None napping baby - starting to get me down and crazy, tips to cope please!

[PeckaRolloverAgain]

I am the proud owner of a very gorgeous and wonderful baby.

I have spent her 13 weeks of life battling to get her to nap in the day (like her brother and sister did)

Have tried everything and have got to the point where I need to somehow accept that she isnt going to do it and just accept that she spends alot of her day very overtired as it is dominating her whole day.

I have read every book on the subject and think having a ceremonial burning of them all might be a good first step!

Any other parents of none nappers tell me that it either gets better and they suddenly nap or what you did to cope with it?

She goes to sleep but wakes up still tired 20 minutes later and nothing gets her back to sleep. she spends most of her day grizzling, crying or screaming if she hasnt managed any sleep.

Im becomign a bit house bound and isolated trying to crack it but the only thing cracking is me!

[CantSleepWontSleep]

Have you tried walking her in a pushchair? I did this 3 times a day with dd, but she would wake pretty soon after I stopped walking. Was tiring but got me fitter for a while, until she stopped sleeping in it at all.

[MegBusset]

We had 20- or 30-minute naps at this age, it's very common. It really did get better and since 7/8 months he has been a pretty good napper.

I used to work on a strict routine as he could only stay awake for 90 minutes. So every two hours I would bundle him in the pram and take him for a walk, then he would fall asleep (sometimes after a little grizzling) for half an hour. Then when he woke I would BF him then play til the next naptime came around. Some days he was having 5 naps a day, gradually the naps started getting further apart and one glorious day he started stirring after half an hour but then going back to sleep.

[BoysAreLikeDogs]

DS2 was a screamer, the only thing to do was to get out in the pram, round and round the village.

It seems quieter, or at least not so loud, when you are out.

I feel your pain (DS2 will be 6 tomorrow but I still remember)

Good luck

[beansprout]

Have you tried a sling? I have a 10 week old who is not up for napping in his cot but who will sleep for long stretches in a sling.

[uttertripe]

take along swing

im telling you, was a frikkin miracle in my house....

i only got the idea once ds2 had driven me mad of course... he grew out of it in abotu a week as was so slow to cotton on.

but i had it ready from ds3. and you know, if i were to start a religion, it would be around take-along swings.

try it. and if it doesnt work, you can always ebay it. or ebay for one in the first place. i have passed mine on. like the littlest hobo it is off into the world, spreading peace and harmony wherever it goes... ahhhh

[uttertripe]

this is the exact one i had. snap it up quick! what have you to lose?

[PeckaRolloverAgain]

ive got a swing. she will sit in it for "play time" but wont have anything to do with it for sleep. would a take along one be any different? i have this one

www.amazon.co.uk/Graco-Delight-Speed-Swing-Seashell/dp/B0006H4Q3Y?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[uttertripe]

hmmmmm, im not sure. they look pretty similar.
with ds3 i just fed him, strapped him into it, wrapped up snug and switched it on.... the swinging looke d abit violent but it shut him up and within 5 -10 minutes hed be asleep and stay that way for at least a couple of hours...

shit, if that doesnt work, what the hell are you going to do??? [poss ill advised joke]

what are you doiung with it?

in more general terms, i think the path of least resistance is almost always the 'right' way with babies...

[uttertripe]

i did buy a different sort of swing which i thought would be a winner... and he sat in it for all of about 3 seconds flat. so maybe one swing works for one baby and not for another...

i think the second swing was a graco, but a bigger frame part...

[uttertripe]

(2nd swing bought coz he was growing out of the first swing. and being awake more)

[uttertripe]

have just found this website and through the irritation with the vomit worthy video... i can see that i would prob eat my scoffing words and try this if my swing thing didnt work.

Q - will she be put down at all, without crying? if she is giving you 'hands free' time without being upset, does it matter that shes not sleeping?

[latchmeregirl]

Yes to the walking them in a pushchair - try it for a few days and see if it breaks the habit. We had some success with this and ds's daytime sleeping did improve a bit - tricky if you've got older ones to look after though as you really have to keep moving!!

On the "tips from books" front you've probably come across people who suggest if you get to them as soon as (or ideally before) they wake and sooth them back to sleep then after a few days they will sleep for longer. That didn't work at all in my experience - just made everyone cross. Ditch the books, you know you want to!

They do grow out of it but it really is frustrating, and to be honest my 10 month old still sometimes wakes after 20-30 mins...I used to tell myself that battles over daytime naps wouldn't last forever, as sooner or later he'd stop needing them, which was heartening in a depressing kind of way. You do have my sympathies - does she sleep at night?

[meebles]

I resorted to taking my DD out for a looong walk to get her to nap - I was getting very weary of never getting any handsfree time during the day. Once asleep though she usually goes for hours. If not I pop her in the same swing that uttertripe has - it's fab, but only if she's sleepy to start with.
I'm really jealous of all these people who just put their babies down and they go to sleep!

[PeckaRolloverAgain]

Do you think its worth perservering with the swing? Would LOVE for her to have a good nap in it - these 30 min naps are doing me in

[meebles]

Yes - my combination of walk and swing usually gives me a nice chunk of time to do stuff with. I keep the swing in the sitting room - usually where I am - and sometimes she wakes up to check I'm still there, has a brief squizz around and goes back to sleep. I think this reassures her.