In Need to Nap Suggestions

Read "The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" for some great advice! I didn't read it until my son was 4 months old - it really worked well for us.

He sounds like my DD. As long as she was sleeping well at night I would let it go. If she slept better for a nap in my arms so be it. Time goes so quick, I enjoyed the cuddle time. Now she is 8 mos and has 2 regular daytime naps by herself in bed and still sleeps the night! Good luck!

Try swaddling him when you put him back down. It may cause him to sleep longer than just 10 min. I got this idea out of the book Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp. There is also usually a DVD available at most libraries. You have to wrap him tight so he doesn't wiggle free. Also, he may resist at first, but he should grow to love it. He's still at that age (within his first 3 mo. of life) where Dr. Karp refers to it as the 4th trimester, where babies need you to mimic the womb.

Hi,
You can definitely start working toward a scheduled naptime for routine. At this age, we did a 2 hour up and 2 hour down schedule, working toward 3 a day. Around 1 you'll got to 2 a day. We bought a book called "Sleep Sense". It is purchased on-line and downloaded at home. Our daughter was a terrible sleeper and we found this book really helpful, an easy read, and very well laid out with lots of terrific guidelines. I highly recommend it.
K.

Yes, they can have a regular nap schedule at that age. I loved the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Weissbluth, and myself and several of my friends swear by it. It also is broken up really well by age and gives you quick ideas, so you don't have to read the whole thing to get some tips to get you started.

Hi R.,

It's okay to let them fuss some, if you know their tummies are full, and their diapers are dry. You will be surprised how quickly they will learn to put themselves to sleep if you just put them to bed. When you rock them to sleep, they wake up in a few minutes because they want you to rock them some more...they don't know how to go to sleep by themselves. The younger they learn this the better off you and they will be. You will find that once you let them go to sleep by themselves they sleep sooooooo much better because if they start to wake up before it is really time they will just go back to sleep on their own. There are so many parents that don't know how nice it is to have a baby who is totally satisfied to just be laid down for a nap or bedtime, and unless you confuse them by altering this habit it will follow through as they grow up. I'm not saying about the time they are two or three they won't go through a stage of getting up and dinging you for a drink, or just any excuse to get out of bed. Be consistent and follow through!

C.

My daughter is 8 months now, and we have had her on a schedule since she was 3 months. The trick is to put your son to bed when he is awake, but tired. Look for his tired "signs" like rubbing his eyes, yawning, scratching, etc. You'll figure out his tired signs and when you see that, put him to bed. My daughter doesn't make a sound when I put her to bed awake, she just goes right off to sleep. She wakes up happy too!

Infants should sleep when they need it. Mine have napped at times in a car seat or bouncy chair, out of necessity and it worked just fine. Try soothing him on the bed or floor, next to you, then transferring to a bed or pallet before he's completely asleep in your arms. Eventually (if you don't fall asleep yourself!) you should be able to slip away. It's wonderful how kids bond to us, and even know we have left when they are asleep! If I had all the time in the world, I would just nap with my baby every day, but life calls, so teaching them to become comfortable being transferred from a lap or car seat to bed is important. The sooner you work on this the better, without sacrificing that physical bonding time. My youngest has a routine: I lay him in bed with his lovey (stuffed animal) and a blanket, he drinks his bottle, trades it for a pacifier, then closes his eyes and goes to sleep. I put on very soft, classical music on the radio and he naps for at least two hours. Our routine allows him the confidence that I am there, tending to him, and the autonomy to put himself "to bed. He has learned that I don't have to be with him all the time, but that I am close enough and he trusts his needs will be met.

SAHM of seven

Hi R., My son is 8 months old now and your story sounds much like mine. My little guy just isn't interested in napping, and never has been. He usually gets two or three 1/2 hour naps in a day, not on a schedule. He sleeps the night, and is a happy healthy baby - not all babies need long naps! If you plan to use daycare be careful about setting up the bouncy seat nap habit. I had done this when he was younger. However, when daycare started I found out that they require the babies be moved to the crib, which made our transition even more difficult. Not only did he not want to nap at school, when he did fall asleep in the bouncy chair he had to be moved to the crib which woke him up. He now is used to crib naps, but it took a few weeks which led to a tired little boy.

If he wants to sleep in the bouncy seat let him. My daughter wouldn't sleep in her crib, so spent the first six months sleeping in her carseat.

R.-
Don't feel bad about wanting to have your guy on a nap schedule. That is precious time for you!

I, too swore by the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". The recommendations in that book are great in helping get your little one on a predictable schedule, but it does require some commitment. It is well worth it! I highly recommend it. Good luck! J.

Hi R.,

My youngest is 3 yrs now so I'm reaching into my memory bank, but at 3 months, your little guy should be taking a nap in the morning and afternoon like clockwork. My daughter loved sleeping in her bouncy seat, there's nothing wrong with that at all. My biggest suggestion to you would be, and this is hard for a first time mom I know this so well, you need to put your son down for a nap when he's awake. I think the ped called it self-soothing. If he's sleeping through the night he shouldn't have too much of a problem with this. I thought my ped was nuts when she was telling me to do this but I stopped rocking my daughter to sleep and put her down for her nap while she was still awake. I never let them cry until they were out of control or anything like that, but they would look around, maybe fuss a little and then fall asleep in their crib. I respected their nap times, if I had to do something I only had a certain window of opportunity in the morning and afternoon, but my kids were/are great nappers and sleep through the night with no problems.

