Naps are such a battle

[Mull]

Hi,

My 5.5mo DS sleeps brilliantly at night, maybe waking once around 3-4am for a feed (BF) but often sleeps 7 til 7.

He also goes back to sleep at around 8am for another 40mins - 1hr which I found amazing to start with (why more sleep after a 12hr stretch?) but it obviously works for him.

The rest of the day is a different story. He won't go back in his cot AT ALL. I am finding the days a real battle - rocking him to sleep, trying to put him down, he'd wake up, resettle him etc etc. This could go on for over 1hr, then he might sleep for one sleep cycle (30 - 40mins) then wake up crying as still tired but not be able to settle again.

This week I've decided to give up with putting him in the cot and have brought the pram inside to use instead. He still crys a lot before nodding off but at least I'm not leaving him to cry by himself and I can rock him without actually holding him.

I know I should be grateful that he is so good at night but, when I'm dealing with him all by myself during the day, I find it very upsetting. I also think I don't 'get' why anyone would cry about going to sleep (I'd love a daytime nap!) so it really pushes my buttons.

Why is daytime sleep so different to night time sleep? At 7pm I can put him in the cot fully awake and he just nods off. The same if I feed him in the night. So he obviously can settle himself. What am I doing wrong during the day??

Any advice gratefully received.

Not sure I can help, but can definitely offer sympathy! My DD used to be a great nighttime sleeper (9-5am from 8 weeks) but would resist naps terribly in the day.

SInce she turned 4 months, her naps have got better and better and now at 6 months she will happily have 45 mins/1 hour in the morning and around 2 hours after lunch...I just got consistent with times and put her in her cot (assuming we are at home) regarless of whether she looked sleepy or not. Naps out and about can be hit and miss, but she generally makes up for it on the days we are at home anyway...

Anyway, what I wanted to say was that the downside of this is that I am now up at least twice in the night with her - last night it was midnight (and she didn't settle until gone 1.30 ) and again at 5.45 when she wanted to be up for the day - but that wasn't too bad compared to what she has been doing recently!!

I don't know if the two are connected, probably not I suppose, but it just seemed to be that as I sorted out one problem so another one reared its ugly head!

I know what you mean about the day being exhausting having to entertain a baby constantly without a break, but I would (I think) prefer that than be up and down out of my bed all night.

Good luck!

Thanks.

I can't decide whether to aim for naps at set times, or go from when he last woke up, or only when he's looking tired. I feel like there must be some magical window of time that I'm missing so that he is either not sleepy enough or too sleepy when I try to put him down.

I did try a bit of CC which actually worked wonders for him going to sleep at night but hasn't helped with the days (and I'm too much of a wuss to do it properly in the day when by myself).

Anyway, I do totally agree that I would rather have this trouble in the day and not the night. I s'pose I just can't understand why nighttime sleep would be so different to daytime sleep.

AngelDog has some good stuff about naps here - although, bear in mind her DS is a little older than yours. But it's just a case of reducing the awake times to compensate.

I've been having a bit of a battle with naps lately, too and like you have started putting DD 7mo in her pram for naps because at least she'll consent to let me unlatch her and will sleep there without needing a dummy or anything else in her mouth. I'm not rocking the pram and I'm also keeping the radio on at the same time. So far, so good - the naps seem to be gradually lengthening and she's not kicking up a fuss about going down for them (generally). I reckon once we've cracked self-settling in the pram, then we'll have another go at the cot.

I'll be interested in your progress, as it sounds like we're trying the same approach!

Thanks Inmaculada, I've just read that thread and its very useful.
I agree that DS's tired signs are getting more difficult to read so maybe I should be aiming for set nap times. As he is so good at going back to bed at 8am I would like to stick to that one, then maybe 11am and 2pm? Having said that, he went back to bed at 8am this morning and is still asleep now so who knows what we'll do for the rest of the day!!

I feel your pain. My DS (5.5 months) has similar trouble. He sleeps really well at night - usually 7-7 with a dreamfeed at 10.30pm. Naps on the other hand are a nightmare. He'll usually nap around 9am for a good half hour. But at lunchtime, he refuses to nap unless pushed in the pushchair. We basically end up taking him out to get him to sleep and then carrying him back up to the flat. Or end up rocking him in the pushchair in the flat. He'll sometimes nap in the late afternoon as well if he's not napped well at lunchtime. He's gradually got worse over the last 6 weeks - he used to happily do 2-3 hours at lunchtime!

The most annoying thing is that he started at crech 4 days a week a few weeks ago. There, they can get him to nap no problem - in his bed, in a sleeping bag! He does 2 good naps at creche and sometimes another in the afternoon if he's really tired!

So, I can't offer any help I'm afraid, only sympathy. Me and DH have decided to stop worrying about it, and just go with the pushchair option if that's all that will work. I'm hoping as he gets older and more of a routine established during his creche days it might have a knock on effect with his naps at home. I don't worry too much though, as I'm just relieved he sleeps OK at night!