Fussy Routine

Two of my boys were happy to snuggle with me before going down for their naps without a murmur of complaint. One of my boys just had to wind himself down with a crying spell before he'd go to sleep. It didn't matter what I did or how long I did it for. It was like my little guy just had some excess energy that he needed to burn before he could conk out. Once I figured this out, nap times got much easier. I'd put him down BEFORE he got overtired so instead of a long crying jag, he'd only cry for five minutes before falling asleep during nap times.

I agree he is a little over tired. At that 1 hour mark you might try a naptime routine then put him to bed. It will take a while before he learns to go with the routine and even longer before he learns to put himself to sleep. One thing that helps all my kids is to stroke somewhere on their face. Each one is different, two the nose, one the left eyebrow (yes ONLY the left), one the cheek. You will see the eyes flutter closed when you get the right spot. My little one now has to have her nose stroked with her music thing on AND swaddled and a pacifer. A little labor intensive but only about 5 mins.

Karen's post is right on in my experience. As an adult, I have difficulty going to sleep when I'm overly tired. And I have a mature nervous system. As a child I preferred taking a nap with my mother. It is comforting to have mom around. At the same time, as you suggested, he needs to learn how to organize themselves so that they can go to sleep. He's learned that you will pick him up if he cries. And that is his preference. I suspect that he continues crying no matter what you do is related to being overly tired. Or does he quiet down for awhile and then starts crying again when you put him down? It sounds like you and he have gotten into a routine that isn't working for either one of you.

He goes to sleep at night because that is the routine you've established.

My, but our babies put us thru the paces. But as you also said, "they're worth it." We're learning on the job.

Hi Lynelle, My son does the same thing, usually when he is over tired. Sometimes he will just be happy to rock, but other times he starts freaking out. When he does this I just take him and put him in his bed and let him work it out. Usually the crying only last a couple minutes. I strongly recommend the book "Healthy sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. It is a great book and it really helped us to establish a calm sleep routine!! Good Luck!