Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Sleep

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler. Need more advice on your childs development? Sign up to our Ages and Stages newsletter here.

Flip

Original poster

Tactics required for napping!

14 replies

fempsych · 01/12/2013 09:00

So...how do you get your babies to nap? I'm feeling awful at the moment as my ten month old screams the place down in her cot. So used to rock her in the pushchair ...now that's failing. I have resorted to in the pushchair in front of the TV and she's off to sleep in 5 minutes..but I feel like an awful mum (she doesn't watch tv any other time btw)

She's ten months old and ALWAYS on the go and had always been a crap sleeper. Nightime she goes to sleep perfectly in her cot awake.....

Any ideas.... Do you all have those babies that fall asleep eating or in their jumperoo :-)

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

milkingmachine1 · 01/12/2013 09:16

Bump

I'm having the same problem and I'm now in a situation where baby will either only nap in her buggy or if we are at home I have to let her sleep on me. The moment I put her in her cot she wakes up. At night time we don't have any problems either.

Hoping someone will come along with some advice.

sewingandcakes · 01/12/2013 09:20

No advice sorry, but I had one that never slept well during the day or night. When he got to 14 months he finally slept through the night, and now has a good 2 hour afternoon nap, and sleeps soundly all night. He just did it himself...

Have you tried blackout blinds, gradual withdrawal, etc? I used to put radio 4 on quietly for him in the same room. I hope someone can give you more advice.

Original poster

fempsych · 01/12/2013 09:28

She's not great during the night either...wakes for milk about two to three times...oh dear. Am planning some sleep training soon I think.

Problem with cot is that even if I eventually get her asleep
In it for naps then she wakes up 30 minutes later... In her pushchair she has over 1 hr 15 mins so wakes up happy.

Oh well - she'll be in nursery in a couple of months and somebody else can try to fix I (I'm sure they will as well :-)

Thanks for the support!!

OP posts:

onedogandababy · 01/12/2013 09:30

I'm always blown away by the pictures of babies/toddlers falling asleep in their dinner/playmats/jumperoo...

Mine is 22 months and still mostly naps on me, it's not quite as bad as it sounds as she's only napped once a day since about a year & it also ensures I sit down rather than rushing about doing housework.

Occasionally she'll sleep on a pile of quilts/soft toys on the floor by her cot, she does however sleep in her cot fine at night.

My viewpoint has always been that I'll worry about day time naps less as they will not continue forever, but nighttime sleeping does!

However, this is going to bite me on the arse when dc2 arrives in a few weeks...so if anyone can help, let me know! Quickly please!

Andcake · 01/12/2013 15:52

Ds now 15 months will nap lying next to either me or DP on the bed - then after a while usually 15 mins can be moved to his cot- and will sleep for 1-2.5 hrs. Until recently he would go down about 12, but has started refusing that nap the problem we have is if he goes down later say 2 he won't go to bed...or won't sleep until 10 have tried restricting to an hour today and have a Whitney little boy currently on my knee

KongKickeroo · 01/12/2013 20:36

If she'll go to sleep with 5 minutes of TV then just do that! 5 mins 2-3 times a day is not going to harm her in any way

My 9 month old is similar - goes down in cot awake without a peep at bedtime but fights naps, increasingly so as he's gotten older. I've given up stressing about doing them "properly" and just get them any way I can. When he starts looking sleepy, I bf him - if he falls asleep I either let him nap on me and watch iplayer with subtitles over him or transfer him to the cot (but that's more risky as if he wakes up, he won't sleep again). If bf doesn't work, I put him in the cot with his comfort toy, pat him for a while, and then leave the room. He usually cries a bit but drops off after a few minutes. If he's still crying after 5 mins, I give up on the cot, put him in the pushchair and wheel him down our road until he drops off. Or I sometimes use the car seat and drive him, if I have somewhere to go.

But your OP has inspired me to try a TV and pushchair combination tomorrow

Original poster

fempsych · 01/12/2013 21:43

Ahhh! She knows just when to change her tactics! So today tv and pushchair and sling didn't work. In a fit if madness I tried the cot in darkness and she slept!!!WTF!

So, maybe tomorrow the cot?

You are right of course - a few minutes of tv didn't hurt anybody :-) I just wondered if there were all these mums everywhere just putting there babies in cots for naps where they happily fell asleep...

OP posts:

treetrunkthighs · 01/12/2013 21:51

You don't need tactics, you have one - tv for 5mins. Just do what works. For dd1 it was swing + Hoover. For dd2 it was a long walk in the pram.

When "TV for 5mins" stops working, then you need tactics

Miggs28 · 01/12/2013 21:53

oh god no! don't worry about that, my 6 month old DS will only nap on me during the day (after a good amount of rocking) or in the car so you're really not alone. I have tried him in the cot again and again but he has none of it. Also we're still working on night time. The first half of the evening (7.30pm til 10.30pm) he has to sleep in the middle of our bed and then after his 10.30pm bottle he will happily go to sleep in his cot, why this is the case I have no idea! so I'm sorry no advice really but wanted to let you know you're definitely not alone!!!

KongKickeroo · 01/12/2013 23:13

Ha I know all about the baby tactic changing, hence my complicated nap algorithm - something on that list always works, but I can never predict what! I'd say start with cot but if no joy after 5 mins, move on, life's too short

Original poster

fempsych · 02/12/2013 08:16

kong they do like to change things up. I struggle with a lack of patience ...just starting to develop some I think having to spend minutes/hours getting DD to sleep :-) a long list of tactics is exactly what I need!

OP posts:

googietheegg · 02/12/2013 08:20

This is what works for dd to nap -

A snack (yoghurt usually, or rice pudding)
A clean nappy
A drink (water or juice and water)
White noise (detuned radio)
Ewan the dream sheep
A warm sleeping bag

The room doesn't have to be dark thankfully. This usually works and I put her down awake (a couple of mins hugging before ) and she falls asleep, prob for two hours, sometimes three

And this is usually 3.5 - 4 hours since she woke up, so I watch for signs.

Original poster

fempsych · 02/12/2013 10:33

Three hours! We struggle with that at night time :-) she's currently asleep in the sling on my back..prob for half an hour. She's a grumpy nightmare at the moment - think teething is upsetting everything .grrrrr

OP posts:

squidkid · 02/12/2013 18:31

Whatever works!! At that age my baby took most of her naps on me. I loved it as I had the perfect excuse to read a lot of books. Only problem was when I needed a wee…

I also did naps in sling, pushchair, car, cot, my bed,… on the floor sometimes!!

Now she is 14 months and naps easily for 2 hours in the middle of the day, normally in the pushchair as we are out and about. They change constantly - I don't really believe this stuff about bad habits.

I used to have great nights and shit naps and now it's the opposite! Bloody babies.

Flip