Stop rocking your little man to sleep, put him down while he's still awake. You are waking him back up when you put him down after rocking him. I hope this helps, it took me awhile to figure it out, but when I did, nap times went like clockwork and my second child was a breeze from the start!

Good luck! It's hard, but some of the things we do as moms are beneficial for the mom, not the baby. Trust me, the rocking chair will get plenty of use to cuddle and calm, but not to be used for nap or bed time.

Hi R.,

You will get all kinds of perspectives on this one, and I will share mine. I had my son on a nap schedule at 1 month.

He is 5 months now. At night, he sleeps from 8:00 pm to around 6:00 am or 7:00 am. He takes his first nap around 9:00 am, for about 1 hour. His long nap is from 1:00 pm to
3:00 pm or 4:00 pm. Depending on how late he wakes up from the long nap, he gets a third and final cat nap around 6:00 pm. He is always laughing and happy.

For starters, don't let him fall asleep in your arms. Get him relaxed, but put him in his crib when he is still awake. He needs to equate his crib with sleep. Babies can get alarmed when they wake up somewhere other than where they went to sleep!

Letting my son CIO (cry it out) works. He is 5 months old, and I give him a 15 minute threshhold. That means that at naptime and bedtime, if he fusses, I let him fuss for 15 minutes before going in there. 90% of the time, he falls asleep within that 15 minutes. The rest of the time, he needs his pacifier and a little soothing. When my son was 3 months, his threshhold was 10 minutes. CIO has never bothered me. I knew my son was safe and learning how to be self-sufficient.

There is a book called something like "The 90 Minute Sleep Solution". It's pretty concise--you might want to check it out.

If I were you, I would keep an eye on how long after his feedings he gets drowsy. Once you establish that, anticipate his needs and put him down for his nap about 15 minutes ahead of time.

You are doing great. Until your child is about 6 months it is hard to establish a set routine. I had the same problem with my 2nd and 3rd children and I tried a suggestion from a book that I cannot remember the name of but they basically recommended that you do the following. When the baby wakes up they are fed, then they have awake time, and then when they are fussy you lay them down without nursing or feeding them to get to sleep. It took some change on my part but it worked wonderfully for me during the day. At night if they wake up you feed them change them and put them back to bed with very minimal talking or stimulation. Like I said it worked great. Gook luck.

At 3 months I was still giving my boys naps as they were needed, not on schedule. If they fell asleep in the swing or bouncy seat I left them there.

R., yah nap times vary , from person to person, or not at all, if your child is happy, dont fret it, if he is sleeping all night, maybe your child is getting enough sleep, i have 3 sons, they are mostly grown now, 20,16,14 , after my 3rd i realized all the hard work i put into getting them into naps was a waste of time, some just did not need it, its ok to enjoy the day , without nap times, if you need a break, then why not hold him and him fall asleep with you ? yeah the bouncy thing is ok, if you need him to be asleep, then go ahead, yah i was not for having them cry themselves to sleep, its ok, to be there for them too, only you know your child and if he needs it or not, you may get another child, who wants 2 naps a day, ahahha so life just happens, enjoy it while you can,soon he will be grown , dont fret it, enjoy it, D. s

I agree with Michelle. A baby is a baby at this moment. He will fall asleep when he gets tired. Schedules are more for 1 yr olds as far as naptimes go... until then dont worry. My children would fall asleep in their boncy chairs and they are fine. Just let him sleep. If you have to cuddle him to sleep that is great too because he needs that nurturing from you at this age. If he wakes when you put him down then maybe 10 minutes is all he needed. You could use a passifier when he is sleeping to keep him content. Babies cry for many differet reasons. It is up to you as a Mom to learn his needs and wants. Enjoy your baby as much as you can, they grow up way too fast then you'll get baby-fever. I know I do! The bedtime routine is an AWSOME thing you are doing. Keep up being a great Mom and what you are doing. Both you and your baby are learning together, remember that. Good Luck!

Hi R.-
Boy, do I hear ya! My daughter does the same thing. She's 4 months old, and sleeps very well during the night-I've even been able to move her in with our soon to be three year old son. During the day, though, she enjoys the sun and all of the commotion, and generally doesn't care to take more than short cat naps. The bouncy chair worked sometimes for a while, but what works the best for me is giving her a "workout." We play on the floor, and do a lot of smiling and tummy time until I see she is getting tired. Then I put a receiving blanket over my yoga mat and lay her down on the yoga mat, and read or look at the computer,have a cup of coffee, etc (like now) until she falls asleep. This usually buys me about an hour and I can get some light housework done, have some "me" time, and still keep an eye on her. Lately I have also been able to get her into the crib occasionally for a 30-45 minute nap. Your son may just need to be reassured of your presence, like my daughter. Since this is my second child, I know that eventually she'll find her schedule. I guess my advice is to listen to your son and his needs, but also try to pass your son off for a little while every day to keep from becoming too stressed out. You can't bond with your baby when your stressed, and you'll enjoy him much more if your able to decompress a little bit during the day.
Good luck to you and congratulations-
M.

