7 mnths & massively fighting naps + no tired signs!

[Chocolateyclaire76]

My LO has always been a poor sleeper but things had started to calm down - that was until this week.

She has decided that she will fight every nap with excited chatting and then manic screaming and I just don't know what to do. She's definitely not teething and I've tried putting her down earlier or later and it makes no difference. I'm currently sat here listening to her cry - it's 3.15pm and she's been up since 11am! I've been up and down to her about 10 times in the past hour and a half to comfort her, rock her, give her a dummy, you name it but she's still screaming, chatting, trying to crawl, everything but sleep. She never has any tired signs during the day, no yawns, nothing. She's always on the go, looking at things and smiling therefore when I put her down is always a bit trial and error.

If she point blank refuses to sleep she will have had 1 hr 10 mins today and that's it!!

She's never been brilliant at night and now I'm terrified that tonight will be horrific.

I feel your pain! My DD is nearly 8mo and have been putting her down awake for naps and at bedtime for the last few weeks. It was going okay but last few days she goes spare when I put her down:( I think it's a developmental thing as she's recently mastered sitting up and rolling over. She does yawn but I still can't seem to get it right! I'm doing the gradual withdrawal method which helps to keep her calm if nothing else.
Just hoping it passes soon :)

Why don't you rock her to sleep or take her in the pushchair? Sleep is more important than how they get there at this age. Then once they're a bit older you can try self settling again.
My dd is a champion napper but I was rocking her etc until around 1ish? Now at 19 months, she self settles after a brief cuddle at bedtime although needs a bit more cuddles for her naps. Sometimes she wants more cuddles sometimes less.

She's my second btw - I was a bit more anxious with my first and convinced he had to self settle or else. Ironically he was and still is pants at bedtimes!!!

I know alot of people think that their little ones still have lots of little naps at this age but think it depends on the child. My son at this age stopped his morning nap but was exhausted by 12.30 so changed him to one long nap for 2 hours. He was ready for bed at 7.30 still as no afternoon nap and slept better overnight. Really is worth a try! Also could she be extra hungry and maybe needing something half hour before her nap to keep her going? Good luck, you're not alone, it's exhausting when all you want is a bit of peace

Creatureresorts - I spent 4 months having to take her out in the pushchair for literally every single nap, over winter (!), but she mastered the cot 2 months ago and has been fine since then until the other day. I always try rocking her but it just makes her more and more angry. She eventually fell asleep in my arms but that was after nearly 2 hours of her protesting and 4 and a half hours of being awake!

Carly3869 - I think she may be heading down the 1 long nap route. Was your LO 7 months or older? She seems so young to be doing this. I thought she may have been hungry and offered her milk but it made no difference. She just hates naps and wants to be a part of the action downstairs instead. Grrrrrrrr!!!!

If she's showing no signs of tiredness and doesn't want to sleep just go with the flow. You can't make a child sleep if she doesn't need to.

If you allow her to get upset trying to get her to nap in the day you'll probably find night times become more of a battle too.

Try to change the routine so you're offering her the chance to sleep when she's tired.

Yes I appreciate it is annoying but babies change - sometimes they need different approaches, sometimes you might need to tweak your routine and go with it. You can always revert again to the cot instead of tearing your hair out trying to keep to how she is doing it.
I've been there!

She sounds exactly like my DS. He is now 9 months and has always been like that, no tired signs until he is over-tired. Constantly fighting it, fooling about, exploring, bouncing around like the Duracell bunny until eventually it descends into a big overtired meltdown. I think its because they are intelligent, inquisitive little people

I think 7 months may be too soon for some babies to self settle. At 9 months mine is not really close to self-settling (still breastfeeding him to sleep talk about rods and backs), despite me going back to work imminently. He's just started nursery and they have had some success with rocking/patting him, but he still refused his afternoon nap today and got into a bit of a state.

I don't really know, but i'd suggest its best not to make it a battle, especially if you've already made some progress with the cot. Perhaps stop trying, take her downstairs to play and try again later.

Do you think if she took her morning nap a bit earlier or shortened it she'd be more likely to nap in the afternoon?

I speak as someone in the same overtired boat, so i don't claim to have any answers. These are the things I'd try. Good luck!

Yes my son was around 7 months when he started a long nap and at the time i thought he was way too young. Once he was in a routine with it, it was easier as i knew i could go out morning or afternoon. He was never a sleepy baby and whenever I used to see another child they always used to be asleep and I remember thinking why doesn't he do this! They are all just so different. Also maybe a growth spurt, teething, if being a bit fussy, cranky etc. Good luck

I think not making it a battle is key and next time she does it I'll persist for half an hour and then get her up and have a quiet play until she may/may not seem tired. Not looking forward to trying this in the days to come when the temp is cranking up and she'll be all hot and bothered - ah well!