My daughter is 5 months old, and she is on a good schedule, but during the day, she won't really nap if I try to lay her down. She will only sleep if I'm rocking her. I am a stay at home mom of only her, so it's not THAT inconvenient, but I would like to be able to lay her down. She sleeps perfectly in her crib at night and is sleeping through the night now, but she won't stay asleep for longer than 20-30 minutes if I lay her in her crib during the day. Not sure what to do - I don't want her to go without sleep all day... She just gets fussy and very tired but won't nap more.
I would suggest that you make sure the room is as dark as possible and maybe play some soft lullaby music (this is what they do at the Preschool my daughter goes to-she won't nap at home but naps great at school!). Anyway, if you haven't already made sure the room is really dark I'd try that.
Good luck!
I recommend reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. This will answer your sleep questions for any age child. Whether or not she is sleeping through the night, she should be getting 2-3 naps at 5 mos. Minimum time is 45 minutes for it to be considered a nap. You may need to let her cry to get down for her naps. The book is helpful b/c you can jump to your child's age if you have an urgent sleep problem and don't have time to read a whole book.
There is nothing more important than good sleep habits for a child. That being said, it can take time and patience to get there. My oldest is 3 and he fell into a regular schedule with little help. My youngest (now 9 months) is a different story all together. He wasn't on a regular nap schedule in his crib until around 6 months. You are on the right track by putting her in her crib. The advice on this will run the gammot but I think that if you consistently put her in her crib for naps and go to her when she wakes she will learn to love her crib and her nap time. My son now will lay in his crib quietly and wait for us to come and get him!
The key is to just be consistent. You may want to start with the simple rule of putting her in her crib when she is tired (she might not settle into a time until later). Let her fuss a little (we give 5 minutes of heavy crying before we would enter his room again...often he would settle himself down after a few minutes). Trust me I know how difficult that can be but the end result is worth it. If you have to go back in, settle her down and then put her back in her crib, hopefully she is still awake. If you do this 3 or 4 times and she doesn't fall asleep it is okay to rock her, just be sure to put her back in her crib after she falls asleep. Keep up with it and it will happen for you! she may only nap for 20-30 minutes at first but if you consistently do it when she is tired she will make the connection and will naturally begin napping longer. (my son now sleeps for about 2 hours 2times a day in his crib - he used to only sleep in our arms and then for about 30 minutes). Good Luck!
R. - I was in the same boat a few months ago. I got a lot of responses to read Healthy Sleep Habits...and I did. My husband and I tried the technique, but didn't feel right about letting our son cry and cry and cry. We then spoke to his pediatrician who assured us that kids sleep when they need it. I happen to have a son who needs very few naps. As long as your daughter seems alert and happy...she may not need longer naps. My son didn't nap much at all at 5 mos, but now at 10 mos he naps for about an hour in the morning and about an hour in the afternnon (sometimes). On some days he doesn't take the afternoon nap at all. Just do what feels right...good luck!
My neighbors one year old has NEVER slept more than a hour in the daytime since she was a few months old. It's weird you'd think she'd need the sleep. I'm over there alot and see it first hand this child will maybe sleep a one hour nap the entire day and has her usual normal sleeping pattern at night. I guess some babies just don't need as much sleep.
