Getting My 8 Month Old Son to Nap in His Crib

Hi Michelle,
This is the hard part of training your babies to understand that you are the mommy and what you want is more important than what they want. If your little fellow sleeps in his crib fine at night then you know he can and his fussing during the day is a choice he's making. It's crazy to think that babies have stubborn wills but they do sometimes and it's up to us to teach them that what we say goes. When my husband and I were deciding what our daily routine was going to be with my daughter, who is now 15 months old, we put her down for her naps awake and let her self soothe and put herself to sleep. It was horrible at first. There is nothing worse than listening to your baby cry BUT now we are reeping great benefits. She goes to bed at 8, awake, and sleeps until 7:30 or 8 in the morning without a peep, unless we're teething or sick. And she naps every day from 1:00 to 2:30 like clockwork. We had to teach her this. It was not easy but I learned that in order for us to be good mommies to our children, we have to take care of ourselves also. You need those two hours a day to maintain your home, rest yourself, talk to friends, read, whatever. If your little guy learns that he can control your day now, just think how it will be when he's 2 and 3 with a full blown will and very mobile!! Sorry I wrote you a book. =) Hope some of this helps. Bottom line, you decide when you want him to nap and put him down, crying will not hurt him, and it may take up to a week but he will learn that when you put him in his crib it is time to sleep and you are not coming to get him until you are ready. You can do it!

A.

1 mom found this helpful

Try putting the bouncy seat into the crib for a few days until he gets used to being there for nap time, then remove it. Babies get into a routine and then become afraid or unsure when it is different because they only know one way and don't understand that it can be another way. Obviously the crib is for night and the bouncy is for nap to your son. If you show him that it can and will be another way and he will be just fine, he'll accept it.

My son never wanted to nap in his crib either. He wanted to be in the car, stroller, or on my lap. I had to end up letting him cry himself to sleep for a few days until he got used to it. We have a similar routine to our bedtime routine so he knows what's coming. The sooner you get over that hurdle, the better for everyone!!!

Good luck!

I just wondered about the lighting situation in his room. My son is 19 mo. old. I have made it a habit to open his blinds when I get him up. That way he knows it is day time. We can play and have a good time (also saves on the dreaded electric bill). Then at nap time, I lay him down, cover him up, turn on his aquarium, and close the blinds. I tell him night night and walk out, closing the door behind me. When he wakes from his nap, I open the blinds back up. At bedtime, I shut them again. I'm not sure, but it seems to help him understand better that darkness is for sleeping and bright daylight is for awake time. Give it a shot. It will probably take a bit to get him to stay and to make it a habit for you. Good luck. Nap time is a blessing unless you have to sew your foot to the bouncy seat. Shannon G.

MY first daughter was the same way! I found online a great product called a crib rocker, but have since seen them at Myers, and some of the bigger stores (I think Babies-r-us too). This is the best thing under the sun! It attaches to the side of the crib and gently vibrates the crib. It has several speeds, sounds and lights. My first one turned on when it heard the baby cry, the last one I purched for my latest baby did not have this feature but had other bells and whistles. I also put a fan in her room, plugged in close to her crib and kept it on when ever she slept for some white noise. The sound of the fan blocked out the dog, phone, doors,and me getting some work done in the house.
Good Luck!

have you tried white noise in his room when he sleeps? A fan, music on CD, anything...it works wonders for my kids and they sleep in their own rooms. I started letting my kids cry it out at around a year old and they learned REAL QUICK how to soothe themselves with soft toys.

M. mom of two

I am actually having the same trouble with my 4.5 mo old daughter. She also sleeps in her crib at night for about 10 hrs. I have heard that I sould just keep putting her in there for a nap even if she olnly sleeps for 20-30m min at a time. Eventually she will get used to it. I just put a fan in there yesterday afternoon and she actually slpet for a whole hour. I also draped a blanket over the window to block out most of the light. Good luck.

I have a similar problem with my 9 month old son. He will sleep 12 hours straight through the night, like clockwork, but he does not nap well during the day. I shut the curtains in his room to make it as dark as possible and lay him down. He usually cries and rolls onto his tummy (and then cries even more), but I have found that if I just wait it out, he'll usually cry himself to sleep. The way I see it, if I lay him down I get to listen to him cry himself to sleep. If I get him out of his crib because he doesn't want to take his nap, I get to listen to him cry because he's tired and cranky. At least if he's crying in his crib, there's a possiblity that he may take a nap! Good luck with your son!

One book:
"The Baby Whisperer: Solves All Your Problems . . ."

Check it out. It will change your world.

Napping is always a tough one!
Great book-the no cry sleep solution, also, you might find some tips in the happiest baby on the block and also www.askdrsears.com for tips for sleep.

as far as during the day....some things to try....
vibrating seat in the room where the crib is....white noise type of music playing to drown out noises (you can buy these online-i did it for nighttime and put it on repeat on the cd player)-i found with my first one that i kept the house actually too quiet...as much of a set napping schedule as you can get, make a routine for nap just as you do for bedtime, it could be abbreviated, maybe one book and then to nap, a bottle, whatever, just so it is consistent. consistency is the best thing...if your son knows nap is coming every day hopefully his body will wind down and get ready for it....good luck!
jen

What I did was when my kids would take a nap, I would continue with my day time stuff, like washing dishes, talking on the phone, vacum, you know, and they slept perfectly... you should just continue on with your stuff so he is not so touchy about noise all day....and can learn to comfort himself.

I would say tough love. Your son has been adapted to this. Hopefully he will not crawl out of his crib, but I would place him there and sit on the floor. The each day move a bit farther out of the room. If he cries, just ignore him (yes this can be terribly hard!) If he crawls out just pick him up (without looking at him or talking to him) and calmly put him back into the crib. After a few days he will get the drift. My son went through a phase when he was about 8 mopnths old where he would wake in the night and want to be nursed to sleep. He would wake a various hours, no routine at all - it was mainly teething pain that turned into a routine. Took me 3 days of hearing him cry while I sat there, but then he was back to sleeping. Good luck.

Start off by putting the bouncy seat in the crib and eventually wean him back to the crib without the seat. My daughter slept her naps in the swing forever! You just have to break the habit. A running fan or noise maker in his room may help too.