afternoon naps

K

kellyst

Registered User
We've been having quite a bit of trouble getting the afternoon naps in. My baby sleeps reasonable well at night and we have a night time routine of bath, book, bottle starting at 8:30pm. But during the day (i'm at work during these hours), she gets tired and cranky but would just refuse to sleep. We have to admit that every afternoon, it takes a bit of holding and rocking (by helper or grandma). but we'd be rocking for 30 minutes for her to sleep another 15. or her eyes would open wide up once she's put down in her crib.

i'm thinking that the night time routine works because of the steps and expectations set, but does anyone has any idea of a similar thing for the afternoon? any ideas for routines for the afternoon? at what times does your child nap in the afternoon?

mine takes about 11-12hours of sleep at night, and i'm guessing that she needs a bit more that 2 hours of sleep during the day?

thanks,
kellyst
 
im glad that i'm not the only one having problems like that!!

i tried to do a routine with my baby during the day for naps, but it just doesn't work for me. is the room your baby sleeps in dark enough? how old is your baby?

i have started bringing my baby into our bed in the morning for a nap, and i can nap with her. it's darker in there then her room which is really bright. we'll look to change to dark curtains when my husband has time. she seems to be able to catch some sleep then. in the afternoons, she sleeps in the baby bjorn while i'm shopping around, or out running errands. this is quite stressful for me. so i'd also love to hear advice anyone would have .
 
I started my baby on routine daytime naps at 2 months 'cos she basically didn't sleep at all during the day!
At set times every day, I put her in her grobag, close the curtains and leave her. The first few days, she cried a lot. So, for the morning nap which is 45 minutes, if she cried for 30 of them, she just got 15 mins sleep. She stayed in her cot for the 45 minutes - how many of those minutes she slept was irrelevant. We also used a dummy to settle her.
After a few days, she didn't grumble at all. Even if she was wide awake when I put her down, she'd soon fall asleep.
Now, she sleeps for 45 mins in the morning, 2 1/2 hrs at lunchtime, 15 mins in the afternoon and 12 hours at night (not straight).
I think she's happier since she's been having her daytime sleep - the time's she's awake, she's really alert and interested in playing (she's 4 months now). Even when I take her out in the buggy, she can stay awake if it's not her nap time and she can nap if it is!
 
i had the same problem when my baby was 6-12 mths. she'd scream when we draw the curtain & play the "sleeping songs". she only napped when i nursed her, and she napped in my bed next to me (or covered in my nightgown). one time nanny put on the play music & pretend to dance with her (holding her like a rocking position), she was so tired & relaxed she finally slept. but then she'd also sleep for 15mins & then wake up screaming. everyone told me she knows how much sleep she needs & not to worry (but she used to sleep from 6pm-6am). for your baby, maybe you can try a nap routine of tv time (maybe 15mins on a baby einstein), a bottle of milk (or nurse of bf), some soothing songs, and slowly draw the curtains. if all else fails, & you're worried that she's not getting enough sleep, you probably have to move her bedtime to earlier.

good luck!
 
oh, maybe you can also try covering her with your nightgown when she's asleep, which REALLY helps.

fyi, my baby is now 13 mths. she runs around all day & is so tired she knows she needs to nap. so now when nanny draws the curtains, she complains "wooo-wooo-ooo, boo-ooo", but she still sleeps for 25 mins to an hour. but i agree that different babies need different amt of sleep. mine has never slept for more than 15hrs a day, even when she was before 3 mths. now she sleeps 11hrs at night & maybe 1.5 hr during the day.

as long as baby is thriving well, eating & pooing well, gaining good weight, happy & healthy, don't worry too much.:flower:
 
You can try reading the book " On becoming Baby Wise" and its sequel for todldlers by Gary Ezzo, Robert Bucknam. My 1 year old daughter takes 2 naps. One in late morning and one late afternoon (each about 2 hours). My trick is to give her a blanket so she feels secured. I also close her door and let her cry to sleep if necessary.
 
My little girl is 15mths. She would normally have her longer nap in the morning, about 1.5-2hrs. Then in the afternoon she would have a shorter nap approx 1-1.5hrs or less. She has her bath, bottle and is asleep by 7.15pm.

If we are going to be doing something in the morning, she seems to know this and will only sleep 30min-1hr and have her longer nap early afternoon. I try not to let her nap after 4.30pm, so she is ready for bed.

Her night time sleep is from 7.15 approx (no later than 7.30pm unless a special occasion) and she is awake from 6.30am.

She seems happy with her routine and lets us know if she isn't. One time I put her down in the afternoon after a cuddle and she wouldn't sleep. So I walked out (to go to the toilet) and she had fallen asleep by the time I had finished.:banana:

But I agree with JoanneK if your baby is feeding well and is healthy and happy, your are doing great.
 
