What's your nap routine?

[Mirrhi]

As the title says, what routines do people have to get their LOs down for naps? And how often/long do they sleep?

DS is 3mo and until a couple of weeks ago I felt as if we were getting somewhere in establishing a routine, both in terms of times and of what I do to tell him it's time to go to sleep - feed, sing a song, repeat a 'bedtime' phrase, then when drowsy put him down in his moses basket. Over the past week as soon as I start this he starts screaming and getting more and more wound up. It's reaching the point where I dread naptimes (and bedtime is now getting the same), and I'm feeling utterly demoralised and useless. I feel like a complete failure tbh.

DP reckons I should leave it longer before trying to start nap routine, his theory is that I'm taking him up as soon as he shows signs of tiredness but he's not quite ready to sleep then so it ends up being a battle. So he thinks I should drag it out longer, do everything I can to entertain him until he's really tired despite this going against all the general guidance.

So, what do you guys all do?

What times are you putting bambino down? Maybe the routine is too long? It doesn't take much to ovoerstimute a tiny baby. Little buggers!

Daily routine had been:

Wakes 6.30
Nap 8.30 - 9.00
Nap 11.30 - 1.30
Nap 3.30 - 4.00
Bedtime 6.30

These times are roughly right, but would be when he looked to be getting tired.
I would sing and repeat his bedtime phrase whilst he was feeding so it lasted as long as he took to feed and go dozy but recently he's started to scream as soon as we've gone upstairs :-/
Keeping him up longer seems to have been better today. He's clearly not read the books which say they go down more easily if you try as soon as they look tired....,,

I'd suggest opposite to your DH - that maybe you need to put him down earlier/ more quickly. Once babies that age show signs of tiredness you're already on the verge of missing the 'sleepy' window. I think at that age DD was still napping every 90 mins.

Yep I think generally at that age babies can't last more than 2 hrs awake before needing a sleep.
How long does it take for him to go to sleep? The length of the naps are actually pretty good.

What routines did you use when putting LOs down for naps?

I think you are doing good. My ds2 who is 17 weeks wakes around 7 ( or his brother wakes him) and he goes back down around 9am for 40 mins- this should get longer as he gets better at sleeping, then again at 1230 until 130 and then another nap in the late pm. If we are out and about in pushchair he does sometimes does. Nice log sleeps in am or pm and he is clearly happier, but I remember from ds1 that it takes a while for them to twig that they need to sleep longer and certainly ds2 is rubbish at going through more than one sleep cycle. Biggest tip, ignore those bloody books. You know what baby needs- doing a fab job! Second time round I thought I remembered it but had to retrain brain- so funny!

TerrifiedMothertobe, do they really start sleeping longer simply with time? My DS is almost 20 weeks, and always naps for 30-40 mins at a time, which clearly is not enough for him... Does it just improve on its own? Sorry for a bit of highjack Mirrhi...

See, I never really had a nap routine.
Except mine were swaddled, in the dark and they both had a dream sheep/slumberbear. I didn't interact with them much (at sleep times) after the early days when I rocked them in the Moses basket.
This worked for them.
DD 2 still has a dream sheep at 14 months.

Thanks, and cute no problem about the highjack. My DS always wakes after 30 mins with naps, but I find with his lunchtime one if I get to him quickly and give him a top up feed he will go off again and sleep another hour or so. The NCSS talks about this and says that if you can get them off again one way or another they should gradually get used to longer naps and do them without needing the help. I'm still waiting for DS to manage that though!