Your son is way to young to Cry It Out (CIO). At this age he needs to know that if something is wrong you will come. Studies show the less a child cries when they are young, the more secure they are later. At 3 months a child needs 12-15 hours of sleep a day including nap and night. But not all kids follow this pattern. Also some babies are cat nappers and others follow into a more predictable pattern. If you want him to sleep longer during the day you could try swaddling. Some kids (including mine) hate their feet in a swaddle. So I just didn't do the feet part. This worked for both my kids for different reasons; my ds had a startle reflux (moro) and would wake himself up, by dd just likes to play and will play herself awake. By swaddling he couldn't swaddle, and she couldn't play her her hands. You could also try not letting them sleep as much at night. Basically you need to identify the reason why your son is waking (not tired, hungry, wet, startling, playing, lonely etc) and go from there. Also up until 5 months or so there's nothing wrong w/ letting him sleep where he will as long as it's safe. But you want to make sure to transition him before that's the only place where they can nap. Hope this helps!

Looks like you've gotten as many answers to your question as there are mothers. LOL. I have had many many babies (my own and others) in my care at this age. Each child is different and so has different needs. To a certain extent, I let the babies guide the schedule. Meaning, I make sure they get enough of everything in the day. Enough sleep, playtime, formula/food and (my favorite) cuddles.

My best advise would be to stop and think of what would your ideal (for you, your child and family) schedule be like for when you return to work. Then work towards that. Just remember a regular schedule doesn't mean it has to be rigid. 15 to 30 mins early or late is never much of an issue.

As far as the bouncy chair use, will it be a problem for him to sleep in the bouncy chair while your at work for a sitter or family member? If it isn't then let him sleep. Keep in mind he will outgrow the bouncy chair by 6 - 8 months. Will he be able to sleep in a crib after that? Maybe the answer is to alternate use; Day 1 - AM nap in bouncy chair PM nap in crib, Day 2 - AM nap in crib PM nap in bouncy chair.

To spare yourself the agony, allow your baby to sleep as he needs. A sleep schedule for a baby at this age is just another thing that is going to totally disappoint you because he can't live up to it once he starts getting his days and nights mixed up. It is inevitable that he will change his tune sleepwise--at least all the babies I've ever encountered do. Just let him take a little nap in the mid-morning and once again in the late afternoon and if he takes a third nap before bedtime hey, congratulations! I would also like to suggest you refrain from making him 'cry it out'. There is not any way for you and your baby, in my opinion, to keep "sane and calm" while making him cry it out. The reason for this is because it is neither a 'sane' nor 'calm' method of getting one's baby to slumber. Rocking a baby to sleep in your arms in a rocking chair, or carrying him in a baby sling while walking around the kitchen table does the trick just fine with no bad feelings for anybody.

Hi R.,

I agree with Chris and Julie that the book by Dr. Weissbluth is great. It does NOT recommend letting him cry it out. It does explain how much sleep kids need and how to help them get it. He specifically addressed the "falling asleep in your arms and then waking once alone" issue. I ran into this with my first one, too. This book has helped me with my kids as they grew and their sleep patterns changed. It is easy to follow and makes a lot of sense. It is more about training us to pay attention to their signals than about us driving their schedules. Check it out from the library and see what you think.

Good luck!

That is exactly how our just turned 4 month old is. I try to put her in her crib but she usually wakes up right away. I let her nap in her bounce chair but she still only sleeps for 30 min stints. She really doesn't sleep much during the day. I try to help her fall asleep in the late morning/early afternoon but it doesn't always work. I figure she'll fall asleep when she is tired enough.

I have tried letting her cry to sleep. Occationally this will work but only at night. I usually set a time limit that I'll let her cry like 10 or 15 minutes and do something to keep me busy like email. If she hasn't stoped crying or showing signs of calming, I'll pick her up. Sometimes she gets really angree and then I don't wait the whole time.

I guess this probably wasn't a lot of help, but I do think he is normal and what you are doing seems to be the same as my approach.

R., I never had a routine nap schedule for my 2. I would just wait til they were tired. My youngest was tough also. She would fall a sleep and we would lay her down and within minutes she would be up again. Eventualy I would take her to bed with me and we would nap together. Sometimes she would sleep in her swing or bouncy seat also. I hated to do it but she was so tired and we all needed to rest a little. Finally we decided enough was enough. She was about 6 months and At first I was dead set against letting her cry to sleep and shutting her bedroom door, but her dad was doing it while I was at work and when I seen that she only cried for about 2 min (any more than that and I would go get her)and that she would sleep for 2-3 hours, I was amazed. Now she goes to sleep most days and doesn't even make a fuss. Now I can actually get stuff done when she is naping. Hope this helps!!