Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Five-month-old fighting naps

3 replies

stopgap · 21/01/2012 21:49

My son has always been a decent sleeper at night (currently does 7-10 hour stretches, although he takes a lot of rocking to actually settle, and is by far and away more active/alert than the other babes at mum and baby group).

In the daytime, he's pretty much given up napping. He seems to go three hours, rather than two, before showing initial signs of tiredness, but I can't for the life of me settle him in the swing (his usual napping place), nor his cot (only napped there once, and he still sleeps in his pram at night due to reflux). We've tried rocking/shushing/vacuum cleaner, I've tried the raindance with him in his Beco carrier (occasionally works) and nursing to sleep (again, only occasionally works) but he can't take his eyes off the world, and eventually melts down, then babbles to himself, then melts down again.

I'd love to take the occasional daytime nap, too, and tend to some chores, so I'd love some advice!

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Albrecht · 22/01/2012 22:16

My sympathies as ds takes a LOT of work to get him to nap too. I think at this age he was getting overstimulated and overtired.

Sorry I have no magic solutions but it does get easier. Partly because they need fewer and fewer naps as they get older and partly because as they get more active they shatter themselves out, especially if you have a super inquisitive one.

NoFoodwithaFace · 23/01/2012 12:14

My son is five months as well and a terrible sleeper! It takes ages of rocking and breastfeeding to get him to settle, we put him down in his cot the he wakes up!

CourgetteSmuggler · 23/01/2012 15:01

MY DD used to be more or less the same, we used to put her in her swing and ended up relying on it and it soon became the only place she would sleep. I rocked, patted and drove her all the time but as you say... it really depends on her mood.

at around 4 months my Mum suggested that maybe she just doesn't want to be patted and to just swaddle and leave her.

It was still pretty hit and miss but worked much faster than patting her, we used to swaddle and 'shhh' her to sleep in her cot.

I know this is going to be a bit contraversial but we have recently started controlled crying and she cries for 10 minutes tops before giving in and sleeping. She takes all of her naps in her cot now and goes down for 12 hours at night.

Granted her naps during the day are never more than an hour, but it's nice to have a cup of tea that is actually hot!

It might just be my DD's nature but being a bit firm has helped us her a lot.
I suppose if I wanted to sleep I wouldn't want someone to bounce me about.. :)

New posts on this thread. Refresh page