How to Increase Naps?

Stop the rocking and put him in bed awake. Also babies love white noise (ie vacumms blenders etc.) Run a vaccum in his room when you put him down it should help him sleep. Dont turn it off once hes asleep b/c he will probably wake up, at least my daughter did. Good luck

L.

Try more activity. Play with him, give him a snack and then see if he'll go to sleep. This could also be a clingy problem. He's afraid he'll miss something or he just wants your attention all the time. It is said that you can't spoil a baby before 6 months old but around 6 months you can start putting him down for bedtime and letting him cry it out (if you have the patience for that) so he'll learn to comfort himself and go to sleep. Stand there at his bedside with a hand on his tummy to reassure him but do not get him up. Also only put him down when it's time to sleep so he starts to associate his crib and the darkness as sleepy time. Good luck!

Our baby sleeps and takes naps. Somedays more than others, some days none at all. She is a very good baby overall and loves to be held and talked to.

I think the reason she is so good about this is, that early on my husband walked with her for at least 15 minutes every night and sang to her in a steady rhythmic voice. She prefers his deeper humming voice to mine. It is very soothing. We started doing this every night as a little ritual. Plus, it gives my husband more time to bond with her. Now, she does not even need the singing anymore. At a certain time, she just conks out.

Try incorporating some ritual such as humming and walking as a cue for bedtime. It is sort of a "Pavlov dog" type of training.

Once your baby gets a good night of sleep and feels better, i think he might take more naps during the day. Try letting your hubby have a "go" with the singing. My husband is off key, but our baby really prefers his deeper voice. She finds it very soothing. Good luck!

Hi H.. Don't know if this will help, but what I found with my twins is to be sure they are being fed enough and burped enough before naps-(maybe even gas x.) At that age, it is ok if they get sleepy while eating and it is ok to put them down that way-even if they are asleep. It's much too early in my opinion for ferberizing, so I think the problem is elsewhere-satiation with food-sensitivity?, reduction of stimulation, if breast feeding-no caffeine, or smoking-if partner smokes-outside. Also, some of my friends felt comfortable with stomache napping (lifting his head?) as long as they were very close. You might think it will create a pattern, but sleep begets sleep, and once he feels rested and relaxed he will sleep better at night-on his back.

have you tried a swing? my son had almost all his naps in his fisher price natures touch papasan swing- moving side to side. He would nap 3 hours in it- and almost only there till he was 6 months- then went into his crib for naps- maybe a friend has one you could borrow and try? M.

I admit it, I cheated. I put my baby into the stroller and walked him to sleep on the boardwalk, rushed home so that I could get a nap myself. Or, into the car, drove on the highway for 10 minutes and back 10 minutes, by which time he was asleep and I could transfer him indoors. Or, sometimes I just pulled over into a nice quiet shady spot and napped myself.
When he was a year old I dealt with the undoing of this dependency by doing my modified Ferber where I didn't have him cry for more then a minute before going in pat,pat walk out of room. I did that for 30--45 minutes for a few days and voila, independent sleeper. But by then he was very used to and enjoyed his naps.

I have a 4 month old daughter & do okay with the cry-it-out. I try to get her to bed early, by 7-8pm, & have found that that gets her to nap better throughout the day. I've read that babies need 14-15 hours of sleep a day! If you are interested try the book SleepSense. It was given to me by a friend & has really helped us out.

hi H.,

my baby also doesn't like to sleep during the day. i will push him around in the stroller - in the house until he falls asleep, or just take him outside for a walk. also carrying him around in a sling gets him to fall and stay asleep (and keeps my back and shoulders strong!)

at his age your baby should be getting more sleep, its best when they sleep in their cribs but when that doesn't work go to plan b and find what works. you can start establishing a nap routine so that hopefully as he gets older he will fall into naps out of habit.

i'm struggling with weaning my 7 month old from nursing-to-sleep and night-nursing right now. everyone i speak to says that it'll just get harder the older he gets because he expects it. they're right - try finding alternates to breastfeeding as sleep-inducer.

best of luck to you!

