Sorry to post so often but....I took the advice given to another mom and started to let my 1 yearold "cry it out" to sleep in his crib on his own for naps. It took 2 days of tears, but he now goes down tear free...the problem is he won't sleep for more than 45 minutes. He still takes two naps a day, which he really does need both, but what should I do to get him to stay asleep longer...He's been so crabby over these last few days! I'm kinda freakin out.
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/1998/04.09/ChildrenNe...
This excellent website was initially suggested by Julie.
For those that are able to make the babies needs a priority,
this is a good reminder for those frustrating/difficult times.
C.
Hi!
I did this, too, letting my babies (now on my 3rd) cry it out so they would learn to go to sleep on their own. It seems like torture, especially for the mom listening, but like you said it only lasted a couple of days. As for the 45 minute naps, the book i read about teaching your baby to sleep says a true nap is one and a half hours, with 45 minutes as one sleep cycle and the next 45 minutes are a different part of the sleep cycle. I can't remember the terminology. (REM, etc) So your baby is probably waking up cranky and now getting cranky due to lack of sleep. I let my babies fuss a little at this time, too. It again will probably take a couple of days--we especially did this with night waking. Either I would let them cry and see if they would go back to sleep or I would go in and pat them on the back and say "Go to sleep" which usually made them cry more because then they were mad. At night, I would make my husband go in and pat their backs so they knew Mom wasn't coming in to get them. Initially, I went in so they knew I heard them crying but that I wasn't getting them. Then after a couple of days, I let them cry it out without seeing me. It did work and I did have happier babies--now with my 3rd, the babysitter can lay her down and she goes right to sleep and takes good naps.
Hope that helps. I hated hearing them cry, though, but I figured they wouldn't remember it and crying never hurt a baby so I would watch the clock.
Happy Mother's Day
M.
There's two possible things here. One is that he is behind on sleep and overtired when he goes down for the nap, making it shorter than it should be. If this is the case, you can try to get him down earlier for naps, but it could also just right itself over time. On the other hand, maybe it's that he doesn't actually need two separate naps, but one long one. Think about how much sleep he's getting at night and add in the 45-minute naps -- chances are it is actually enough sleep overall (12-14 hours for his age I think). But the two shorter naps aren't giving him the good restorative sleep that one long nap would do, so he's still crabby. Try it for a day or two and see what happens -- somewhere between noon and 1. Good luck, and don't freak out. Sometimes it seems that as soon as you start to attempt to fix a problem, it changes on its own. It'll be OK.
M.,
Hang in there. My 13 month old went through a similar phase a couple of months ago. And, we tried doing everything the books recommended and even talked to our doctor, (ie - let him cry it out). Although, I agree with some of the postings about putting him down a little sooner and some of the other advice, all it really took was time...after a couple of weeks of short naps, he eventually figured it out on his own. The best you can do is just go with your own intuition and be patient. Best of luck to you.
Hi! I just wanted to support what Kate said. Indeed, 1 year olds need about 13-14 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period. If he's not getting "quality" restorative sleep, he'll be crabby. It'll be okay...and really it's just the start of a future of trying to figure him out. I have a 13 y/o and I STILL get frustrated, just about everytime he opens his mouth! :-)
Just roll with it and remember, so many things have a way of adjusting themselves, and many others change the minute you find the "solution".
Hi, my 11 month old was doping the same thing but i found physical activity like splashing in her little pool or going to mini gym really helps. Also try playing soft classical music in his room or put a fan on for some white noise. At night it is quiet so if they are not in that deep sleep noise tends to wake her up. I used the Baby Einstein sweet dreams CD and put in an continuous mode. I put it on when she goes into the crib and she sleeps anything from 50 min to and hour and a half. Hope this helps.
Has it only been 2 days? Maybe he needs a little more time to adjust, as in, now that he is down for the nap give him a little time to get used to it and the naptime may increase? Baby steps here!
it's possible that he's ready to go down to 1 nap a day. you could try eliminating the morning nap and putting him down for 1 longer afternoon nap and see if his mood improves. It's also possible that it could just be a phase that will pass in a few days.
Maybe he is getting teeth and that is why he won't sleep to long. just a thought
I would try to consolidate it down to one nap a day, after lunch time. He may sleep for a 2 hour stretch that way.
I have been going thru the same thing. My 9.5 mo son was only sleeping 30-40 min for his afternoon nap. It has only been a couple days, but I think I was waiting too long to put him down for a nap. It seems like if the afternoon nap was at 1pm-ish, instead of 2 or 3pm, he sleeps longer. The later I put him down, the less he slept.
Good Luck.
