3 Month Old Naps

My daughter was like that too, very short naps as a young baby. I found it helpful to wear her in a sling. It allowed her the closeness that made her nap longer, but allowed me some "hands free" time to do other things while I was on maternity leave
Good luck

S.,
3 months ago, I was right where you are. My little guy slept for basically the first 2 months of his life, then he "woke UP" and would not sleep during the day for 2 more months. It was hell, and I am pretty sure I put at least two posts on here about it. :) Of course, he would sleep in my arms like a champ, but the minute I put him down, he was up again. Aaaaahhhh!!! I even tried keeping her in my arms for 20-25 minutes until he seems "really" asleep and then putting him down - BING, eyes open. So frustrating. I also tried crying it out, which I am completely NOT opposed to (worked great with my first), but he would just cry and cry and cry and cry.

So.....another mom on here posted that she just finally realized that her baby needed to be held, and she joined Netflix and got used to it. As I didn't want to be holding my baby forever, I did a hybrid of this. When it was naptime, I always went through the exact same routine (nurse, rock, song) while watching a show I liked. Once he was done nursing, I'd burp him, then take him off to lay him down (awake). I would let him fuss/cry for as long as I could stand it (20-25 minutes). If he didn't fall asleep after that amount of time, I would get him up, change his diaper, let him play until the tired signs showed up again, then repeat the procedure. Sometimes, he'd nap. Sometimes, he wouldn't. On the days he wouldn't, he'd end up napping in my arms during a long show at the end of the afternoon (because I didn't want to hear him cry anymore). Eventually, the length of crying got less and less and the length/frequency of naps increased. Now, he's a great napper - he puts himself to sleep and takes 2-3 really good naps per day. So my advice is this: stick to your routine and don't stop doing it. Keep putting her down awake. Let her fuss/cry for as long as you can. It may seem like it's taking forever, but she will get used to the routine and will eventually become a good napper.

Best of luck to you!!
Amy K

She obviously likes being held! She's pretty young, when my son was a little older, I would wrap him in a blanket so he felt like he was being held. That worked for him. Just make sure that its fixed so she can't get wrapped up in it wrong.......You will also learn how to get her asleep in your arms and then put her down while she continues to sleep. It's a process, but it can be done. Just move very slowly to start and be sure to stand there and pat or rock her while she is lying down if she wakes a bit. In time, she should be fine.

You never said if you leave and let her cry if she goes back to sleep or falls asleep? I never understood why people think crying is bad. It helps their lungs and as long you know they are fine, and you check on them to make sure, it's not going to hurt them to cry.

Either way, good luck and I'm sure you two will figure something out. Just keep trying.

S.,
If this is the only problem you are having, girl you are blessed!!! I don't know about you, but I was never able to let my children cry, it would drive me nuts! But what I started doing, specially with my first one was holding him and rocking him to sleep and putting the shirt I was wearing in his crib so he could still smell my scent and sleep a little longer. He was like an alarm clock the moment I would put him in his crib he would go off!!! so I tried that, and I tried putting him on my bed as well. It eventually got better with time.
Hope this helps.

I hear you girl! I have a little one who will be 3 mths next week and she is a great night time sleeper. She is not a good day time sleeper. She does the same thing- passes out just to wake back up a few minutes later. I'm a big believer in the 4th trimester theory and NOT the cry it out theory. So to save my sanity, and to get her some sleep, I use the moby wrap we have. I wear her- this provides warmth and mommy snuggle time for her and gives me the ability to have my hands free. I know this time passes fast and I don't want to spend every day fighting her natural needs and making us both tense. I've been doing this her whole life and have noticed that just in the past week she is beginning to take some of her naps without being worn! So we are making progress!!!! Good luck and enjoy her!

I completely agree with Dori - a baby that young can not cry it out for a few more months. They're completely driven by instinct and haven't developed any learned behaviors at this point.

All pediatric experts agree that you can't spoil a baby at this age, and I agree that she's letting you know that she needs you.

Have you tried putting her in her car seat for a nap? A swing? A bouncy seat? My kids slept SO well in the car because I drove in it 10 hours a day through each pregnancy (professional sales rep). The sound of the engine was very comforting to them.

