Will this child ever learn to sleep???

[DragonboysMum]

He just won't nap. You can see he's absolutely dog tired but just won't give in. If I'm lucky, he'll fall asleep whilst feeding but then I'm stuck - as soon as I try to move he wakes. He had 15 minutes this morning. Some days that's all he'll have. All day. He's 8 months. I'm currently sitting beside the cot as he screams blue murder. I've tried leaving him, I've sat and stroked his head which just irritates him, I've sung, I've rocked. He's so tired, but he's even more stubborn!

Night times aren't too bad. He's had enough by about 6 so has his bath and then a feed and is usually asleep by 6.30/7.00. He's variable as some nights he'll only wake once, others it'll be 4 or 5 times but he feeds and goes straight back down so I can cope with that. It's the lack of day time sleep I'm stuck with. I'm not sure what to do?

You need a sleep trigger. Have you tried a dummy or comforter?

The health visitor suggested something similar so we started using a little teddy attached to a comforter thing but he doesn't seem bothered with it. I hadn't wanted to start with a dummy seeing as we'd gone this long without but maybe it's worth trying.

Persist with the teddy comforter for at least 6 weeks before you disregard it. Hold it close between you when cuddling/feeding and encourage him to hold it when going down for sleep. He needs to see it as an extension of you so feels like he has a little piece of you when you leave him.