why doesn't my baby nap !! i never get a break

[tastychristmaspud]

dd is almost 6 months. and has never napped in the day
why is this ?

she does sleep well at night, but in the day i get NO break

how can i get her to nap

[BrieVinDeAlkaSeltzer]

I used to take my DS to the big bed and lie down with him until he fell asleep.He hated it and I used to have to hold him tight until he stopped thrashing about then he would realise resistance was futile and go to sleep. I used to have a snooze at the same time. It was great.

[tastychristmaspud]

thanks im gonna try that today

[ChopsterRoastingOnAnOpenFire]

have you tried taking her for a walk?

[Brangelina]

Mine only napped when out in the pushchair.

I do sympathise, it's such a PITA when they're like this. I even used to wish DD would wake more at nights and sleep in the day instread.

[tastychristmaspud]

yes my newphew always falls alseep when taken for a walk, but not dd
if she did it would be for 5 mins max

[tastychristmaspud]

yes even eatting my lunch, going to the loo and having a wash is difficult with a baby that wants you constantley and never naps
let alone get anything done while she naps !!!
i wish !

[Indith]

Ds has always had to be caught at the right time. He has always been more of a morning napper too rather than in the afternoon when you would think he would most need it. Try putting her down the instant she starts to lost interest in her toys and grumble a bit rather than waiting until a certain time or when she gets to the eye rubbing stage.

[ChasingSquirrelsUpTheXmasTree]

it does pass! ds2 was like this, I just took him to bed with me in the afternoon at the weekend, and constantly carried him around all the rest of the time.
Around 15mo he started napping on his own in the day and now has a couple of hours every afternoon.
I know it seems hard atm, but really the housework doesn't matter.

[throckenholt]

the 2 hour rule worked for mine (didn't discover it with my first until about 5 months either !)

Basically they need to get back to sleep within 2 hours of waking - any more than that and they are overtired and won't sleep. Try putting her down at a llittle bit before 2 hours - snuggle her up in her cot (or somewhere quiet), pull the curtains, kiss her and say sleep time - then leave her for 5 mins and see what happens.

[throckenholt]

I have done the holding him down on the big bed routine too - but that was with my older toddler - boy did he fight it sometimes - but always was asleep within 5 mins and slept for 1.5-2 hours normally.

[Reesie]

My baby was the same - the only thing that seemed to work was cuddling up with her in my bed. I would take her at morning and early afternoon and snuggle in with her. I found that if I spend 5-10 mins with her quietly in a dark room gently singing a lullabye, putting her gro bag on and stroking her head. I would then give her a breastfeed (now I just snuggle up with her for a couple of mins) and she would then go to sleep. My baby is so alert and nosy she just seemed to need that winding down time.

If I stayed in bed with her and had a nap too (I was usually knackered as she wasn't very good at sleeping in the night) she would sleep about 2 hours. If I left her - she'd sleep for 30 mins max.

She's a year old now (well, on Sunday) and sleeps well at night and day - after being a complete nightmare sleeper. I did try the cc route but it was horrendous - so instead at about 6 months of age I just decided to be completely chilled and do whatever felt natural (ie. Breastfeeding to sleep - not giving a monkeys about routines etc. I must admit - it worked brilliantly. x