Does the cot have some sort of magic 30 minute alarm?

[stmarymead]

Hello MNers
Its a sleep one...My 5 month DS sleeps pretty well at night, but the daytime is a stress. If we're out and the pushchair is to hand I need not fear because he sleeps well and for the amount of time he actually needs (chair can be still or moving), but if we are at home it's another story...the dreaded cot just does not keep him asleep. So if I win the first battle of getting him to sleep in it he NEVER sleeps for longer than half an hour and it's just not enough. As you will all know babies and not enough sleep is a combo you don't want to find yourself with too often. Any, any, any ideas how I can break this 30 minute max sleep cycle?!
Excuse me while I get the pushchair and we go for a walk!

It's just a phase, a lot of children start sleeping for longer stretches in the day after 6-7 months. Have you tried resettling your DS after the first 30 min stretch? This is just one sleep cycle and, as you know, not enough. DS used to do the same, actually it was easy to see that he didn't have enough sleep as he was waking up grumpy. I used to go in and resettle him, cuddling or rocking him to sleep, whatever it took to make him fall asleep again. Very often he would go back to sleep and wake up an hour later refreshed.

Could you put him for his nap in the pushchair? We used to put ds in his cot for his nap and were worried when he started at the childminders as she didn't have a cot, however she put him in his pushchair in her hallway and he slept happily until I collected him which meant I just had to push him home. When we went on holiday and he wouldn't nap in the cot there I did the same with the pushchair. It worked untill he was 3+.

My DD was exactly the same. It all changed at 6 months and she started having much longer naps early afternoon in the cot. It coincided with her starting solids, so am attributing it to that!

My DS absolutely refused to go to sleep in his cot during the day. I used to push him round the block in his pushchair and then come back and park him in the hall and he would sleep for as long as he needed. For some reason I got it into my head that he must sleep in his cot in the daytime and after much wailing from both of us eventually he got used to it, but I can't remember now why I didn't just carry on pushing him round the block until he dropped off (possibly a cold and rainy spell of weather?!).

He is 21 months now and still has pushchair naps once a week when he is at my mum's.

At least this way round he can have naps in his pushchair if you are out and about, some babies will ONLY nap in their own cots, which must be a bit restrictive.

Hate to say it but mine is 9m and only sleeps for half hour wherever he is, car, cot, buggy. The only time he will nap longer is if we curl up on sofa and I let him stay latched on - Oh and he is pretty rubbish at night too. Am clinging on to the hope it will change when he walks - please please please!

Thanks folks... All v helpful, and affirming! Should say our house is, as estate agents would put it, compact, and we can't park outside so lugging pushchair in and out is a bit of a mission, however when needs must I will do it! It's just I would prefer the nap without the logistics palapa... Heres hoping. Development in the cot saga is that DS now won't go in at At All in the day. 30 minutes doesn't seem so bad now... On the plus side at least I am getting some 'moderate exercise' with all this walking, an elusive phenomenon in this household!