Crying at naptime

[mumofone234]

DS is almost 24 weeks and has always been a tricky napper. Until about a month ago, he would only sleep on one of us or in the car. I managed to 'nap train' him so that he now has all his naps in his crib, but in the last couple of weeks he's started crying every time I put him down for a nap. He'll be tired and rubbing his eyes, but as soon as I put him down he cries. I have to lean in and hold him tight and eventually he'll pop his thumb in his mouth and go to sleep. But I feel the amount of time we're doing the crying/holding is actually increasing and it's so stressful for both of us. What can I do? I don't feed to sleep, and he's not too bad overnight so I don't understand why naps are always such a battle.

Don't wait for him to tell you he's tired, you need to go by the clock with a solid routine.
at 24 weeks you could do
Wake 7am and milk
Breakfast 8am
Nap 8.45-10
Lunch 11am
Yoghurt or milk 11.45am
Nap 12-2.30
Milk 3pm
Power nap 4-4.30 in the buggy if lunchtime nap doesn't go too well
Dinner 5pm
Bath 6pm
Bottle 6.30pm
Bed 7pm

How long does the crying last for? It's a but unrealistic to think you can avoid having a baby crying.

Some nights I go to sleep straight away, sometimes I fidget, sometimes I need a drink first etc. Sometimes I lie there and moan to dh that I can't sleep- that's all babies are doing when they cry.

Well I've had some success today. Had a 1hr 40min nap this morning (unheard of!). It was only 45mins after he woke up. He did stir a couple of times, but I caught him before he woke and he slept on.

He's now down again (only 1hr 20mins after last wake) and has been for 20mins. I'm sitting here watching him and not doing housework I suppose if I can get him into a habit while I'm sitting with him, maybe he'll eventually do it on his own? I have no idea. He'll probably wake up tomorrow with a horrid cold and I'll realise that's why he's slept well today

CaptWentworth Yes his weirdly peaceful nap was only about an hour and a half after his other nap, which is quite early for him. Maybe we just need to be doing it sooner!?

Dame At the more extreme end it's around 15 minutes, although last night it was about half an hour. But it's often less (about five or ten). On the odd couple of occasions we've left him to cry he's gone to sleep after about 15 minutes.

Well I spoke a bit too soon...he's up. But, I left the room to try and shower and missed him stirring. He's super chirpy! So I don't mind. Yeah, might need to spend some time putting him down an hour or so after waking whether he looks tired or not.

I think part of the problem is that he'll only normally sleep for 40 minutes at a time - so LapinR0se your schedule sounds amazing but might be slightly out of reach at the moment. I suspect this is because I'm soothing him to sleep though, and then he wakes up after a cycle to find me gone.

Yeah you could see if he'll fall asleep on his own putting him down for naps earlier.
If not and you keep having wake ups after one cycle, try leaving him a little while to see if he'll go back.
If not then you can do the extra nap in the afternoon maybe.

DS1 used to just drop off playing on hs mat sometimes - arms would get slower and slower and he's just shut his eyes. I'd put a blanket over him and just leave him there.

Childminder just wrapped him up and put him outside in the pram and he'd drop off. If I dd that I usually went for a walk/down the shops etc.

He used to sleep on a sheepskin so was cosy and protected from the cold underneath too. Sometimes I picked him up and had to brush the snow from the pram and he was snug and sleeping. He slept for hours like that.

Tricky nappers unfortunately don't just drift off on their playmats.

Haha, WaxOn I think you might have a champion napper on your hands there!

He's 17 now and we went on to have DS2 who is 16. He wasn't quite as good but it was DH that was home when I went back to work. DS1 gave up naps at about 18 months unless he was in the car and DS2 gave them up at age 2 when DS1 started nursery. DH was looking forward to his free afternoons with DS1 at nursery and DS2 napping....shame :o

He eventually resorted to going for a drive and then pulling over when everyone was asleep and then having a kip himself.

It was an anecdote Lapin I wasn't suggesting that the OP was doing it wrong. DS1 would have been the easiest baby on earth if he didn't also projectile vomit - we all have our crosses to bear. DS2 wouldn't take a bottle so I had to wait until he was weaned before I could go back to work. Then he took a bottle the day before I started back.

Think I'm going to launch a two-pronged attack:
1: Get him down for a nap a little earlier so he's not overtired.
2: Stop holding him while he goes to sleep so that he consistently stitches his sleep cycles together and we can attempt a proper schedule. If he cries for a bit, he cries.

Would he prefer to be wrapped up a bit/have the sheet pulled and tucked quite tight? Some babies do like it more than others but he is possibly getting to the point where he lkes his freedom too much.

Yes I might try that as an alternative to me holding him, so he still feels snuggled.

I would give him some reassuring pats every so often, not suggesting to abandon him all together. But my baby was like some of the others in that she would cry for 2or 3 mins on her own then fall asleep, or 20 mins of crying with me interfering and picking her up etc