help needed for a sleep plan

[lori21]

my ds1, 17 weeks, is a nightmare napper. i've been reading lots of threads and have some things to try. the question is should i work on the 'getting to sleep by himself', the 'staying asleep more than 30mins' or should i work on both.

also if i improve the naps will it affect the night time sleeps. he is currently a nightmare with this as well but i'm hoping that this is a phase as he used to be pretty good.

any ideas gratefully received

My DD started napping well during the day from about your DS's age. Firstly I will say that as long as you don't let him sleep too late in the day, good daytime napping should actually improve his nightime sleep - 'sleep begets sleep' etc.
Secondly I would suggest that you:
1: Watch carefully for signs of tiredness. If he's already wingeing, he's overtired. DD always used to bat at her ears when she was starting to get a bit tired, and I would start a 5 minute wind-down routine straight away. Don't let him go over the edge, which at that age is very easy.

1. Follow the same routine every day. I used to drape her little blankie over my shoulder and lie her head against it and then sing her a special sleepytime song, go into her bedroom, lie her down with the blankie underneath her head, tell her it was time to sleep and leave the room. In the begining she would often niggle, but I would leave her for a few minutes and more often than not should would go off on her own. I would resist the attempt to rush in at the slightest sound, as they may just be winding down before sleep hits. If he's still crying, try just patting or stoking him whilst shushing him until he calms down and then leave the room again. I always closed the curtains so that it was quite dimpsy but not pitch dark.

With regards to him waking after such a short time, you'll probably find that if he starts settling himself and you've put him down tired but not overtired, you'll probably find that his naps will increase in duration. By 5 months, DD had gone from sporadic naps to 2 two hours naps, plus a cat nap late afternoon. Good Luck with this. I remember how the daytime napping used to stress me out terribly. Hope something I've said can be of help to you.

Thanks jambot some lovely ideas. My DS is so nosy I often carry him facing forwards but this maybe stimultating him when going up for a nap so I may try your way instead.

Thanks again

any particular thoughts on when is a good time for my dear daughter (7 months) to nap during the day? She's never been a great one for napping at all during the day except occasionally falling asleep on the breast. At night she sleeps 12 hours straight through (don't lynch me). But might it be good for her to get a bit extra?

Pushkin, I'm with you on this one, 6mth old sleeps well at night (8pm til 7pm with one or two feeds), but just doesn't sleep during the day. Only way I can get her to sleep is in the car or the pram.

Just started putting her down straight after lunch when she usually tries to fall asleep whilst feeding. It has worked a couple of times, but only for 20 minutes.

thanks wrigglejiggle, that's interesting. But maybe we should just be grateful they sleep through the night? maybe in my dd's case it's enough for her? (She doesn't feed at night at all). She does get tired when she is going to bed in the evenings, but is still able to get herself to sleep and seems to have patience to deal with a bedtime that can vary from 7.15 to 8.30. I must admit I never tried enforcing a regular nap at a particular time, just put her donw when she was nodding off. which can happen at any time of the day... but only 1x a day if that, and usually for 30 mins to an hour.

From what I have read I think you need to decide why you want your lo to nap. My ds has been a nightmare to get to sleep in the day since he was about 4 weeks old. He really needs to nap though. He gets irritable without a nap and then does not sleep well at night. If your lo is generally happy during the day and sleeping well at night then I would not worry. I put a lot of effort into getting my ds to sleep in the day and have a much happier little boy.

about the night time sleeps though!

Little wriggler slept for 20 minutes after lunch today - I was such a proud mum . She did it without any crying as well .

I think if she sleeps everyday at the same time it should geteasier as she gets used to it.

She definately gets grumpy without any sleep.