Nap Advice Needed

Every child is different, but what I would suggest is to try to get her on the same pattern everyday, that way she will be used to everything going on. I aslo tried to put my son to sleep when he was awake as often as I could so that he would realize the differences.

A., I just went through this same thing with my 7 month old son. I hated to do the cry it out method because I personally just have a hard time listening to my children cry. We decided to try a combination of two methods taken from "The Baby Whisperer" and the "No-Cry Sleep Solution." We decided to do our sleep training in Phases as in the "NCSS" and used the "hush-pat" and "Pick up, put down" method from "TBW", we started with the pick up, put down and moved to shh-pat and eventually moved to just shh. Now he goes down like a dream most of the time. I found www.babywhisperforums.com to be very helpful, good luck! I also found sticking to a pretty strict routine for the first week to be very helpful, making sure he woke up at relatively the same time every morning, have meals and naps at a set time and go to bed by 7:00, 7:30 every night, it certainly helped him to realize when it was time to nap and go to bed and made my life 10 times nicer with a very rested and happy baby.

Maybe try picking her up and rocking her back to sleep. I would cradle her in your arms instead of putting her back on your shoulder. I think it will be easier to put her back in the crib. Just before she falls asleep and she's starting to dose off put her back in the crib. Maybe that will help. Also, do you give her a pacifier? That sometimes helps my son put himself back to sleep. I also swaddle him which seems to help too. I hope this helps.

My mom told me to use lots of patience, set a routine, and repeat the routine over and over and over and over. Such as, at the same time everyday put her down in her crib, maybe soothe her by rubbing her back, put a binky in her mouth, mabe play some nice music. Pretty much create cues for her to know its naptime, and repeat over and over until it works!

i am not having the exact problem you are but my almost 3 month old takes only cat naps. about 45 mins. not like my other daughter who was a solid 2 hour napper. but like you, she will nap forever in the car or out and about. but my nanny started swaddling her this week and she sleeps solid 2 hour naps now! crazy. i didn't think at 3 months that she would stand for it but it works for her. she swaddles her really tight too. so she is all cozy. she said she did it with her son for 7months. so good luck.

This is actually a very easy fix. Currently you've trained your baby that she's supposed to sleep in your arms. So when you transfer her elsewhere, she panics and thinks- what the heck is mom doing. This isn't how things are supposed to be! In order to fix this issue you need to continue what you are doing, cuddling her and holding her until she is just about to doze off. You'll see her do the seven mile stare to nowhere, and then slowly but surely her eyelids will start to dip. At that point transfer her to her crib, but stay right there with your hand on her or patting her so she knows your not abandoning her. If she panics again when you transfer her - DO NOT let her scream it out in her crib. She'll only learn to hate her crib and feel insecure there. Pick her back up and try to get her close to sleep again. When you she's tired enough and you transfer her, she'll fall asleep on her how and feel secure knowing your near by. Once she's sleeping you can leave. The key is to repeat the task of getting her to fall asleep on her own. Eventually you can wean her from the patting by just placing a hand on her and then when she feels safe and happy in her crib, she won't protest going there when she's tired. My daughter is 2 and my husband and I used this method. She's been sleeping through the night since 3.5 months (6h at that time and now 12 hrs at 2 years). We do stick to the same routine as other people have suggested and I think that helps reenforce the security. Although it's more work at the beginning to sleep train- I promise you that you won't regret it in a year. Allowing your baby to sleep in a swing is only a temporary fix because eventually your baby will be too big for the swing. Best wishes!!!

Not sure if you have time to do some reading... but I read "The Baby Whisperer" which was just awesome! It helped me so much with my son and he sleeps better than any other kid I know. We started using her techniques fresh out of the hospital and I highly recommend trying it. Another friend of mine started with the techniques when their babies were a bit older and they had issues, and I know it helped them too! Good luck! I'm finishing up "The Baby Whisperer for Toddlers" now!

My DD was like that. I wore her in a sling for a lot of naps or held her. Eventually she became more amenable to being put down, but I had to do it at just the right time in her sleep cycle. If I waited too long, she'd wake up, too soon and she wasn't asleep enough yet. It took a lot of experimenting but we eventually got there. She was also one to wake at 45 mins and need help getting back down often. But really it doesn't last forever and she was my only child so what else did I have to do than enjoy cuddle time with my baby? I did make sure to have noise around at nap time, tv on or music or something so we wouldn't have to worry about other sounds happening and waking her up.

