.com has great advice. If you can find someone near you who can help you, that'd be great or PM me.

You may find that if you "wear" her when she's awake, she'll be more secure and go down to sleep more easily. I don't know if it's personality or the slings, but I wore my second child and he's a champion sleeper!

Good luck!

I had a similar problem when my daughter was 6 months old. I read a book that suggested nursing the baby 4 times a day on a 12 hour schedule. For example I fed my daughter when she got up at 7am and then again at 11am, 3pm, 7pm. It TOTALLY worked for me.
My daughter's 3 now, so I can't remember the exact wording. But I think the reason it works is because the child is nursing less frequently, so she will consume more milk with each feeding. Therefore, naps will pattern themselves after the feeding. (Maybe due to full belly?)
I have to admit, I had my doubts when I started. Two weeks later we had a solid sleep/nap schedule that was like clockwork. I loved it.
Good luck!

Maybe try a sleep sack.
If you look on Amazon, they have these.