I Cant Get My 7 Month Old to Take Naps!!

I know you don't want to let her cry it out, but my sister started this with her son when he was about that age. He is now 18 months, and she still has to lay down with him to get him to take his nap. He goes to sleep fine in his crib at night, but not nap time.

O., you have already gotten some great advice, and I really can't tell you much except to agree with what has been said. I can suggest that you go to your local library and pick up a copy of Solve Your Childs Sleep Problems by Dr Richard Ferber. This book helped save my sanity when my youngest child was an infant and waking up a dozen times a night!!!
The only other thing that I can add is whatever you are going to do...do it NOW....while she is still young enough to stay put in her crib!! If you wait until she is mobile enough to climb up and out of that crib you are going to have even MORE problems to deal with when you finally are exhausted enough to make her take her naps.
Good luck...and stay firm..as one of the other Mama's has said..tears won't hurt her...not taking a nap can!!!
R. Ann

just for giggles (cuz i do think she'll need to cry a bit and i know you don't want to hear that), but here's what i'd try first - i'd get her up a little early one morning, plan lots of fun activities, wear her out as much as possible, then put her down in a quiet, dark room, maybe with a quiet show on (baby einsteins or something) to keep her attention and maybe distract her while she starts calming down. with any luck she might just "accidentally" fall asleep.

otherwise, i would put her in her room and let her cry for awhile, and keep doing it until she gets used to it and relaxes enough to get her nap. at 7 months she MUST have her nap. i'm sorry to say but being mad doesn't hurt her. missing naps does. just keep in mind, you're the reason she's not napping well...you can either do what you need to, to get her the naps she really needs, or keep taking the easy way out, and the longer you cater to it the harder it will be to take control later. i'm sorry if that sounds harsh...trust me i say this with love and from experience - i didn't eat for a week after my son was born because his crying made me sick to my stomach and i was so upset at hearing it that i just couldn't eat ANYthing. literally. i had to have an anti-nausea pill to even eat - and lost all my baby weight before my next checkup. eventually you just have to realize that crying is just what they do. it's not the end of the world, and she'll be fine. i truly hope you find what you're looking for in a method that will get her to nap without crying. wish you the best of luck! but i do think that sometimes being a mom means making them mad for their own good :)

O., Babies are SMART little people!! I had a little one that I swore was SOUND asleep when I was holding him, but as soon as I laid him down he'd pop up like I'd flipped a switch. They have to learn to put themselves to sleep and at first she'll be really mad at you for daring to mess with her world. It is for her good (and yours). Crying won't hurt her, although I know it's h*** o* Mom. Put her down when you know she's tired, tell her it's nap time and you'll see her when she wakes up and leave her.

Good Luck, M.

O.,

The most important thing here is what one of the other moms said which is 7-month-old babies need naps. They require more sleep than bigger children, and if the do not get adequate sleep, they can eventually get sick. Also, the more you get upset and anxious, the more the possibility you are going to get run down and sick also. Besides, it's not really fair to your 13-month-old, either.

I know you don't like to hear your baby cry. Most moms don't. However, one thing you can do when you lay your baby down in the CRIB is put on some very soft music. Once baby realizes there is music on, she will should start to settle down in order to hear what's playing. You also will need to plan some sort of distraction for yourself while baby is crying such as heavy-duty cleaning. Then, every 10 minutes or so, go into baby's room, pat baby on the belly and to let her know that you are there to give her some feeling of security, but DO NOT pick her up. I would plan on doing this for however long you want your baby to nap 1-2 hours. Once that time that you have decided how long you want her to sleep is up, go in pick her up and go on about your day. If when she is in your arms and starts to doze off again, lay her back down in her CRIB to let her know that she will not be able to sleep in your arms. It may take several days. It will most definitely be exhausting and mentally taxing, but if you keep it up, you will break her of this habit, and you two will both be better off--not to mention your other child.

The last resort is the baby backpacks that I see moms/dads wear like at the mall, etc. Baby Bjourn is a popular one. That way baby will still be carried by you, and you can have your hands free. I don't recommend this because you are not teaching baby that she needs to nap in her CRIB, but it is an option. Just understand, though, baby will start to get pretty heavy soon.

Good luck to you.

J.

Its never fun to break a habit, let her cry it out and after 2 or 3 days she will fall asleep on her own. This is the first step of her controling you, and it just gets big from here to how she will do what it takes to get her way and let me tell you by the time they get 4, 8, 11, 14 ets, its not a pretty site, and your at a real loss as to how to correct a problem that could have been done at 7 months. good luck get strong, stand your ground or your going to lose ground in this battle. I know that sound tough but as parents we have to be tough for the childs sake, other wise the grow up to be rude controling brats. Look around you, you can see them every where because most parents now days are whimps.

O.,
Stick to your gut. I too had a child that couldn't get to sleep without help. I too heard from "everyone" that I HAD to let her cry it out. Turns out my gut was right....her sleep problems were due to reflux & food allergies and once we figured those out she started going to sleep on her own. My daughter is not spoiled or clingy now, but an amazing, articulate, confident, independent 3-year old. But i feel your pain. I thought I would go mad sitting in a dark room holding a sleeping baby--knowing she'd only get the sleep she needed if I was holding her. I read all the books about sleep, but none of them were any help to me (because none of them address food allergies). You might try the "No Cry Sleep Solution" (I think that's the name). I agree that the sling might be good for both of you...some of them you can kind of cover the baby's face to keep light out. A mom at my daughter's preschool uses a Moby wrap for her baby when she picks up her preschooler, and the baby is always cozy and asleep. If you put a mattress or something on the floor and lay down next to her until she was asleep, do you think you could sneak out and she'd stay safely asleep? Good luck.

Hi O.!
Have you thought about wearing her in a sling or wrap. There are many different styles out there for all kinds of different body types. I wore my daughter A LOT the first year of her life and then she could sleep (in my arms/against my body) while I worked or played with my older son. You can find intructions online (youtube is great) to help you learn how to wear her properly so that it doesn't hurt your back! Good Luck.
K.

p.s. After reading through the responses I thought it was 'funny' that you specifically said "I won't do the cry it out method" YET that what most everyone was advocating for. I think the most important thing in mothering even more-so than taking advice from experienced mothers or worrying about your baby 'controlling' and 'manipulating' you, is for YOU to listen to your gut. If it doesn't feel right for you and your family, then you should stray away from it. Do what works best for you!! Again, Good luck!!!

I agree. Get Dr. Ferber's book. My daughter's (and mine) bad sleeping habits were changed in 2 days following this book! You can get it for a couple of dollars on amazon. Good luck!!

Have you checked out The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley? It's a pretty good book with tons of ideas, maybe some will work for you. I've had good luck at different stages with it. I am definitely a no-cry-er. And, for the record, there is certainly evidence that prolonged crying is not good for babies. Good for you trying to take the gentle approach.

K.