IMO and from what I have read, crying it out doesn't work and isn't to be used until a baby is around six months at the least. I rocked and nursed my daughter to sleep until she was 9 months. Anything to get her to take naps because she was the same way. Now she goes down on her own for naps and bed. At 4 months she needed classical music to go down. Doctor said it wasn't the greatest because it may stimulate them, but it was the only thing that worked. Rocking with the music and then putting down.

Also remember that the advice you are getting isn't bad just because it doesn't work for your baby. ALL babies respond differently to things. You might find a combination of things work that people wouldn't think of. But you just need to trust yourself. You are the one with your son, and you have seen what works and what doesn't. Just trust yourself!!

I don't really have any advice. I'm a first time mom with a 3 month old son, and I, too, have been having nap issues.

For the first 8 weeks of my son's life, our house was under construction.(5 months late on a 3 month project!) There was constant noise and no place to nap, so I would hold him in my arms while he slept. Now we have some bad sleep habits that we are trying to get over.

We are up to (usually) 2 very short naps in the morning and 1 longer nap in the afternoon. I have noticed it's really important to catch the sleep cues. When he starts to yawn, it's time. I'm also not having much luck with putting him to sleep drowsy, but if he's yawning, I swaddle him, and walk around with him until he's about 90% asleep, and then can put him down. I pat his tummy and stroke his forhead until he's asleep. If I starts to scream, I pick him up and start all over again. Also, I found at first if I stay in the room with him, it helps.

If all else fails, does your son fall asleep in the car? Or when you take him for walks? My son sleeps like a log as long as he's moving. So if I go for an hour long walk, he gets an hour long nap! It's better than nothing.

- A.

just here to say it's normal (or so i've seen) for about 6 months (3mo-9mo) she only took catnaps sleeping 10-20 min at a time 3-5 times a day, then a couple hrs at a time waking for 5-30 min 2-4 times a night. around about 9 months she seemed to grow out of it and started taking much longer naps. it's VERY hard on us, but they sleep when they have to. be as patient as one can be with no rest, and know that the sleeping schedules will change many times until he's found what sleep pattern is good for HIM. other then that, try car rides, that's the only time my daughter would sleep longer...but i had to keep the vehicle moving or she'd wake the moment i tried to bring her inside :o( good luck!

My little one was the same way. She rarely laid down for naps if ay all. I usually out her in a sling or the ergo carrier and she would have a bit of milk and off to snooze town.

She was still connected to my inner noises, heart thumping, breathing, etc. If I put her down she woke up. I could go on a hike, sing, play with other children loudly and she slept through it all while close to my body.

I read above that you cannot spoil a child until 6 months, I have read and tend to believe that you have much more time than that. Also, slowly weaning a child away from the warmth and comfort of their home (your body for 9 months) is just giving them the security they need to go forward without you.

My daughter takes wonderful 2 hour naps mid morning to afternoon and then a one hour nap in the early evening now on her own. She is not spoiled because I chose to wear her for 9 months, slowly laying her down more often. She is simply a sweet and content and happy baby. (I may be bias but, others confirm this as well)

good luck. It is not easy. I remember being frustrated at wearing her when she was getting heavier, but it was worth it in the end. Forcing naps is never a good idea, my belief anyway, it separates the child before they are ready and those babies seem less content and harder to console.

Hi H.,

I'm a 34-yo mom of a 2 1/2 year old girl. I'm also a registered nurse.

I was reading your question and really wanted to reply when I saw the last couple of sentences in your post. I know that when you feel so desperate for any sleep, it's easy to say "I'll deal with weaning from rocking and nursing later", but that's going to be part of the cycle longer if you don't go through the trouble now. At 4-months old, babies are just starting to figure out that their crying has a desired effect: mom or dad coming to get them.

When our daughter was 4-months old, she also went through a stage where she wouldn't nap and in the evening would cry. She was breastfed and I always made sure she was awake, but drowsy when putting her down for the night. Ultimately, we had to deal with letting her cry in the evening. It took over a week and the first night we did it, it took almost 20 minutes before she fell asleep (and I cried in the kitchen). While it was hard for my husband and I to do, it was also hard to watch how tired she was without enough sleep.

