9 Mo Girl Not Napping

K. first off I am going to say this to you. You are doing everything right. The reason I am saying this is because I am sure that you are getting VERY frustrated. My 18mo old has had issues with naps for a LONG time. It gets hard I know. We have done a few things and I am going to pass them all on to you. I hope one will work for you. Yes you can let her cry it out or put toys in with her but try these.
1. Go all around the house and turn EVERYTHING off. Go thru each room turn off the room and tell it goodnight. This way she thinks that she will not be missing anything.
2. Give her a warm bath before nap time. Use the lavender soap the is relaxing. Dont forget to put on the lotion too. When you put on the lotion though give her a massage of sorts. That is also calming.
3. Give her a blanket that is only for her for bedtime. Ours is silky on one side. It never leaves the bed and the baby knows that it is a comfort thing.
4. Use music or a video to your advantage. We play a video and rock just before we put her down. The rocking and the video calm her right down.

This is not something that is going to work the first time. You have to stay strong and CALM. The little turkey will bust you out in a heart beat if you get frustrated and then you are sunk. A combo of numbers three and four are what did it for us. Good luck!! And dont forget to have you downtime dont use her naptime to get your house work done. That may be what she is hearing and wants to join you. Read a book that is what I do. The trashy novels are the best. The lack of reality crack me up!

9 months is very young for a baby/child to be ready to give up their nap. Although the age at which a child is ready does vary quite a bit. Most 9 month old are taking two naps a day so if your problem is with 1 of 2 naps I would definatly try switching to just one nap a day. If the nap she is refusing is her only nap of the day then my next question would be whether or not she was previously putting herslef to sleep on a daily basis. If she has never really done this well I would suggest trying some sleep training techniques. Letting her cry it out but going in to reassure her occasionaly without picking her up, playing with her etc. IF she has never really learned this skill it may take more than 30 minutes at first. It will be well worth if for both of you in the long run. Also if you don't already have onea consistent, short bedtime routine can be very helpful (read a book, sing a song, whatever you enjoy doing...just so it's the same every time).

Hi K.,

As young as she is, she should still be taking naps. Make sure that her crib is not underneath a vent, that the room is comfortable in temperature. A nite lite may help feel secure. Also, make sure that during the time that she is awake she is given the freedom to explore and move around, she needs the exercise during the day. Also, make sure she is not getting up late in the morning, this could be messing up her sleep patterns. Also, make sure she has had plenty to eat, and that she is not in pain in any way. Check her crib for her comfort. Give her her favorite stuff animal and talk to her tell her that you are just a few feet away, reassure her. If all seems well, you may have to put her on a schedule and stick to it. Make sure that she goes to bed a decent time, that she doesn't get up late in the mornings and that she eat well balance meals. Also make sure that if she is teething that you give her some medication for the pain/orajel for her gums. If you have tried all of this already make sure that she is not ill or hurting in someway. Good luck to you and have patience it will pass.

JC

I take it your talking about afternoon nap. If she has not had any sugar to keep her awake, you could try some nature music to help relax her. Has she always put herself to sleep at naptime? How long has she been having trouble napping? Has there been any changes in her life? If you lay her down you might also try going in every 5 minutes and patting her back and saying something soothing to her...the next day make it every 10 minutes and maybe during the week she will finially teach herself to fall asleep...
Good luck
D.

I would check on her at 30 min. Give her a couple of toys in her bed. Sometimes they need their time. My Sister in law has a 20 month old who also changed his sleeping habits about 4-5 months ago. But he'll play in his crib (after he's done crying and screeming) for 1 - 2 hours. That's his downtime. It works pretty well. Most of the time hes just goes too sleep then.

K.

Do you lay down with her? Has she recently become mobile if so she just wants to explore and not nap she thinks she may miss out on something. I never did the routine of getting my son to nap, he falls asleep if he is tired. Less stress on both of you. It worked for us.

Good Luck