HELP 6m baby won't nap!

[sg1994]

Hi i was wondering if i could get some help or advice please. I have a 6month old baby boy and for as long as i remember now he just does not nap throughout the day. We get stretches of anything from 20-40mins and thats it and i have tried loads. He is able to self settle and throughout the night links his sleep cycles no problem as he goes down at 7/8pm and sleeps right through till 2/3am before he gets up for a feed then right through till 6/7am after so he doesnt have a problem with getting sleep cycles linked but throughout the day its just so hard.

i watch his wake windows and dont go longer than 2hrs but because he doesnt nap long enough he can wake up and within 15-20mins be moody and cranky till his next nap which is usually within an hour and a half to two hours after waking up cause if i try to nap him any earlier he just doesnt fall asleep.

there is an odd day once in a blue moon where he will nap for like 2hrs or so during his lunch time nap however those are very rare and it just feels like i spend my whole day trying to nap him or keep him settled because he doesnt nap long enough to keep himself happy so is just tired all the time.

any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you

How/where does he nap? Cot, pram, on you, or a variety of places?

he naps in his own bed and if we are ever out he will nap in pram/car too however even when outside he will only do short spells too!

Have you tried the No Cry Nap Solution?

What if you try a longer wake window for a few days? Two hours is on the shorter end of the typical range for a 6 month old, so he may not be tired enough to have a longer nap.

@skkyelark unfortunately due to him just cat napping i just cant extend these any longer as he is just shattered but doesnt sleep long enough so we just go in a vicious circle🤦🏼‍♀️

Is there anything that will get a slightly longer nap out of him (even 40-60 minutes instead of 20-40), even if it's inconvenient or a 'bad habit'? Moving car or pram, in the sling, cuddled on you on the sofa?

If there is, I would be inclined to go with that for at least one nap a day (more if you can manage it) and try to sort of reset his daytime pattern so that he's awake for at least 2 hours between naps and getting at least two longer naps. I think it's common for either the first nap or the last nap to be a shorter catnap. Once the timings are better, you can transition back to napping in his cot.

I do sympathise – DD2 had periods where she had to be walked to sleep in the buggy for every nap, whatever the weather, or she'd fight the nap until she was a complete mess. Even when she was napping 'better', if we had a couple of days where naps weren't good, I'd use the buggy again to get that longer nap and get her back on a more even keel.

Did you have any success with anything because my 6 month old is the same! Night sleeps 6:30 through to 5am without waking but I'm lucky to get an hour nap. Most are 30 mins max and only 2-3 per day. She is suuuuuuper cranky but just cries at nap time. Please tell me you found a solution!