As far as napping goes, we did the same thing, but her napping didn't really become regular and long until she was 1 year old. The first year is a year of a lot of change for babies. Their tummies get bigger, they grow, their needs change all the time, so just when you think they have a "routine", they change. Keep trying for the naps, try walking outside with the stroller mid-morning (if that's an option) - an hour of sleep for your son and an hour of exercise for you (killing two birds with one stone is always nice for busy moms, right?).

Don't give up hope. Our daughter took 2-3 hour naps between the age of 12 and 27 months. It was one nap, but it was from 2-4 or sometimes longer.

Also, when she was younger (and when we were new parents), we weren't the best at recognizing her sleepy behavior. Now when we see videos from her early months, I think to myself "My God, how did I not see that she was sleepy."

Good luck and don't let your frustration allow you to keep rocking...it will make the whole process longer.

My daughter, now 13 months was not a napper at first either. The book that totally changed everything was "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child" by Weissbluth. I learned how to get her on a nap and night sleep schedule starting at 5 months and I still refer to the book. She has slept 12 hours a night and taken two naps a day since she was 5 months old. Her naps are only an hour to an hour and a half, but she has a schedule and thrives on it. She is well rested, happy and well-behaved and we constantly get remarks from people about how happy and good-natured she is. Dr. Weissbluth offers different strategies and while it may take a couple weeks to see improvement it is SO worth it!!

Try to use a sling, walk around with him in a sling, maybe you will be able to nap with him too??????
Or get a vibration to put under the matress, i had play pen and it came with one, it could do wonders at the time with my doughter, good luck...

Sleep is a skill that babies need to learn like any other. I found that my daughter (now 12 m) needed physical contact to sleep at 4 months. She slept best in a sling or wrap. Gradually she began napping in my bed, I would nurse her down, but she needed my presence. Now she naps well by herself. So I think it is a gradual process. I also loved carrying her in a carrier. I remember it as a very sweet time where I could get things done as well!

Good luck

H.,

My 6 month old is very alert for his age as well and once he gets exhausted, he isn't happy either. He is also going through a stage where he gets upset if he wakes up and I'm not in his sight and at night he will wake up to nurse when I know he probably doesn't really need to. I just feel like it is more important to keep him happy and get him to sleep right now without affecting my husband and the other children plus I know it won't last forever. I have never been one for letting any of my children cry it out and both my older boys sleep fine...they go down by themselves and sleep all night unless they have a bad dream which is rare.

Do you have one of those gliders that Target sells? I think it's by Fisher Price. I know there is a new one at our local store now too. It rocks the babies in a more natural way plus you can turn the seat in different directions depending on the rock you are trying to achieve. I swear by mine, especially in the evening.

Good luck,
L.

I know you don't want to hear this but it will all work out in the end. He is only 4 months old and trying to figure out his body and all the changes he is going through. I would suggest relaxing, nursing him in a dark quiet place and holding him while he sleeps if this is the only way to get him a nap for now. Get a good book to read and enjoy this precious time which will pass very quickly. Eventually he will sleep deep enough for you to put him down while he is sleeping. You will not get stuck holding him for the rest of his life. As he grows his body will regulate into more consistent sleep needs. Good luck and remember this will not last forever!

I don't have an answer but I learned a lot from AskDDrSears.com -31 ways to get your baby to sleep and stay asleep. Hang in there!
Connie

try a baby sling - it may be that baby wants to be close and doing so helps build their confidence and feel closer to you. i have a 4 month old that also struggles with naps but found that she is more sensitive to noise/light than my first, who is almost 3 years old. and she is LOUD and keeps the baby up, haha.

but i really like using the sling - kind of a pain in the beginning but the movement helps lull baby to sleep and feels confident later on to fall asleep by himself...
:)

H.

The one piece of advise that I can give, schedule. I am a mother of a 9 and 2 year old. The only way I was able to get both of the to take naps was to have a consistant schedule. Right after lunch they both had a little time to get ready (wash their hands and face, read a book and then a little rocking) once they knew they were being rocked, they knew that was the transition into naptime. Hope this works for you like it did for me.

