7month ds wont nap in the day without a drama! Help

[StevenLeia]

Hi, My ds is has no problem getting to sleep at night (falls asleep while having bottle), but the problem is he spends all day tired as he is restless from 3am, wakes at 6am, may nap for half hr after that but he spends the rest of the day over tired, he only has a further 2 half hr naps during the day. I have tried putting him in his cot but 1hr later he has got himself in such an upset state i end up cuddling him and he falls asleep on me through exaustion. I think i may be setting myself up for a future problems as i must admit in the night if he lets out a little cry i pop his dummy in and he's straight back to sleep as im afraid of the whole drama going on in the night? Any help appreciated

[sleepfinder]

I think a lot of people try to establish a night time routine where the LO is conscious before being put into bed. If he is sleeping on his bottle then he doesn't yet have this as part of his routine so maybe he doesn't know what to do with himself in the day, as there is no substitute for bottle + exhaustion?

Could you give him his night time milk a little earlier, change his nappy, sing him a song / give him a cuddle and then say "time for bed" and talk him into his cot?

This has worked for us. But it may not suit everyone.

Good luck.

[daisythedog]

my theory, fwiw (probably not much) is that you can't accomplish much with an overtired baby so I think it's worth it to get him rested however you can, and then try to "sleep train" him. If I were you I'd try rocking him back to sleep, giving him the pacifier etc until he's not so tired during the day (maybe that would take a week??), and then try to work on getting him to sleep in the cot without your help.

[Bouquetsofdynomite]

Hope this doesn't sound patronising but the car or walk in the (reclined) pushchair with raincover on zonked my kids out in minutes. I used to take a book, drive for a while and sit in a carpark when I had 2 under 3. I'd also rather cruelly walk the pushchair into the sunshine so they'd have to close their eyes and eventually give up.
My theory is that a baby who has been awake for 3hrs needs sleep.

[NewDKmum]

Greetings from a viking... In Denmark, where I come from all babies sleep outside. So if you have access to a garden I suggest putting your ds in his pram and leaving him preferably under a tree where he has the leaves to look at and help him doze off. Try not to get into a routine of rocking him to sleep, but teach him to fall asleep on his own in the same spot everytime. Works a treat - the fresh air makes them sleep for hours. Wish you best of luck if you decide to try it out.

[StevenLeia]

Thanks everyone! I have had better luck concerning the morning naps (two less that half hr) I have been trying really hard to catch him before he is over tired which helps a lot. Ive been out in afternoons but the car also was great for sending him off, only my car has just packed up. My ds seems to go too long in the pm and ends up really unhappy, as i think your right bouquet about the 3 hr thing. He wont even nod of in his pushchair these days? (too interested in everything bless him). Funny you should say about sleeping outside viking lady, my friend put him in her garden the other day to watch the washing and he slept for an hr!!!, i thought great! heres the answer as i pushed him out in my garden the following afternoon. Well you guessed it.....no nap just moaning.

[mummymagic]

Hmm... at that age I was a lot happier when I just went with whatever was easiest. So bottle/dummy/cuddles/whatever.

It took a while of crazy stressy 'she won't go to sleep!!!!' and then realised that she would on/with me. So I'd get a cuppa and a book and go to bed with her (regarded it my break). We did co-sleep a lot too. She has gradually improved her ability to sleep alone and she now self-settles and sleeps better (she is 16mths - but I really really haven't done any sleep training, leaving to cry or anything so it might be earlier if you did. not sure).

We put her in a bed a month ago and she loves it! And takes herself off for her nap if she is tired - and happily sleeps with no crying or anything. I believe this is because sleeping has not been a stressful experience but a normal, natural happy thing to do (with her mummy),

Sorry for rambling but just want to say - you can choose do whatever it takes to get them to sleep! You can break a habit at any time.

[deaconblue]

Ds was a pain at day time naps until we started copying almost exactly bedtime routing (minus bath obviously). Even now at 16 motnhs he has a nappy change, clothes off and into grobag, story, cuddle and pop him into bed. He started sleeping for much longer when we started this and still has about 1 1/2 hours

[StevenLeia]

I took some of your advice mummymagic, as you helpedme to lighten up about the whole nap thing, ive come to the concluusion that i cant let him get in the state he has been in when i try to put him in his cot in the day and make him nap, so ive been more flexible and if he is not ready to go to sleep in his cot i take him out and rock him in his push chair, often in the garden. No matter what i do he will only sleep for half max and its not long before he is tired again. The other thing i have done is in the morning since day dot, he has been wanting to get up at 5.45am, i always got up with him for bottle at 6am (which he didnt want much of anyway) then he was tired again at 7.30-8am!,,well the last 3 mornings ive done something i said i wouldnt and that is to get him in bed with me. After a while of his little comfort grabbing (usually my nose ) he has gone off to sleep till 7.30 and got up and drunk up his milk,,,,happy all round