Ok, so this here rod that I'm making for my back...

[BettyButterknife]

DS2 is 8 weeks old. Sleeps well at night. Daytime naps have always been a bit scrappy - he gets very tired and then he's wired and can't get off to sleep nor stay asleep once he's down.

Initially I was swaddling him and putting him in his cot in our bedroom, blinds and curtains closed. But I found he would take ages to settle, I'd think he was off only to hear him scream. I was up and down the stairs 5, 10, 15 times every nap.

We introduced a dummy. He quite likes it, but not enough to settle him off to sleep. He does like chewing his fists, and in the last week or so has seemed really pissed off at being swaddled.

Fine, I thought. He sleeps well in his pram. Let's do daytime naps in the pram. Worked ok for a bit, but now we're at the stage where he has to be rocked for aggggggggeeeeeeeeeeesssssss, or taken out for a walk in order to get him off to sleep.

At first I was trying to follow the baby whisperer routine, as I've also got a 3yo and it just wasn't working winging it - DS2 got too tired and screamed for hours. Am happy with the vague structure of this routine, but have adapted it to suit DS2 and his favoured nap times, and more importantly, nap lengths. But BW would slap my wrists over the pram thing.

So, have I made a rod for my back? Or is it too early to condemn me completely yet?

How can I sort out these naps? Silly thing is, he goes down fine at bedtime - bath, bottle, in his cot awake, not a peep, no dummy, out like a light. Actually, just writing that makes me think it's a ritual thing perhaps... do I need to get a daytime nap winding-down ritual sorted out?

Sorry, that was really long...

[Cadders1]

We really struggled with naps until about 16 weeks. Before that I had spent the first 8 weeks rocking and cuddling for ages, swaddling (which he too got annoyed with after a short while) and spent most of my day trying to get him to nap - and once asleep in moses basket would still wake up after 20 mins.

After 8 weeks decided to chill a bit, first morning nap he would sleep fine for but then a struggle for rest of day. Howevere he would always sleep in his car seat , so would time some activity out around his sleep time - he would fall asleep and then usually I could bring him back into the house in his car seat and just rock the seat if he stirred. He would often manage about 2 hours in the car seat. I wuld then take him for a walk around 4.30 in his pram. Once he got used to these sleep times - around 16 weeks I decided to go back to try getting him to sleep in his cot and ended up being much easier.

I do have a little ritual for nap times too. Similar to bed time, would put him into his sleeping bag and read him some stories - some milk and then bed. Used shush pat technique recommended by BW to settle and then music from monitor. BW does not reccommend milf before nap time - but this really helped settle my DS and always made sure he was not completly asleep when put down.

At 10 months he now has 2 naps a day and in total sleeps 2 - 3 hours during the day in his cot.

I don't think by 8 weeks you have made a rod for your own back (not sure if this is ever really the case)

[Cadders1]

Sorry for rubbish spelling and grammer! Particularly the milf before bedtime No wonder he sleeps better!

[BettyButterknife]

:o at milf!

Thanks for your advice, cadders, I think a bit of a ritual is definitely necessary. It's just tricky as I also have a 3yo who doesn't really want me to leave him for 20 minutes while I try to get the baby to nap! Think as you say, car seat/pram is the way to go for the time being, and then see how things progress.

[babybrained]

I have exactly the same problem with my 22mo DS when trying to settle my 5mo DD. He cries the whole time if I try to get her to sleep in her cot, Especially as it takes aaaaaaggggges for her to settle too, but it's easier to put her in the buggy downstairs instead. I'm attempting to get her accustomed to nap times first, then change the location later (who knows when though).

[matilda73]

I have the opposite problem, my 9wo DD goes down really well for her naps but will not sleep in the evening. DH and I have just spent 2 hours cuddling/settling her to sleep. I wouldn't mind the settling/cuddling routine except it seems to make her more cross and irritable not less! I think when they are this small it doesn't matter quite so much what you do as everything changes quickly, 2 weeks ago she wouldn't settle for naps but was fine in the evening. I think all the emphasis on not making rods for our own backs ignores how much they change in the early months and how things that work one week don't the next

[Mumcah]

My DS is 20 weeks and both my DD and him were not great at daytime napping until at least 3 months.Even pacing the streets wasn't a certainty!

I think it's just a matter of time til he goes down well in his cot.

And as the nights are good....try not to get too worked up about it.(easier said than done!)

[tiokiko]

I had the same problem with DD (now 22m) - naps were a bit of a drama. In the end I thought at least if I could get her into the habit/routine of napping at particular times then she would get used to it.

So I would usually take her out for a walk in the pram until she dropped off then brought her home and she slept in the pram/carrycot bit for ages after.

She eventually got into napping properly, for a bit I had to BF her to sleep but she did get it in the end and self-settled etc.

I reckon they do get there in the end and you're not necessarily making a rod...it is early days though and I cam remember thinking that DD would never nap/sleep through/self-settle but she did and (apart from a few crappy sleep regressions) is a brilliant sleeper/napper now.

Good luck!