Looking for some advice pls mums! My lil boy Alex is 4.5months old and is my first baby. He's a really happy content lil boy :D We have a pretty good bedtime routine established (play/bath/nurse/bed) and he sleeps from 8pm ish to 4am ish nurse again then wakes at 7.30/8am ish. My problem is our daytime naps :( It's not that he cries when I try to put him down...the opposite in fact, he's quite happy to lie in his crib for up to an hour looking around (i have a video monitor) but then gets bored and starts to give out. When I go in to him I don't even have to pick him up, he just gives me one of his big beaming smiles! I put on his mobile and stroke his face and leave the room but he just starts to give out again after few minutes. If I leave him giving out then he starts crying. The longest he's been in his crib without napping is 2 hours when I eventually gave in and picked him up and brought him back downstairs where he was all smiles and in great form...though he had been awake for hours!!
I've been watching out for the signs of him getting tired but I seem to be missing something. For example today, he napped in the car and then woke at 1pm. He had his lunch at 1.30pm, we played for an hour then went for a walk at 3pm. I nursed him at 3.30pm and he started to fall asleep while nursing but as soon as I put him into his crib he had a stretch, then big smile and kicking his legs and looking around happy out. 2 hours later I brought him downstairs after once again failing to get him to nap :( He was awake 8 hours by time he went to bed but wasnt at all cranky or irritable! He really isnt a textbook baby!
Sorry for the long post but I need advice please! How am I going to get my lil boy to realise that he needs to nap and that the crib isnt for playing in?? What should I do??