How to Get My Son to Nap Semi-regularly??

Hi H., I am a mother of 5 and I have used the phylosophy of "Becoming Baby Wise" by Esso. I did this for each of my children and they slept through the night really early and went down for naps like clockwork. I know it sounds too good to be true to you right now and I feel for you going through all these tiring days. Get the book and read it. It is worth a try and never too late to start this concept. Basically it is all about feed them, play time and put them to bed. Keep that same pattern no matter what and within days their internal clock will know what to do. You have to be the one to train their little bodies. They really don't know what the right thing to do yet, right? Always feed them as soon as they wake up, then have play time and do not feed them before putting them down for a nap!!! Not only is it bad for their ears, teeth(when they get them) and digestive system, it is a habit that is hard to break. Eventually they will know that when you lay them down, it is time to sleep. When they wake up, they know they will get fed, etc. ... I loved this concept and it really worked for me. Hope this helps, at least you know there is hope out there. I have a two year old and my oldest is 23! K.

Hi H.,
Both of mine napped, but so did I. My moms best advice to me was that you sleep when your baby sleeps. The house work will happen when you get the chance to do it. On that note, I would lay them on a blanket (or where ever I could lay too) and snuggle with them. We both were rested and I wouldn't trade that for doing the dishes any day!!
If you are just wanting some free minutes to do house work here and there, try a baby einstein video... That was the reason that smart mom invented it.
Good luck!!

Get a sling or a carrier so that you can still have him against you, but get things done. That way he can smell you, feel you breathe, and hear your heartbeat. Also, have you tried putting him in a swing to sleep or even his carseat? Also, you might look into seeing if he has reflux. Are you holding him upright while he sleeps and when you put him down he cries? If he has reflux holding him upright will keep the acid down, but as soon as you lay him down it rises up in the back of his throat. If this is the case, then reflux babies sleep better and are safer on their bellies. You could also try elevating one end of his crib to see if that helps him.

if it's the closeness and the warmth he is wanting, burrito wrap him with his arms down, so they don't come out, with a pacifier. My son craved his burrito wrap. tuck the end under the baby so it won't come undone. and give him 10 minutes to cry. It seems like an eternity, but 10 minutes is long enough for them to entertain themselves or to realize it's not so bad, but not long enough for them to feel abandoned.

Have you tried an infant swing? We used the Fischer Price Aqua wonder or something like that and it was a life saver to get my daughter to sleep. ;) You may also try laying him down beside you and gently patting his back until he falls asleep, or just have your arms wrapped around him but not holding him that way if he goes to sleep you can slip away from him. It takes them about 15 minutes to be in a deep enough sleep so that you can sneak away. Hang in there....

does your son have a lovey? a blankie or stuffed animal or something? you might try that, my daughter was about 6 months old when she chose one of her blankets as her lovey and now at 2 1/2 she still uses it to go to sleep! but it helps her feel safe even when mama isn't there. maybe even try given him a t-shirt of yours that isn't washed so it smells like you! also, try putting him down at the same time every day for his naps, no matter how long he sleeps. some babies crave routine, even when it comes to naptime. i wouldn't let my babies cry for too long, or get too hysterical when i lay them down, but what i do is just feed my baby, give her the pacifier and blankie and then put her in her crib. she usually fusses for 5-10 minutes but whenever she loses her pacifier i just go in and give it to her again, just don't look at her or talk to her. she is learning to self-soothe which is important once kids are older. if she gets too hysterical though i pick her up and calm her and then start all over again.
i hope some of this helps! and i know other moms said this, but don't worry about the housework! your son will be grown before you know it, enjoy it while you can =)

