Comments on: When Baby Won’t Nap

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:44:04 +0000

@Amber At this age, short naps are usually due to not enough wake-time. Anything you try, make sure you give it at least 5-7 days to see if it’s working or not. I’d probably recommend bumping awake time in 15-minute increments to see if it has an effect. But, in general, he needs so much sleep in 24 hours. If he gets most at night, he just might not need any more than he’s getting. It sounds like you’re doing alot of the right things, so I’d probably do some trial and error, but in general, give him time to go back to sleep, but try not to stress about it if he doesn’t as long as he’s happy and healthy. Good luck!

By: Amber

Amber — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:59:44 +0000

My son is 10.5 months and has always been a poor napper. He is now on 2 naps a day. I thought that his naps might lengthen after going from 3 to 2 naps, but that hasn’t happened. He is still taking 30-45 minute naps. Once in a while he will sleep 1 hr. or longer, but this is rare. I log all of his naps and I don’t see any pattern when he does nap well. When he wakes early he is usually in a good mood (temporarily). He sleeps well at night. He has no problem falling asleep. In fact, he falls asleep quite quickly on his own. He can get fussy when he doesn’t nap well, but isn’t any fussier than his twin sister, who is a pretty good napper. For short naps, I’ve already tried …

-Letting him cry when he wakes up (he doesn’t go back to sleep)
-Rushing to him when I first hear him and trying to soothe him back to sleep
-Increasing and decreasing wake time before naps
-I stopped nursing him to sleep, thinking maybe he didn’t know how to fall back asleep on his own.
-He sleeps with white noise and in a dark room.
-I’ve read and use strategies from HSHHC and The No Cry Sleep Solution.

Nothing works! Nicole, do you have any ideas? I’ve read your article about “Common Napping Mistakes.” Do I just have a child who sleeps well at night but will always be a poor napper? Might he sleep better on one nap a day?

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:08:24 +0000

@Rechelle This is very normal at one month old. They like the comfort of mommy. You can also try swaddling and a white noise machine. Keep up the human contact, though, because it’s essential for proper growth and development.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:40:59 +0000

@Karen Thank you for commenting and sharing! You are correct that developmental milestones can disrupt sleep, but in general, if sleep is poor for weeks and months, there is usually something that can be done to improve the situation. In Jennifer’s case, her daughter needs to fall asleep without nursing and without a soother, so she can go BACK to sleep throughout the night and at nap time. At 4 months, for your baby, sleep does change, so I can imagine the same might be true for you, too. Have you read the article about 4 month sleep? http://www.babysleepsite.com/how-we-sleep/4-month-baby-sleep/ Good luck!

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:38:08 +0000

@Jennifer I can only imagine how tired you are getting up every hour! One thing to keep in mind is that it’s no better for your daughter. You might want to read about sleep associations here: http://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/sleep-association The key is to help your daughter learn to sleep on her own without nursing or the soother. Good luck!

By: Rechelle

Rechelle — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:04:52 +0000

Like Jennifer’s baby my 1month old son is a little nocturnal. He’s very active between 6pm till around midnight. Lately I discovered that he sleeps easily when I let him lay down on my chest (burping position). I guess he just feels a little insecure without a constant human contact.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:06:39 +0000

Karen
Thanks for the reply I will check out the website for further information.
Sorry to hear about your little ones sleeping issues. Mine has one good night every 2 weeks. Rough, she is very very active. You are correct she crawls but now is trying to stand so this could be the issue.
Once again, Thanks
Good Luck

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:54:00 +0000

Jennifer, you may find the info at askmoxie.org helpful. Search for sleep regression. To summarize, at certain developmental phases, baby will start waking up several times a night and not napping well – when baby learns to roll over, sit up, walk for example. They will practice at night or their little brain will be on overdrive until they get it right. It’s hard to know as growth spurts often happen around 4 months and 8 months also.. and then there’s teething. Hope the website helps! It gave me some comfort to know that lots of babies go through this at the same time (mine is 4 months) but my baby has been sleeping poorly for about a month, not a few days or couple weeks, so I’m not sure what’s going on with mine..

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:39:52 +0000

I don’t know what I am doing wrong. My second child is 8 months and is not sleeping well at all. She goes down well at 6:45pm but then at 11:00pm starts getting up every hr. I nurse or soother and walk away only to return in 1 hr. Her naps are at 9:00 and 1:00 which tend to be 45 mins long – although I leave her there for the full hr. This isn’t improving.

HELP I am sooo tired…