It's OK to hold your baby and take a nap with them - it won't be long before that's not an option. I was in tears last night looking at some old pictures of my kids and realizing how quickly they've grown (and they're only 3.5 and 23 months).

Enjoy your daughter!

Maybe, for her daytime nap, she needs the room she's sleeping in to be as DARK as when she goes to sleep at night? If you pull down the shades and draw the curtains closed to shut out any little peep of light, maybe she'd be fooled into thinking it's night time, and nap longer? Just an idea.

I'm sorry but at 3 months old you do not let them lay there and cry for 20-25 minutes to make the go to sleep on their own! Even with the Ferber method that utilizes letting baby cry you are told to wait until at least 6 months! It is not good for their lungs and they are not fine if they are in there screaming and crying for that length of time at 3 months old! It causes stress hormones to flood their little systems. Not a good thing. Check out what Dr. Sears has to say about letting young babies cry like that.

Babies have to be taught to sleep. They do not automatically know how. It is a process and not one that happens overnight. In Happiest Baby on the Block the doctor refers to the first 3 months of life as the 4th trimester. This is when baby is learning about life on the outside and still requires some of the comforts of the womb. My suggestion would be to watch baby closely for cues that she is getting tired, look into the idea that she may have some mild reflux-try getting a wedge designed to go under the sheet and see if that helps some. Try swaddling baby at nap time. I also used a warm pack on the sheets prior to laying baby down ( I removed it prior to laying baby down) so going from my warm body to the warm sheet wasn't such a shock. I also used to stay as close to baby as possible when laying both of mine down. That helped to prevent the falling feeling some babies get when you lay them down. I was practically in the crib but it worked. Try putting her down when she is in full sleep mode as well-like 10-15 minutes after she falls asleep on you.

I completely agree--young infants are not programmed to be scheduled or follow any sleep rules, no matter what some book says. You are lucky that she sleeps so well at night as so many babies this age are still struggling with that.

I know it's hard to get used to, but I would suggest you keep on doing what you're doing. She will either get a 2 hour nap in your arms or twelve 10-min ones without you, and she will settle herself out in the next few months and this will be a memory. ;)

My daughter would cat nap in her vibrating bouncy seat until 7 months old. Then she suddenly started napping 2 hrs in the am, and 2 hrs in the afternoon. My middle son never napped at all. My youngest was a sleep hybrid between the first two. I just rolled with each of them.

Good luck and enjoy every little stage because she will move on to another in a heartbeat!

Hi there,

My son did the same thing when he was that age. Really it wasn't until he was about 10 months or so that I could put him down in his crib and he would stay asleep after I rocked him or nursed him to sleep. I never got anything done either. Often I would grab a snack a drink, and anything else I might need for the next two hours and plop myself on the couch while he nursed and then passed out.

He is now 17 months old and weaned and boy do I miss those days! At least back then I got a guaranteed break! It's harder to clean while he is awake now so I have to get all that done while he naps. Your daughter is still young and considered to be in the fourth trimester. They still need your comforting and I think that's why she sleeps better with you than in the crib. Plus, she is just starting to waken up to the world. She probably gets so excited to play and look around during the day it's harder to settle down, but in your arms it's so comforting it's easy to pass out for a while.

Don't worry about spoiling her, it won't last forever! Good luck!

S.

Cry-it-out (CIO) is my best answer and I used it on both of my children. Even peds recommend it.

I know some will gasp at the thought... but if your baby is healthy, has been fed, changed, and all of the needs have been met... then let her CIO.

If you still "don't like it", then don't use it. But this is the best method that we have used and it worked for us. Our kids have not had trust issues like some will claim or issues with their lungs (?).

Good luck and God bless.

I adopted my daughter at 6 months, so maybe this won't apply, but I found the best way to insure a good nap is a nice warm bath. Granted, you can't do this every naptime, but try it and see if it works and work it in when you can. It doesn't even have to be very long, just ten minutes, but the warm water is a natural sleep inducer and a quickie just before you put her down may do the trick. It does for us!
Also, as you mentioned the routine being the same as night, I guess you already make sure the room is dark and quiet, etc...
Best of luck!