S. D.

I recommend Judith Mindell's "Sleeping Through the Night". She has a chapter devoted to kids who struggle with napping. It is a softer way of ferberizing and not for everyone but worked for us. We went through this with my son too (now 15months) and it is very challenging. I'm sure your son needs more rest or he wouldn't be miserable. I think he might just need to learn how to let himself rest. It isn't fun and isn't easy but very rewarding when they get it. I think the most important thing is consistency. Good luck!

Hello overtired mom. You need rest tackle seeing that purple faced child and handling it. It hurts and worse when you are frayed. I recommend starting with windown before nap time (some classical music, lights lower - no not romantic stuff) (set a nap time - that will become the time later in your babies routine) and put him down then. After putting our babies down, we went in after 5, 10, then 15 minutes and said "mommy and daddy are here and patted them" with no picking up. This is HARD but worth it. Recommend mixing your instincts with Contented Baby Book, Weissbleuth, Baby Wise, whatever works. Naps come first, then eating................................... We used the "two hour rule", if up past that our twins (yes two) were a mess and couldn't put themselves back to sleep. They found their thumbs at some point and now self soothe (one by crying, the other by chatting.) I started back at work at 3 months and we started getting them in a daytime routine after that. Night time routine came first (bath, bottle, bed). Think of a circle, more night sleep equals more daytime sleep. Seems counter intuitive but works. Also don't listen to me, listen to your baby and when he is tired down he goes in a quiet place with no distrastions. GOOD LUCK. It will come together!
L.
mom to one year old twins in nyc

Hi H.,

I would recommend the book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth. It is a favorite and my copy is dog-eared after two children. Dr. Weissbluth got me through colic, separation anxiety, moving to a bed, etc. I found his techniques and his methodology a lot easier to implement than Ferber's. I will say he is a firm believer in "Sleep begets sleep." Meaning if a kid is already overtired, you have already missed the sleep window. On another note, my daughter was very colicky until almost 4 months old and the sleep specialist told us that we could rock her, use the swing, etc. up until 6 months without the fear of setting bad habits. I am neurotic, and had had an older child who didn't sleep through the night until he was 3, so I pushed her to nap consistenly in the crib at 4 months. At first it was 15 minutes, but gradually she got used to being put down awake, and I bought her a cool mobile with bright primary colors that played classical music which she loved! She soon learned to love her crib and naptime - it took about 10 days to establish good naps, but I was very consistent and followed the steps outlined in Dr. Weissbluth's book. He takes you from infancy through adolescence.

Good luck!
M.

H.. naps are tough, i have had my own battles. just try to read your sons moods. i know my kids all needed a nap after about 1.5 hrs of stimulation, less than the usual 2 hrs. i would try to put them down the minute they started getting fussy. i also used the swing a lot. my first son mostly sleep in the swing, probably not the best thing, but he (and i) were much more enjoyable when he was awake after a good nap. i also did use pacifiers with all of my children and have had no problems with weaning. soothing music might also help. i also found a product by Gentle Naturals called Homeopathic Teething Drops that really seemed to help me with teething issues and colic. it is essentially chamomile so it is safe for babies. i found it at Target, but if you search on the web for the product you should find a list of stores in your area that carry it. i also used 2 books, one by Dr. Farber-read the book yourself-everyone has an opinion on this and another by Dr. Weisbluth. they were both helpful and different stages for me. Good luck!

H.,
Try a swing. After about 4 months, my son starting fighting naps, too. He would, however, sleep in the car and in a swing. Thus, he slept 2-3 naps a day in his swing until he was 8 months old. At 8 months, I had to do the cry it out method at night, and then the next day for naps, to get him sleeping in his crib and not waking every 45 minutes looking for me to rock him (took 3 days and done). Also, make sure you are catching your baby just as he is starting to get tired (don't wait too long--they have more trouble getting to sleep the more tired they are). Start your "sleep routine" very soon after you see the signs--rubbing eyes, yawning, short temper, fussing, etc. Do the exact same short, 10 or 15 minute, routine for every sleep time. Try to do naps and bedtime the same times every day. Keep a log for about a week to see what times your baby seems to prefer. By the way, 4 months is not too young to try the cry it out method--it's actually the perfect age. Good book: Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems by Ferber.

