Daytime naps

[Thenightwillalwayswin]

DS is 12 weeks, and I'm struggling with getting him napping properly in the day. He's good on a night, we have a bedtime routine which we start sometime between 6 and 7. He wakes for feeds around midnight and threeish. He's always unsettled with his wind after the later feed and often ends up sleeping on me....(he is currently).

While he will settle himself in the cot on a night, he doesn't on the day. I'm always looking out for his tiredness signs and try to whisk him to bed as soon as he shows them, but I'll put him down and if he does sleep the longest I'll get is about 20 mins. He sleeps when out in the pram or on my chest but I can't get any housework/catch up on my sleep then! DH thinks we should try a more structured approach, I wonder if a dummy would help. Any tips? We have a sling but he doesn't really like it. Yesterday was basically a day long battle to get him sleeping...which left us both tired and cranky.

Ah no suggestions I'm afraid, I'm in exactly the same boat. Our dd is 12 wks today and we thought she was ill for a few days last week until we realised constantly napping for no more than 30 mins wasn't enough!

A specific 2 hour drive one day and Allowed her to sleep on me for 2 hours plus a few shorter ones (weirdly will just drift off when at play group) and she's back to herself again.

Ours won't take a dummy so makes things tricky.

We did take her out for every nap in the carry cot on pram for a couple of weeks which meant she would sleep when we got home which was good, but never for long and not done with the rain.

Do you have a wind down pre nap routine?
What environment is he napping in?
Have you tried white noise?
Dummy might be good for naps but I get the impression they are a nightmare at night if cry when they lose them.

I put him down in his cot with the curtains drawn (although they are quite light). Tried white noise sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. Not got a prenap wind down routine though, will try that. What sort of things do you do? Cuddles/quiet environment sort of thing?

My DS stopped napping when he was 4 or 5 months - I followed Elizabeth Pantley's no cry nap solution and within 2 or 3 weeks he was napping like a dream (when he gave up his morning nap he would sometimes sleep for 3 hours in the afternoon!)

Second the with down routine and also if they nap in the pram just walk around very close to the house and nip back in once they're asleep - you can either leave them in the pram or transfer to cot).

Thanks, will have a look at the No Cry Nap Solution.

I'm in exactly the same situation! I'm so fed up of the not settling well after the 3am feed zzzzz

My LO sleeps really well in his swing in the day... It's an expensive ugly contraption but it does work!!

In exactly the same situation with my 11 week old.

He will only nap in my arms - this is an improvement on a few weeks ago where he was not napping at all!

When I notice him getting tired it's tv on mute, Ewan dream sheep on lullaby music, blanket, feed to sleep, jiggle to re-settle and hopefully keep asleep for 45-60 mins.

If I'm out he will nap a bit in moving pushchair/car seat.

I would love for him to be self settling in cot, not feeding to sleep etc.. but just doing what I need to do to get him to sleep by whatever means. I'm enjoying the sofa snuggles but they can't go on forever!

Ds was able to self settle at night from around 10 weeks but wouldn't self settle for naps or nap for long enough until 20 weeks. I think its a developmental thing. I used to bring him for drives/walks/have a snooze myself with him on my chest. The few times I attempted 'nap training' frustrated both of us. Some of these things you just need to wait out.

Well wondering if my LO (12 wks) has come out of a development stage or just likes the new environment - moved naps from the carrycot on pram in hallway to bedroom where she sleeps at night. As dark as poss, radio playing quietly and in her gro bag as per night.

She is napping amazingly! Before 30-40 mins max, now poss 1:30 - 2! Also she woke and grizzled then just put herself back to sleep!

Pre nap, when showing signs of sleepiness, grizzling then starting to yawn, take her upstairs and put on our bed under mobile in dim light, start the lullaby thingy, and play quietly for a bit if she seems not quite tired yet. Then check nappy, change if needed, and put into gro bag. Give her a soft toy comforter and into cot. Put lullaby on again and leave the room.

Usually she cries, I leave for a couple of mins to see if she settles then go in sush and pat until calm and leave again. Might take a few goes of sushing but working well.