What Vikki Wants You To Know About Nap Training

Vikki and her husband know a thing or two about nap training frustrations – their daughter Lyla started out as a champion napper, but by the time Lyla was 10 months old, nap time had become a nightmare for the whole family.

Fortunately, Vikki was able to change all that, thanks to a consultation with The Baby Sleep Site^® Read on, and hear from Vikki herself about how her consultation completely changed her daughter’s naps!

A Personal Account of Nap Training – Vikki’s Nap Coaching Story

My daughter Lyla never went down easy at bedtime, but naps were another story. Lyla loved her crib. She was a superstar napper! Best in town! We’d read a book and she’d fall asleep on me in minutes. I’d put her chubby baby body in her crib and have an hour or so to do what I wanted. It was heaven. Bliss. Nirvana. Especially because, as you may remember from my last post about sticking with sleep training, Lyla brawled with sleep like a prizefighter, so we were getting no sleep overnight.

As Lyla got older and her objections to bedtime got worse and worse, her naps went to the dark side. By ten months, we were aiming for two 60-minute naps a day. I was spending hours trying to get her to sleep FOR EACH HOUR-LONG NAP. The effort did not match the outcome. Lyla wanted nothing to do with sleep, day or night.

By the time I contacted The Baby Sleep Site^®, Lyla was beyond exhausted all the time. I was frustrated that I couldn’t help my baby sleep. And I was tired. So very, very tired. No one in my house was happy.

My consultant Jen suggested we work on bedtime and overnights first, and then work on naps, as overnight sleep and nap sleep are controlled by different parts of the brain. Made sense to me! I just wanted to get Lyla some peaceful rest at SOME point in a 24-hour period! As I mentioned last time, it took about a week to see progress at bedtime, and a little longer on overnights, but things did start to get better.

What was crazy, though, was that naps were getting worse. Lyla’s objection to naptime was so severe that we’d skip naps because she fought so hard for so long at each one. As you’ve probably experienced, skipping naps can lead to an overtired baby and really tough bedtimes. At least it did for us. We were getting to a really good place at bedtime and Lyla even started sleeping through the night a few nights a week. I didn’t want to risk losing the progress we made at night so I knew I had to make a change at naptime.

Even though we were only about halfway through the nighttime part of the Personalized Sleep Plan™, I started working on naps. I incorporated what my consultant outlined for an approach and actually utilized some of the overnight tactics for naps. And, eureka! We had daytime sleep. Because we were getting into a rhythm at night, Lyla understood better what we were asking her to do during the day. She would still object a bit but understand that she had to go to sleep.

Nap Training: Get Support, and Find What Works For You

I think the key for naps is finding what works for you AND your baby. Your sleep training solution needs to be fluid enough that you can augment it when necessary, and supported enough that when you do, you have help and feedback. I knew I needed to make a change, and my consultant Jen worked with me to figure out how to implement it. Remember, it’s okay to ask for help – you don’t have to be alone on this sleep mission.

I know at times it seems like nothing is going to help baby sleep at naptime. But it will. Today, Lyla is fifteen months old, and I have a (still) chubby baby girl who has returned to her previous title as the best napper in town. It didn’t happen overnight, and we still have hiccups, but I try to find what works.

We still have sleep struggles, and I think we always will, as sleep is not high on Lyla’s list of priorities. But when I think of how we went from a baby who couldn’t calm down enough to sleep day or night to a little lady who lies down and goes right to sleep most of the time, I get teary (read: I sob with joy).

To all you sleepless mamas out there: this sleep thing is hard. Hard on them. Hard on you. But believe, my fellow sleepy mommies, that there is a solution to helping your baby sleep during naps. Develop a game plan, but don’t be afraid to make changes while you’re on the field. Oh – and get help from a consultant! And don’t forget – you can do this! Naps will happen! You just have to find what works for you and baby. And you will.

Nap Training Resources That You Need To Succeed

The key to Vikki’s nap training success? A Personalized Sleep Plan from The Baby Sleep Site^®. It wasn’t until she received her Personalized Sleep Plan, and worked closely with Jen, her consultant, that Vikki finally saw meaningful results. And you can see results like that, too. Our team of consultants is standing by, ready to create a unique Personalized Sleep Plan™ just for you! Check out our sleep support packages here

Want to read more success stories? Check out Vikki’s story HERE and read a bit about Whitney’s journey HERE!