The best advice that has worked for me is to watch for your child's sleepy cues. For my daughter at that age, it was rubbing her eyes. Once that started to happen we whisked her off to bed. Eventually we noticed that she was tired around the same time every day, which helped us to get her onto a schedule. We referenced the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Mark Weisbluth frequently. Although we never did the cry-it-out method advocated by Dr. Weisbluth, there were many many other tips in there to help your child sleep. I still reference the book whenever a new sleep issue pops up - like transitioning from bed to crib. Good luck.

I had the exact samething happen to me, at about 3 1/2 months, she is almost 5 months now. I used the swing a lot and that really helped. I followed her cues, when she got cranky, rubberd her eyes, yawned. I put her down. I use a pacifier, only during the day. It is a lot better now, I am using the 2-3 hour rule,if she wakes at 5am, I try to put her down aroun 7-7:30, just keep doing that,and he will get it. Give it a few more weeks and it should improve. I would do it even if she doesn't sleep, so at least you have some moments to your self. He will grow out of that and it will improve, at least it did for us. She takes an hour -hour 1/2 in morning and a 2 hour in afternoon. Let him fuss a little, but I didn't do the cry it out thing, that early. We have just started to let her cry a bit more. We are working on taking naps in the crib, but for now this works fo us. Keep trying things, and one day it will happen. She was the same way at night, if she didn't nap and then at 10pm got so overtired that we couldn't get her to sleep. It was fustrating, but did pass. Hope this helps and it gets a little easier as they get a bit older.

H. - have you tried swaddling? I have a 6 month old boy who I still swaddle during the day to nap, it seems to help. I swaddle him when I know he's tired, turn on the mobile and he will ususally fall asleep. The swing also helped a lot in the beginning, he primarily napped there for the first few months and then we weaned him over to the crib.

I had a similar problem with my first daughter. I took an awful lot of walks. She would fall asleep in her car seat on a stroller base and would sleep only for so long as I rolled her. I also just wheeled it back and forth in my hallway. Very annoying but effective if you are desperate. I wouldn't really recommend getting started on that path. Also effective but not great ideas (because they get used to it): wearing the baby in a sling or bjorn while taking a walk, a swing, a vibrating bouncy seat that you bounce with your foot on the baby's stomach (the trick is to get the baby's head moving rhythmically)

My daughter was a lousy napper. So I put her in a sling and vaccuumed . . . a lot! Sometimes she'd nap in the swing. My son needed to nap in the swing and to keep him asleep I turned the vaccuum on and put it next to the swing. If I turned it off he woke up.

Go for long walks, stroll the mall with a stroller or baby carrier, drive. Babies love movement and white noise. If you have to put her down in her crib than make the room dark. When it is dark our bodies make melatonin and that makes us sleepy. Good luck.

A.

Sounds like my son. I finally gave in and gave him a pacifier and it worked like a charm. Also, are you following the 2 hour rule?

I found that using a pacifer only at naptime and bedtime helps. I also use a sound machine. This is my fourth child and he is my best sleeper.

If he is taking some short naps but not sleeping longer...is it that you need the break or you think he needs the naps? Maybe you should try putting him to bed early (when you said he is just a crabby mess) just before he turns into this mess. If he then sleeps through most of the night then maybe he really doesn't need the naps. However, if this does not work then try to let him cry some of it out..increasing the amount of time each day that you let him cry and he will get the hang of it. Don't worry...he will be fine. All kids are resilient and are not permanently damaged by us parents trying to figure things out. And good luck to you!!

I suggest to stimulate him for 45mins, feed him then put him down and see if that will work. Good Luck!!!!!!!

i absolutely love the book Healthy Sleep. Happy Child. It has some really great techniques that has resulted in my very happy little guy. I would definitely recommend getting it. It shows techniques by age (written by a dr). I think it said anything over 35minutes is considered a nap. My son didn't nap longer than 45 minutes at a time for months but soon enough was napping 3hrs at a time. So 1hr isn't bad - unless in your case if that's the only 1hr he gets. I think you should still be at 3 naps (or 2 with an early bedtime). This book helped my son take great naps and sleep through the night at a very early age. I love it.