5 Month Old That Won't Sleep over 35-45 Minutes During the Day

My son was the same. I remember what the pediatrician told me: if he wakes up happy, just get used to it, it's his own schedule and rhythm. If he wakes up cranky and stays cranky until the next nap, then he is still tired. That happens if he was already too tired/overtired when you put him down. A baby who is put down too late sleeps poorly and wakes up soon and still tired. In this case, try to put him down a little bit earlier (if he shows clear signs of being tired like rubbing his eyes, yawning, rush him to the crib. Look for earlier signs (touching his ears, loss of interest in play...)

Nighttime sleeping is paramount, so if he takes short naps, I hate to say, you just have to get accustomed to it. My son took three 50 minutes naps. It was very hard...I didn't have time for a nap or even to shower. But, he slept well at night & now is an awesome, 12hr. straight nighttime sleeper at 4 years old. If he sleeps well at night, don't rock the boat. Maybe he just needs short naps. I'm not sure why he'd go into full blown crying...just be sure to go to him right away once he starts crying...then maybe rock him a little to see if he's still sleepy. I woulnd't worry too much about it. Good luck.

Maybe a white noise machine would help him sleep a little longer.

my first only took 2, 30 min naps.

Mine had the same schedule, would never sleep over an hour and did not sleep all night. They are lucky the baby sleeps all night, and you are not lucky because you are stuck with a baby that is not tired. How are they getting that baby to sleep 10 hours anyway? Benidril? Mine is two and still won't nap and wakes twice in the night.

Here's a link for you on sleep/naps:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-much-sleep-does-your-chil...

Next, to me, the baby is still tired... but can't get back to sleep himself. He's waking... but over-tired or still tired.
If you put him to nap, when he is already over-tired, a baby can't sleep well nor fall asleep well nor stay asleep well.
Or if a baby is over-stimulated prior to nap, they can't sleep well or fall asleep well.

There is a window of time, that a baby will be tired and need a nap.. if that window of time passes, it is harder to put a baby to nap and they can't fall asleep/stay asleep well.

A baby, typically gets tired after about 2-3 hours of 'awake' time. Look for his sleepy cues.... feed him before nap...

Also, a baby can't always self-soothe at this age, thus with normal intermittent wakings, they may wake then cry... because they are agitated and still tired....
You can try and soothe/comfort him back to sleep.... especially if he is still tired.

Many babies, wake crying... because the are still tired and can't at that age, self-regulate.... or they even startle themselves awake...

Babies also can have a 'pattern' of wakings. Observe him and get to know his cues.
My son for example, at that age, would nap... but after about 1 hour, he'd wake/fuss/cry... but I KNEW him and knew he was still tired. He needed to 'see' me as well... (separation anxiety), and so at that juncture of waking... I would go in, let him see me, and then he'd go back to sleep. He was STILL tired. But, if I interrupted his 'pattern' of waking... and picked him up and assumed he was done napping... well he'd get grumpy and was not rested enough yet, at that point. So I had to 'learn' about his patterns too...
I also had in his crib, baby safe stuffed toys, which he'd amuse himself with... and he'd go back to sleep. Then he'd wake, after a FULL nap (which for him was 2 hours), and he'd wake nice and in a good mood.

just some ideas, all the best,
Susan

Try playing soft music (jazz, or the sound of the ocean) what time do he go to bed and what time do he wake up? maybe you should do extra activities with him so that he will be tired enough to want to sleep for @ least and hour.

Updated

Try playing soft music (jazz, or the sound of the ocean) what time do he go to bed and what time do he wake up? maybe you should do extra activities with him so that he will be tired enough to want to sleep for @ least and hour.

My older daughter was completely done with daytime napping by 15 months. She started out the same way you're describing above. However, in the off chance that he's going to continue with the napping, make sure that the room he's napping in is dark. Perhaps there is too much light coming in the window? His parents may need to get the room darkening shades. Also, make sure there's not alot of excess noise/loud tvs/other children playing or yelling that he's hearing and waking him up. Good luck!

My 3 month old does the same thing. He sleeps for 10-14 hours at night but only cat naps during the day. He is my 3rd child to do this. My first two slept great during the day but my last three didn't. I just keep trying to put him down and I found that having a dark room and back ground noise helps some too. Good luck!

My five month old does the same thing. I put her to sleep in the crib. She will usually wake up 30 minutes later. I feed her and put her in the swing where she will sleep another hour to an hour and a half! I let her take the short nap in the morning and use the swing to lengthen her afternoon nap.