Try feeding him a bottle and then cuddle him till he is almost asleep. It will take a while for this to work because he has had you wrapped around his little finger for 8 months now. Once he is almost asleep, put him in the bed, sit there and softly talk to him, pat him on the back. Once you have done this a couple of days, stop talking and just pat him on the back for a few minutes and slowly decrease the time you do this. Yes you will spend a few days sitting by the bedside to get him to sleep but after you have him sleeping during the day you will find yourself with so much time it will be worth it. Also start playing a soft cd with lullabies when he is sleeping. As you get him ready for sleep, turn on the cd as a cue that it is sleep time. I always played the radio, cd's or tapes when my kids slept. The advantage of that is you don't have to tiptoe around your house and pray that no one rings the bell and wakes the baby. Get them used to sleeping with everyday noise and they will sleep anywhere. My daugther slept through an ambulance siren outside her window for 5 minutes cause the neighbor had fallen and the guys were stupid enough to not turn off the siren until I asked them to. But she slept right through it at 8 months. I could vaccum, play with the kids I sat for occassionally and she never missed a beat. My sister in law did not believe in my noise desensitization and if you walked down her hallway while the baby was napping she turned the ringer off on the phone, had a sign over the doorbell, and had specific boards marked with tape cause the squeak of the board would wake the baby. I do not have that much time to avoid a board so the baby will sleep. I stayed there for a week and by the time I left that baby was sleeping through jumping in the hallway and the phone. I couldn't get her to sleep through the doorbell but my concession was that it was truly loud(plus it was right by the nursery door) and I didn't think a dead man would sleep through that one.. So we left the sign.
Stay strong, be firm, discipline starts now. He is obviously secure taking naps on you now but he can't be in kindergarten and you have to drop everything to run to the school cause it is rest time and he has to have you there to be the little blue mat. NOW is the time to set up his ability to learn trust. Sit him in the bouncy seat while you work. If you leave the room verbally tell him things like "Mommy is going to put the dish towels she folded in the kitchen, I will be right back" When you return say "see, that didn't take but a minute, you were so patient for mommy" and then rub his cheek or give him a smooch. He will be learning object permanence now and peek a boo is a great thing to start now. put a towel over your face and say "where's the baby" or "where's mommy" then drop it and say "there you are" or "here I am". Before long he will be doing it himself and having a great time. He has to learn about how the world works and you are his primary teacher.
Good luck,
C.

My son (he's 4 now) had this problem, too. I'm not a fan of "just let him cry himself to sleep." That's unnecessary stress for both of you. What did work, though, was putting him on his tummy in his crib when he cried when he was in his crib. I would pat him on his back - fast, the slower, and slower... This took 3-5 minutes. As I slowed down, he would slow his crying and by the time I was gently rubbing his back, he was asleep. Your son just needs to learn how to calm himself down. Your de-escalating his crying with him is a great thing to do to help him.

S.

Hi H.. You might try reading the book "The No Cry Sleep Solution". She has a lot of ideas on helping your baby sleep without letting him cry it out.
I know this sounds funny, but you could try swaddling him. My daughter slept swaddled until after she was a year old. I found the swaddling still helped her feel cozy and secure even after I put her down in her crib. I hope this helps.

H.,
if im remembering correctly, your son has reflux... thus, the advice of tracy's post would be the way to go. it takes a lot of creativity to keep a reflux baby comfortable while sleeping. just be sure he is always elevated and never flat, not only is this very uncomfortable for him it is also dangerous. if he happens to reflux while he is flat on his back it could aspirate into his lungs, or worse, choke him while blocking off his airway.

Hi H.,

I had also read a sleep book for my daughter that really helped!! Basically it said that sleep begets sleep, meaning the more sleep he gets the more he will sleep!! Does that make sense!! Also, they recommmended to put your baby down by about 8pm every evening then they should nap at 10am and 2pm!! I really followed that regimend and it worked for us!! ALSO, we have one of those music boxes that goes on the crib AND my daughter has a special blanket that she sleeps with to comfort her!! Now that she is 2yrs old she only takes one nap, but still goes to sleep @ 8 pm and by noon she is napping for at least 2hrs!! I hope that this helps, I know how it is to get NO SLEEP!!!
LOL,
C.

Hello H.. My son is 8 1/2 months old. I had a hard time with him also. He use to take half hour naps and the only way I could get him to fall asleep was to hold him like you. However he has started to nap longer. I tried the cry out method as a last resort and it did not work for me or him. I hated it. It was not what I wanted to do, but I was willing to try anything.
So this is what I tried. Try putting a warm towel down where he sleeps to warm up his sleeping area before lying him down, plus I gave him a night-night blanket to hold. Then after he fell asleep in my arms I waited about 10 min til I was sure he was asleep. Then I laid him down. An other way also is to lay him down in his crib and sit with him, even if he plays in his crib he will learn that this is a comfortable place to be. Sometimes babies just aren't comfortable without their mothers arms.
You should know from your 1st boy that all babies will eventually get themselves to sleep on their own. Some take longer than others to learn this.
Good luck on getting your little one to nap!

Dear H.:
Get a 'strap on' harness so he is on your front or back, then do your work. He'll sleep. Don't worry about the noise, and don't walk on eggshells. If you are lucky, you may be able to 'take him off' once he sleeps.

Regards,
W.