We used to rock my daughter to sleep...but now that she's one years old she's getting heavy! I finally told my nanny to just draw the curtains, play a bit of music from the music box and play with her quietly. Then when she gets a bit more tired after about 10 minutes, just to lie her down on her bed and stroke her hair or pat her back. The first day we tried this, she screamed....for an hour to be exact. But I told the nanny to continue to just pat her and stroke her as she was screaming. She eventually fell asleep. The second day, it only took 10 minutes. Now, we just lay her down on her bed, she plays with a few cot toys and we pat her a bit and she just falls asleep on her own. I thought this would never be possible! OF course there are days that she doesn't want to go down, but I realize being consistent is the key. The only problem is I cannot put her down for naps....she will NOT go to bed. It always has to be my helper or my husband putting her down for daytime naps. She is absolutely fine with me putting her down for the night. Does anyone else experience that?
After we started sleep training her in the day, her night time sleep was much easier. She just started sleeping 11 hrs straight thru the nite.
My problem is she is waking up every morning at 5-530am!! She goes to sleep at 630p. She has two naps in the day which total about 2-2.5 hrs. Does anyone else's baby wake up this early? Some people say not to go into the room until 6am. I've tried this for 3 days now, and I'm now able to get her to sleep a bit later....today was 5:50am! Any other suggestions?
 
My 1 yr old too is waking up very early! Sometimes he is up at 430am and thinks it's time to play. I will just sit with him quietly and if i am lucky,he might fall asleep at 530am or 6am. He goes to sleep at 8pm everynight after a bath and a bottle, and he seldom fusses. But the problem is in the middle of the night when he wakes and is unable to go back to sleep by himself. He will scream and scream, sometimes for over an hour before he exhausts himself (and myself) I try not to rock him to sleep but sometimes I really don't want him screaming at night and waking everyone else esp his 6 yr old bro who has school in the morning. He has 1-2 naps in the day, i find that when he doesn't sleep well during the day, he won't sleep well at night. Anyone experiencing the same problem? Any advice to share?
 
this is really a handful problem!its hard to get a child to nap if he refuses to.my aunt has a wild time putting her baby boy to sleep and the moment he touches the crib, he opens his eyes wide and cries.i think there is something about afternoon naps that kids dnt like... i wonder what!
 
nanzbier,
i had the exact same problem, actually just 5 minutes ago. my child just would not let me put her down for her afternoon naps. yeah, either daddy, grandma or the helper she'd comply, just not me. i put her down at night perfectly fine, doesn't even has to be rocked. i think it's a routine thing, coz the helper usually takes her on weekdays afternoon while i'm at work. anyways, glad to hear i'm not alone!
 
a good rule of thumb is to try to put her down for her nap, approx 2 hours after she's awake.. =) hoep this helps
 
Kellyst, you haven't mentioned how old your baby is. I assume more than one year old, since you imply she is only having one nap in the afternoon.

We do similar to what we do at nighttime only shorter. A dark room certainly helps. Attachment to a "lovey" that they associate with sleep time is good too. A story if they are of appropriate age. Cuddling, etc. Also tell your child what is coming next at each stage so that she knows sleep will follow.
 
my baby is 11mths now. she has 2-3 naps during the day. one late morning and one late afternoon. but it's all so inconsistent. the naps starts from anywhere between 11-12 and last for 30-60 minutes. and sometimes another nap at 3-4 (short one again) and then another one at 6-7. thing is i can't even tell you what the schedule is coz it's all over the place. AND check this out, it has gotten so bad now that the helper HOLDS here throughout her sleep. (i can see your jaws dropping...)
anyways, i'm not around during weekdays for it, so it's really hard to control, they don't want her to cry, and they would rather have her sleep and be jolly and easier to handle, than to have her not sleep and be cranky all day. which i also understand.
and on the weekend, me putting her down for naps is absolutely OUT Of the QUESTION now. so it's still a sucky situation. night time put down continues to be perfectly fine.
i still think the key is consistency, which is almost impossible to dictate with me working. on the other hand, if i do stop work.. do you think i can still train her for the routine starting 1-1.5 y.o.?
 
It is never too late to start a routine.

Babies/toddlers/children thrive on routine. As they get older, all that happens is it takes a little bit longer for the routine to set in - although 11 months is still a baby so will just take a few days - As long as you are consistent! You need to be very firm to your helper about it, consistency really is key - and it will make your little one so much happier in the long run - and your weekends will be stress free - it is so worth it!

I really recommend the book Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg - we found it very adaptable but the main principles worked wonders for us. She explains how you can tell your baby is ready for a nap :) So does Gina Ford - but she is much more strict - that book just scared the willies out of me so threw it away lol

Good luck :bighug

Poppy

xx
 
My 5 weeks old baby just won't nap during daytime. I know she is tired cuz sometimes when I rock her. Her eyes wanted to close but only to open up again in about 15 mins or so. She usually cried and be very cranky during the afternoon. What should I do to make her take naps?
 
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