30 min naps - how to extend?

[Mrsb999]

DS is nearly 6 months, Can't complain with his sleeping at night, He's asleep usually by 7pm then will go to anywhere between 4-6 am when he wakes for a feed, He will then go straight back down until 8am.

The problem is his daytime naps are awful, He will nap 2-3 times a day at a lush but only for 30 mins max. At 30 mins like clockwork he wakes up crying so he's obviously not having enough sleep - he can also be grumpy. I've tried putting him to sleep in his cot (where he sleeps so well at night) but he screams his head off and won't settle - this then makes him overtired.

I can get him to sleep in his bouncer by rocking him but this will only be for 30 mins. Best result we get is if we are out in the car he will sleep for ages but I can't drive round for 1.5 hours twice a day so he can nap!!

Any advice would be appreciated as this is really getting me down : (

I know we are very lucky with how he sleeps at night but I just want him to be happy during the day!

I'm tryingbt

I'm trying to get my wee one to nap longer too. He's like clockwork waking at 45 min. We are trying to watch for waking signs 5 min before you know they'll wake and just try lay a hand on, sshh etc to stop him waking properly. Works sometimes.

How does he sleep in the pram? dd was a 30 min napper for ages (until about 7/8 months iirc) and I would use the pram to get her to nap longer - so would rock to sleep in pram, put a dark scarf or blackout blind over, then as soon as she woke at 30 mins I would rock again. she'd often sleep for another hour or even more after that.

I've tried the pram a couple of times but again nothing longer than 30 mins.

I've been so adamant I don't want to get into the habit of rocking him or putting him in a pram etc to nap I've resisted it up til now - looks like I'm going to have to suck it up and do it!

I have a 45 min napper. Unless I'm at home when I basically have to be near him to shh cuddle him back off when he rouses. Then he'll sleep for another hour or so.

My DS would NOT nap for longer than 40 mins no matter what I tried, until he turned about 7.5 months when he just suddenly decided he wanted a big long 90 minute sleep after lunch.

I didn;t do anything to make this happen, i think it was a developmental thing and he just needed more daytime sleep iyswim? SO maybe just hang in there and roll with it for a few more weeks and your LO might start to extend naps on his own?

I think a number of factors helped: he started belly-crawling so was MUCH more knackered, he was fully weaned on 3 meals per day with puddings so felt nice and full, and I think he is just much more aware now, I can almost hear his little brain working overtime as he works out how the world works...and then he needs a nice long sleep!

I had a clockwork 45 minute napper. She grew out of it eventually by herself, when she began to take one long nap after lunch. I tried various things to "fix" it, but it was just how she was.

Like a previous poster said, I think it is a developmental thing. Very annoying as you don't get much of a break all day, but on the positive side your nights are brilliant.

Yeah I think you either have to accept the 30/40 min naps, or accept some rocking/pramming to get a longer nap... seems like 7/8 months is when most of the 30/40 minuters start to sleep longer of their own accord.

Thanks for all the replies, he had x 2 30 min naps in his bouncer today then this afternoon he fell asleep on me, I could sense he was about to wake up (which surprise surprise was bang on 30 mins) so I starting stroking his head and shushing him, he woke briefly crying but eventually fell back asleep for another hour!

Hopefully in a month or 2 he will get better at it naturally!

I've had some success with wake to sleep. Basically you pick them up 5-10 minutes before they wake up, disturb them a bit, and soothe them back to sleep then put them down. Generally this gets you another sleep cycle. After about 2 weeks we found she'd sleep through without.

But I also agree with the others that sometimes it's just how they are or something they grow out of.

My Ds did 30 minute naps, I tried a few things but nothing helped, then one day at about 6 or 7 months he just started staying asleep for longer. I think they just grow into it. He used to have 4 short naps a day, which was a bit of a pain, but it does improve.

Oh, good God, I just came onto the sleep thread to start a thread about 30 min naps!!! OP, I feel your pain.

Have a slightly different situation in that DD (6m) doesn't need to be rocked or prammed to nap, she is OK at being put to nap in her cot or (I do this second one if I am staying in the bedroom with her to work on my laptop) in the middle of our bed. BUT she wakes like clockwork after 30 mins from her morning and pm naps. Lunchtime she goes longer, she stirs after 40 min but I can get her back to sleep for another hour ish if i am fast.

Morning, no chance. She is awake after 30 min on the dot.

I wouldn't mind if this made her refreshed and alert til her lunchtime sleep but five mins after waking she is rubbing her eyes and tired again, she is then a nightmare until her lunchtime nap at 12 - too tired to eat, too tired to play. She just grizzles all morning long, half-drops off if I take her out in her pushchair and then refuses solids at lunch (11am...) as she is already too tired to eat them)

I was doing two thirty min naps in the mornings just to get around this but that meant her lunchtime nap got affected and was too late in the day. So now I just try to miserably keep her going until about 12 for a lunchtime nap.

The pm nap of 30 min doesn't cause as much of a problem but it is still 30 min to the minute.

I do white noise and have recently tried darkening her room - doesn't help.

Glorious - is wake to sleep helpful for naps as well as for nighttime sleep? Am scared of trying it in case it wakes her even earlier!

Not trying to hijack your thread Mrsb, just have exactly the same problem and am offering sympathy (though can't offer any advice!!!)

emerald I used it for naps and the first part of nighttime sleep when she was waking hourly. I know what you mean, it feels so counter-intuitive!