5 month old naps help!!

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Hi everyone,

Im a FTM and my daughter has just turned 5months and I’m really confused and struggling with her naps.

From birth she has preferred to contact nap and it has been so difficult to get her to sleep independently at all during the day (other than in the car if it’s moving!) So I’ve been stuck in a cycle of contact naps in a dark room all day everyday to ensure she is well rested, and to be honest it’s taking a toll on my mental health at this point.

She sleeps independently at night around 10-11 hours and can self settles etc then but she just won’t do it during the day. I’ve managed to get her to fall asleep for 2 of her naps in her bed, with me having to stop her arms and legs waving around but then she sleeps one cycle and startles awake and can’t get herself back to sleep. I then lay down with her and try and get the rest of the nap so she isn’t so tired and cranky.

Anyone have any advice? I feel as if I’m doing it all wrong but I’m scared to stop extending the naps in case her night sleep starts to get disrupted!! She only sleeps one cycle when in her pram as well so walking naps dont work no matter how long I walk for!

Will it sort itself out in time or am I doing the wrong thing and making it worse?

Thank you x

My little boy is 8 months and if we’re at home he naps in his pram! Has done since he was about 3 months old, he likes the rocking of the pram I think! He’s napping atm, has been for about an hour. Been a godsend. Sleeps absolutely fine in his cot all night.

Naps and nighttime sleep are controlled by different parts of babies brains. People who sleep train have to train for naps and nights separately. That's why your baby can self settle at night but not during the day.

Napping for just one sleep cycle is pretty normal (frustratingly enough) at this age, linking sleep cycles is developmental so should work itself out in time. I think my baby was around 5.5 months when he finally started taking longer naps. I used to extend naps until then.

On the bright side, 10-11 hours of undisturbed sleep at night is brilliant! Hopefully the naps will improve soon!

Been there!! Do keep encouraging her to nap in her bed for as long as she'll stay asleep. My 10mo still only goes one sleep cycle most of the time, but he is getting easier to settle as he gets older - it's very rare to chain 2 together. His sleep has drastically improved since he started crawling.

You're in it for the long haul. Just remember it's easier to stop "bad" sleep habits from being formed than to try and break them!

Thanks for the replies everyone!
I’ve taken to letting her do 2 short naps on her own and then extending the middle one so she gets one long nap a day. If I just let her catnap she is soooo cranky! Even with the 2 short ones she’s cranky after and it’s a struggle to get 2 hours wake time following the short naps as she just wants to be held once she get tied😫
Do you think I should be letting her sleep more often to stop the crankiness or just ride it out? I’m trying to cap her daytime sleep to 3 hours ish as she is also waking up before 6am now as well after falling asleep at 7:30pm and she won’t handle a later bedtime that’s already a struggle to then 😂

My almost 5 month old naps in the sling so I can still move around and do stuff? Works for us although not for everyone x

We contact nap here mostly, she’s 6 months on 14th June. I find if I put her down in her cot she will settle eventually and she gets better at it. We have a sleeping bag and white noise which are used in the evening which I think helps cue a nap.

Should have also said unless out and about my first only ever contact napped until over a year old. She’s a fantastic sleeper and has been always (4 years old). So it doesn’t always mean they won’t settle themselves later on.