I used to wonder if Kalena just never napped because of something *I* did. If I just wasn't doing something right and that's why she didn't sleep much during the day. But she was always happy, so I just didn't worry about it.
Will, on the other hand. This kid needs to nap. BUT HE DOESN'T. I have tried: the swing, the bouncer, a bed, the pack-n-play. I have: nursed to sleep, given a bottle before naps, driven him around, put him down awake. I have put him down: in a quiet room, with white noise, in the living room with lots of noise. have swaddled and not swaddled. The naps ALL SUCK. He used to take a 2 1/2 or 3 hour nap every morning. Now he won't sleep for longer than an hour. And I have NO IDEA why. His nighttime sleep is fine. (knock on wood) So I don't know what the deal is with the naps. But this really needs to change, so you guys all need to tell me your very best tricks to get a kid to nap. HELP ME!
Maybe it's that he's now 6 months old and doesn't need as much sleep. :(
ReplyDeleteWe read On Becoming Babywise and The Happiest Baby on the Block. The combination of strategies and doing the same thing every time really worked for Espen. It got to a point where he recognized what was happening early in the sequence and took a deep breath and fell asleep in an instant.
I know every kid is different... but it might help.
We had to move nap times a little later. As the kids got older they needed more awake time. Sometimes it's just a stage - growth spurt/developmental milestones/wakeful period.
ReplyDeleteFor Cooper we: had a routine similar to bedtime, used white noise, put up black out shades, and dressed him comfortably (sometimes leaving him in PJ's from night before). We would also attempt to get him to fall back asleep if he slept for less than 45 minutes (that's a sleep cycle usually and it doesn't mean he was ready to get up, just that he would wake up because it was a lighter sleep vs deeper sleep).