4 Month-old Not Napping

I wish I could give you amazing advice, but the truth is my 3 month old son stinks at day naps too. He typically sleeps 10-12 hours a night, but during the day I am thanking God if he naps for an hour 3 times a day. I read Healthy Sleep Patterns, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth and tried to have set nap times and to be consistent, but my son just doesn't nap for long periods of time. All babies are different, but it sounds like lack of sleep is normal, but not always best. Good Luck!

If it makes you feel any beter, it is very common. I couldn't get my daughter to nap well until she was close to 7 months old. Be consistant, have a nap routine, try to read her tired signs & eventually she should start sleeping more than 30 min. My daughter did the same thing & I was soooooo exasperated, but she did finally start napping better. It was a lot of in and out of her room, A LOT of crying but she finally got on board w/ the program. I agree, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child" is a great book & was very helpful to me. GOOD LUCK!

Hi M.,
I have an almost-4-month-old who does the same thing. She sleeps very well at night (about 8p-630a) and barely sleeps during the day. She takes little cat naps throughout the day, sometimes an hour once a day if im lucky. However by the end of the day maybe around 4 or so, she is cranky as heck!! I cant get her to go down no matter what I do so I know how frustrating it can be! I find that on the days she does sleep a little longer, she has a full stomach (6oz) and her baby bjorn seat. She loves it! I highly suggest getting one if you havent already it holds up to 30 pounds and moves to babys body movements. Sometimes she rocks herself to sleep or it at least calms her down. But then again there are those days when she just wants to be held.
Hope this helps, but dont worry Im sure everything is ok. There are a bunch of moms who worry about this and as long as she/he sleeps at night, Im sure its ok.

This is not uncommon. Thank your lucky stars she sleeps soundly through the night, that can change too you know. Your doctor does not seemed to be concerned, so you are on top of things. She's 4 months honey, she's fine. Enjoy her!

I have no great advice - my 4 month lil girl does the same, unless I stay in the room and rock her for an hour each nap, then we can get an hour and half or 2 hour nap (it's a major time commitment). But I am curious how you get your daughter to sleep 12 hours at nite?

Do you put her down at a regular time? We put my daughter down at 8 0r 8;30pm and feed her at 10:30 (sleep feed) and she wakes at 4am for another feeding. Though we have had some 8 hour nites.

My 5 mo son is doing the same thing. He refuses to nap while I am gone and I work 5-6 hours a day. So by the time I get home at 5:30 I feed him and he goes to sleep. He is one cranky boy at that point! On the days I am here I can get him to sleep by rocking, nursing, bouncing on the yoga ball and my secret weapon...a childrens electric toothbrush. He holds it while it vibrates and it helps soothe him to sleep. My mom and husband used to be able to put him down for naps but since I have been working more it has become impossible for them. Besides the toothbrush, try going for a long walk with the stroller or sling, that sometimes works for us as well. We also darken the room for naps and turn on the sound machine (really helps my son). Oh and make sure you expose her to the outdoors in between naps. My pediatrician also suggested he be given a t-shirt I have worn but so far that hasn't helped. I wouldn't worry as much as I do if his mood was okay but since he gets so cranky and is visibly tired you just can't help it. Good luck!