How can I get my 5 month old DS to nap during the day?

[Eaglebird]

He's a happy & nosy little boy, and loves to see what's going on. He sleeps well at night, waking once for a bottle about 3am-ish usually.
However, he's never been one for daytime naps at home in his cot. We go out most days for walks, and he will happily doze off and have a good sleep in his pushchair. Also, if we go out in the car, he will fall asleep in his car seat and have a nap. But he won't nap at home, unless he's really tired, then he'll be grumpy and cry and eventually nod off.
If he shows signs of being tired during the day, and I put him in his cot, he just wriggles about and cries, and doesn't sleep.
How can I get him into a napping routine?? It would be bliss if I could get him to nap at home, even if only for an hour, so I could get some chores done or put my feet up with a cuppa.
Any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks.

[vInTaGeVioLeT]

can't you just rock him in the pram?
that's what i used to do with ds
when he was a little older i just used to go out for a half hour walk everyday {while walking dog anyway} after lunch/early afternoon and he'd drop-off so i'd come home and leave him in pushchair and relax till he woke!

[Meandmyjoe]

You've probably already tried this but have you tried feeding him to sleep. DS often fell asleep on his afternoon bottle, it was the only way I could get him to sleep without him crying sometimes! If not, I used to put some quiet but bouncy music on and gently walk around or sway with him in my arms til he fell asleep. He would never just be cuddled to sleep or fall asleep on his own! Try not to worry too much about bad habbits- do whatever it takes to get him to have a nap, he will be much happier when he is well rested and so will you!

[mrsleroyjethrogibbs]

i agree with the vintageviolet take him for a walk in the pushchair/pram after lunch. make sure his tummy is full and he is nice and warm. as long as he is warm you can always leave him outside if its safe to do so.

[twinkleymum]

Yes I do this with my 5mo, go for a walk and then park up outside back door or in conservatory, leave the door open and have a cuppa where you can see the pram. My DD will only sleep for half hour when not on the move, but its a little break. Daytime naps are still a struggle for us too. I get some of my chores done with her in a sling, the rest have to wait until DH is around to help or DD is in bed.

[mejon]

DD who is now 20 months was just like this and I'm afraid that I have no solution - its just something we got used to. She will now very occasionally sleep of her own accord during the day but usually only if we've been out in the car or in the pushchair. The one redeeming feaure is that she does sleep well at night and has done from around 3 or 4 months so we've just grown accustomed to it. Sorry I don't have any constructive suggestions - it would appear that some babies just don't want to sleep during the day - though hopefully some of the other suggestions here might be of help!

[colander]

Have you tried a baby swing? Worked for DD1 because I just couldn't let her cry...DD2 on the other hand got dumped in her pram (day) or cot (night) with the door shut. You say he wriggles about and cries - how long are you leaving him for? DD2 always needed a good 5 - 10 min whinge to get off to sleep.

[PorridgeBrain]

Eaglebird, my DD was a nightmare with daytime naps but I perservered and she got a lot better at 6 months. However until she got it, I remember feeling tense every time a nap was due. I would start with one nap a day - I found the morning nap the easiest to master and if it doesn't go to plan, you've got the rest of the day to get things back on track. I would put her cot mobile on and give her a dummy and leave her to cry for a few mins at a time, returning to ssshh her and replace the dummy. Not a technique that some people like but worked for me and eventually she went to sleep with only a few mins of whinging. Failing that, have you tried putting him in the pram in the house and seeing if he associates that with sleep and falls asleep?

[Eaglebird]

Thanks for all your replies.
We go for walks practically every day, even when the weather is vile, and he naps in his pushchair without fail while we're out. I don't mind this, as I enjoy going out & getting some fresh air & exercise. But at times I've found myself trudging the streets when I'd rather not, just so that DS would go to sleep for a bit, and I'd get a break from him whinging.

As soon as we get home, it's like he has a magic sensor, and wakes up! Occasionally he will stay asleep, in which case I leave him to nap in his pushchair in the hallway, but he never stays asleep long when we get home.

If we're at home when he shows signs of being tired I think I'll put him in his cot, as suggested. I've been leaving him to wriggle & cry in his cot for about 5 minutes, which I now realise isn't long enough.
Should I use the same routine that I use at night time? (i.e draw the curtains and put a music cd on low volume) or should I leave the cutains open so he can distinguish a daytime nap from night time sleep?

I was at my parents' house today, and my Mam got him to nap in her arms for 45 mins by singing 'Chick chick chick chick chicken' to him non-stop for 10 minutes while he grizzled. It did the trick, but I don't fancy having to do that every nap time

[vInTaGeVioLeT]

eaglebird - my ds's morning nap routine was stick him in the lie flat pushair/pram, tuck in and then rock pram while playing james blunt [i HaTe that cd now] if he wasn't asleep by track 5 i gave up !!!
i think what i'm saying is - no pain no gain!!!! if you have to sing for 10 mins it's worth it for the break!!!!

[PorridgeBrain]

eaglebird - I always followed the same routine as night time so that she got that it was sleep time. I never had an issue with her distinguishing night from day, she would still only have much shorter naps in the day compared to night. I also put her in the sleeping bag for day time naps which helped a lot and I think helped her to recognise that it was sleep time. In the early days, it often took 30 mins to get her to sleep but got much much less pretty quckly to only a 5-10 mins of whinging if that. Recognising the sleep signs and reacting quickly was also key for me so after a couple of yawns/eye rubs and I would take her up to her room. Good luck.

[kittypower]

My ds wasn't at all keen on day time naps until he was about 6 or 7 months old and would sleep for about 20 mins at each nap and that was after about 40 mins of patting his back in the cot. He would also will fall asleep in the pram and as soon as we approach the front door, even before I have the key in the door he will wake up. At about 8 months he suddenly got really into his naps and now goes down for 2 hours in the morning and an hour at lunch with no niggles at all, I put him in his grobag close the curtains and he is straight to sleep - so fingers crossed this happens for your Ds too. I think these naps started when he was beginning to crawl so was tiring himself out more

[LolaLadybird]

I agree with Meandmyjoe about feeding to sleep - DS is 5 months and now pretty good at napping but I used to regularly give him a quiet bottle in his room before putting him down (just as I do at bedtime).

Like Porridge, I think recognising tired signs and timing is also key. If I get DS in his cot before he gets too tired he definitely makes much less fuss (otherwise has to cry for a few minutes to unwind).

[Eaglebird]

Joy of joys I've had some success!
As DS happily naps when he's in his pushchair during our daily walks, I tried putting him in his pushchair in the hall when he showed signs of being tired (rubbing his eyes, getting grumpy & sucking his thumb).
After rocking / pushing the pushchair for a few minutes he fell asleep.
I did it yesterday at home and he napped in his pushchair for about 90 minutes. Tried it also when we were at my parents' house, and he napped for about half an hour.
Hooray, no longer will I have to trudge the streets with the pushchair in the pouring rain just to gets some peace!

[LolaLadybird]

Well done Eagle. I bet you're really enjoying the long-awaited quiet time!