She really is too young to be left to cry. I wouldn't CIO an older child either but even Ferber does not recommend his CIO techniques until at least 6 months. Uncomforted crying is not good for babies. The stress hormones are no good for developing brains. I believe you can find scientific studies on this on askdrsears.com, if you need science to confirm what your mommy instinct is already telling you. She is still very young.

I'd also recommend Happiest Baby on the Block. Another good one for gently helping babies to sleep on their own is No Cry Sleep Solution. Mostly geared toward night sleeping, but could be helpful for naps too. It may take a lot of experimenting to see what works for your baby or if she's like mine, it didn't matter what I did, she did things when she was good and ready and not a moment before. She's almost 2 now and naps stopped being a big deal ages ago. I really don't remember at what age.

I know it can be frustrating, but do some more reading on gentle techniques rather than listening to people who tell you to do something that doesn't work for you. There's a reason it makes you feel bad to hear her cry. It really isn't a choice of either CIO or have the baby strapped to you forever. I know this seems so far off to you now. But I wish I could spend a couple hours with a baby sleeping on me now while I watched a movie. Naptime now is me squeezing in lots of chores, eating and me-stuff. Good luck!

MY daughter was like that and she is 2 know. We bought a bear that played the heart beat like what ahe hear i the whomb. She slept better in her crib when we had it. Just use rechargable batteries. So you never run out. my other sug. is let her cry it out for 20 min. Her dr. said if she is tired she will fall esleep it is tuff but she will adjust. it took Adeline about a week and she started t sleep with out cryng as long. She will cry a little bit after a week but will be softer and shorted good luck.

I went through this with my first son. I hate to say it, but I would just put him in the car and drive so he could nap. I know gas prices are expensive these days, but as you said, she needs to nap. It wasn't until he was about 8 months old that I could get him to nap at home (and even then it was for a very short time). But now, at 2, he naps great! You just have to be persistent, but also find what works for the both of you. Maybe napping together might work? That way, you both get to rest!

There is a book called The Happiest Baby on the Block and it has helped a lot of people with sleep issues, it is for sleep issues..good luck..My son stopped napping at age 4..I still miss them!

I have a similar problem with my 4 month old son. He naps but only for about 30 - 50 minutes 2 or 3 times a day and it's almost never in the crib. Morning in the swing, afternoon in the bouncy vibrating seat, and late afternoon usually in the stroller walking. The routine is pretty consistent so that seems to help. He goes to bed easy at night and I still swaddle him. Swaddling him for naps hasn't helped me though. He does not want to be swaddled in his crib during the day or he starts to scream. I think any baby under 6 months (or even older) should just sleep where they can when the can. All that matters is that he gets some rest, right? Good luck!

The reason most babies sleep so well in our arms or in their carseat is because they are snuggled up (like in the womb) and feel protected. Once they are in their crib, they are not. I recommend swaddling her very tightly with a large baby blanket and holding her for a bit before putting her down. Sometimes, they do not even notice they are not being held anymore and sleep. I also used a CD player playing rain (on repeat) for my daughter and it soothed her. "Happiest Baby on the Block" DVD is a wonderful resource for getting your baby to sleep without having to have her "cry it out" too much. We did use the cry it out method with our daughter when she got a bit older with some comforting and timing her cries (wait a little longer each time, etc.) and it worked for us. My 19 month old still takes two naps a day and sleeps through the night. So, I will continue this method with our next baby! Good luck!

A., I can relate because I was in the same boat with my now six month old son. He would nap with me or briefly in his bouncy seat. The one thing that has really worked well for his napping is his swing. At times he fights going in, but almost always falls asleep and sometimes for hours! I keep it going and the music on it as well - tough on the batteries but worth it to save your sanity!
He is now getting better at sleeping/napping in his crib. But if I were you and if you don't have a swing, get one. My sister in law swears by freecycle.com - where you trade items you no longer need with someone else. I would offer you mine but he still does nap in it. Good luck;-) Hope this helps.

If you have a swing let her nap in that.