Naptime - Lake Orion,MI

I found 5 months to be the best nap time routine for my daughter which was nie for me and days of our lives! what I did was in the morning or at about 10ish I would rock her with her blankies to get her sleepy because when she went to sleep THAT nap only lasted about 30 minutes, then we would play then at about 12:30 I would give her a bath and rub her down with lavender baby lotion (excellent for sleepy babies) and I would turn on a very soft lullaby cd and put her in her pack n' play which was in my room, and I would take a shower which was in the bathroom attchaed to my room and by the time I was done she would be out. doing it everyday got her on a great schedule especially if yours goes down a few times aday and she would be down for 2 hours.

I found that with my kids they wouldn't go to sleep at nap time because the room wasn't dark. There are white blinds but that didn't keep out much light. I purchased some heavy blue jean drapes and the problem was solved. Maybe your son is having the same problem since he goes to sleep fine at night.

My kids (son 8; daughter 4) both napped and still enjoy it! I never really made a big deal about their having to nap in their cribs. I was guilty of holding them (only for naps) until they fell asleep--which didn't take long at all-- and then laying them in the Pack n Play or taking the seats from the couch and putting them on the floor. Now they both sleep pretty much any time and any where if they are sleepy. When my four year old is ready for her "nappy" usually right after school in the afternoon she will let me know, we snuggle on the couch for a few minutes and she is out until dinner and she still sleeps great at night.

I also left them in the carrier or stroller if they fell asleep on a drive or a walk. I figure they must be comfortable if they are sleeping and I didn't want to disturb it. I missed the days when I could no longer click and carry the car seat out of the car.

I believe they know it is not night time and they don't want to miss anything. Having my kids sleeping right next to where I was folding clothes or puttering in the kitchen was comforting to them and me.

GOOD LUCK!!

hi, my son is 11 months old. and he did the same thing. at 3 months til about 8 or 9 months he took 3 half hour naps. then he finally took 2 naps(____@____.com and the second @2 ours.)now...he cant decide if he still wants 2 or 1 nap.in general he isnt a good sleeper in general.he still gets up once a night.

we also made the room dark and have a fan going for noise!~
good luck!

I had the same problem with my daughter that is now 10 months old. She slept great at night, but naps were a joke. What I ended up doing was letting her sleep in her swing for a nap during the day. That worked until she was about 5-6 months old. Then I started holding her during her daytime nap, I did this mostly for selfish reasons- I knew I wouldn't be able to do it much longer because she is growing up so fast and also I used it as forced down time. That only lasted about a week or 2 and then she seemed to want her space. I can't really explain it- you'll know when it happens, they just seem to want out of your arms. When she did this I tried laying her down in her crib for a nap and it worked. Minus a few set backs now and then, she takes 1- 2hours nap everyday now.
Good luck- I hope some of this helps.

We had the exact same problem! I got the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". It was great! Basically I had to commit to him being in his crib for the nap for one hour, whether he was sleeping or not. When I put him down for his morning nap, I would get in the shower upstairs so I wouldn't be tempted to go in. It did work! He started taking two naps a day, each at least an hour. When he transitioned to one nap a day, at around 12 months, it took him awhile to lengthen this nap as well. But, like your son, he has always been a great sleeper at night! We just have to work on the napping. Good luck!

kids just gradually sleep better over time and with development. My duaghter was very light sleeper as a tiny infant - but now at 17 months she finally sleeps deeply and you can go in her room and not wake her up.

It takes a while to get babies on a nap schedule- it is good that you are working towards the nap schedule- and it will happen in time. I think it was about 7 or so months that my daughter was finally on a nap schedule.

you can try to darken his room a bit..-- we got a sound machine to make whosshy watery noises and that seemed to help my duaghter sleep better longer.