8 month old driving me insane

[Cranb0rne]

My 8 month old DS2 doesn't nap well. He's been like this since he was around 3 months. It sometimes takes me an hour to get him to sleep and then he's awake screaming 20 minutes later. The only way he naps is in his pushchair or on me, but as I have a 3 year old to look after, he can't sleep on me very often. I am getting so down with wasting my days trying to get him to sleep. I have just wasted an hour walking and rocking him in his pushchair and have just given up as he kept dropping off and startling himself awake again. I am literally being driven to the brink of insanity by him, and am seriously worried about how he's going to cope at nursery in a few weeks. He refuses to nap in his cot, God knows I've tried enough times. Anyone else in the same boat? I feel so tired and drained

[MumOfTwoMasterOfNone]

Exactly the same with 7.5 month old. I let her nap on me when I can but my 2 yo gets ignored and parented by TV
I've given up spending hours trying to get her to sleep in her cot. When she's been asleep on me for ages I can occasionally transfer her to bed but it doesn't last long. Enough to do a quick chore, shower etc. She gets really ratty and irate but it's such hard work. She also co-sleeps because I just need some sleep.
My DS was better with day time napping but always terrible at night sleeping unless co-sleeping and this for better from 9 months with some sleep training which was just awful.
It won't last forever

[ODog]

Both of mine have been fairly bad nappers but neither could resist the magic sleeping powers of a sling. Pop them in, get on with your life with your hands free and they can sleep in there. Worth a shot?

[Summerdays2014]

My 8 month old son is the same. Will only nap in cot for 30-40 minutes. Will sleep longer on me or in car seat. No longer naps in pushchair. He will fall asleep easily on me but wake when he's put down. For the last week I've been trying putting him down in the cot and patting/shhhing him to sleep, this has been working, but can take ages to get to sleep and as he only sleeps for such a short amount of time it doesn't seem worth it. He's asleep on me now.

I desperately want him to have two longer naps in the cot but it's not working. Nights are also crap, I've been trying gradual retreat which doesn't seen to be working yet. I tried controlled crying last month but it didn't work. Will try again I think. He is so grumpy at the moment and u think it's because he's so over tired.

So no advice but sympathy. I keep hoping that when his first teeth are through/when he starts crawling/when he gets to 9 months etc etc etc it will change. Fingers crossed.

[Whatthefreakinwhatnow]

Jeez DD2 was a shit napper at home, like you I dreaded when I went back to work and what would happen..... she does an hour in the morning and 1.5 in the afternoon! still 20 mins at home, but there she sleeps like a dream

[Cranb0rne]

Glad I'm not alone! I will use the sling more when it cools down a bit as carrying him makes us both overheat. He loves it. Don't remember my DS1 being such a crap napper but then I had endless time for pushchair walks, lap naps and cot settling with him :)

[Stupidityreigns]

I don't know whether this is the right or wrong approach but I have a ten minute rule (usually more like 5 minutes). If he shows signs of tiredness I put him in the pram and sing him a few songs/push the pram back and forth. If he is not asleep or showing serious signs of dropping off within 5/10 minutes I take him out again and put him down to play a bit longer or whatever it is we were doing. I will try again at the next sign of tiredness in 10/15 mins. When he is ready he drops off very quickly. There is a bit of whinging in between but I simply cannot bear an hour of gently coaxing him to sleep!

[KatyN]

Nursery fixed it for my son. He always napped in my arms and the first day of nursery he slept in their cot. No idea how but it tranaferred home so fingers crossed